If there is one thing I have learned from working on Machine Learning problems in the People/HR space, it is this: define and structure your problem up front!Keith McNulty, Data Scientist
Human resources technology is used to recruit, attract, select, retain and maintain the right employees. Various technology can assist with talent acquisition, onboarding processes, probationary requirements and support employee relations, workforce administration, workforce management and other human resource functions. This topic will examine different technologies that may be used to gather workforce data and information to support human resource functions. It will examine different sources of workforce data and ways to collect and analyse the data and information.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- How to use technology to collect data and information
- How to identify different sources of workforce data and information
- Ways to collate and analyse workforce data and information
In order to provide the required support to key human resource functions and processes for the organisation or work area, you must be able to identify, select and use the appropriate and relevant technology to gather workforce data and information.
Most large organisations will have invested in a Human Resource Management System (HRMS), also sometimes referred to as a Human Resource Information System (HRIS). Human resource departments have employee data and other information that must be stored securely and be easily accessible for a range of purposes. The HRMS will assist with storing and organising the human resources information and data that may include:
- Recruitment records for example:
- job descriptions
- selection criteria's
- applicant tracking systems
- job interview records
- assessment results
- job offers and acceptance letters.
- Centralised storage of employee information for example:
- job or role descriptions
- employee personal details
- employee profiles
- employee qualifications.
- Employee onboarding for example:
- tax file number declaration form
- superannuation choice form
- personal details form
- awards and EBA's
- probation information
- policies and procedures
- staff inductions.
- Performance Management for example:
- performance reviews
- self-evaluations
- customer or client feedback
- tracking performance measures.
- Time and absence management for example maintaining records of:
- employee rosters or schedules
- attendance records
- timesheets
- leave
- payroll.
- Employee self-service for example:
- viewing payslips
- requesting leave
- viewing leave balances
- maintaining timesheets
- allowing employees to view and update their own profiles.
- Professional development for example:
- training completed
- professional development plan
- tracking and recording professional development activities.
The aim of the use of various types of technologies in human resources is to be able to automate certain functions and to assist hiring managers. It assists the human resources department to undertake certain functions quickly and work more efficiently. Managers may use the various human resources technology, employees, human resources employees and departments in various ways to improve the way they do business. Implementing human resources technology enables hiring managers and other managers to be able to gather, collect, and analyse data and information to assist with the achievement of the business strategy and to meet current and future workforce requirements.
Important Readings
Read the following article on technology in human resources by Andreas Rivera titled “6 Essential Tech Tools for Your HR Department.”
Read the following article on technology in human resources by Fresa Shermann titled “How Does Technology Impact HR Practices?”
For further information on technology in human resources, read the article on the following website by PROFILES titled “Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management.”
Check your understanding of the content so far!
Research different Human Resource Management System (HRM) or Human Resource Information System (HRI) and in the module forum, identify one of your choosing and outline the benefits of using this system.
The organisation collects workforce information from numerous sources using various methods, in order to provide a better picture of their workforce. In some instances, data and information comes directly from the human resources systems and may include data such as:
- Recruitment data
- Employee turnover
- Rates of unscheduled absence
- Illness rates
- Injury rates
- Employee performance issues
- Results from employee surveys – the surveys may ask employees for their views and experiences at work, support provided to their role from their manager and the employee’s views on how their engagement with the organisation
- Employee census in regards to workforce management and strategies
Some of the human resources systems allow you to access links to some of this data and may have interactive platforms that allow the exploration of human resources metrics, including various surveys and questionnaires.
Other workforce data that may be available in an organisation may include:
- Competency standards
- Key performance indicator (KPI) data
- Samples of completed performance appraisals
- Succession data
- Performance development
Other information sources include the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for labour market trends and data, industry surveys, and industry hotspots for safety hazards and injuries.
In the real world
“Jacque’s Seafood” is a seafood restaurant that specialises in seafood dishes and has six restaurants across Melbourne. The human resources manager has asked for data that highlights the various injuries that are typically experienced by chefs. The human resources officer has identified injury hotspots data from the Victorian WorkSafe website. The information and data provides details of the most common injuries and hazards for employees that are working as chefs and cooks.
Important Readings
Read the following information on the Monthly Labour Market Dashboards that provide a range of data sources from various departments for the 51 Employment Regions. National, state and territory dashboards are also provided.
You can find further information in the following three (3) documents.
Read the following article on data sources for human resources by AIHR titled “21 HR Data Sources for Analytics.”
Further information on labour market data in Australia can be found in the Labour Market Information Portal.
Check your understanding of the content so far!
Human resources data and analytics provides valuable information to the organisation on current and future workforce requirements, labour market trends, human resources management issues, annual employee turnover, employee satisfaction and in some cases, which employees are most likely to leave the organisation. Depending on the information required by the organisation will also determine where the data must be sourced from, how it will be collated and analysed. If the data required is to be based on the current workforce, the collation of the data may be taken from various human resources systems that can provide information on:
- Payroll data
- Current employee numbers including number of part time and full-time employees
- Results of engagement surveys
- Predicting future employee needs based on business strategy
- Current competency levels of staff
- Qualification requirements and gaps
The collation and analysis of various human resources data can:
- Establish key labour market trends
- Provide critical information on skills shortages
- Provide critical information on skill requirements for the future
- Can estimate different types of roles that may need to be created for the future
- Can provide valuable information in relation to number of staff that will retire (in the next 3-5 years) and need to be replaced
- Can assist with knowledge management and transfer of knowledge for staff leaving
- Can assist with filling short term vacancies to cover leave or holidays
- Can identify training needs and due dates of update of training or licenses
Various technologies can be used to collect and analyse workforce data. Some examples of human resources software that can assist with the collection and analysis of data include: Sage.com
The various historical data can provide insights, conclusions, and trends to predict future needs and behaviours. This type of data analytics can provide valuable information to assist the organisation in achieving strategic goals. Board.com
Board software allows HR data analysis that can provide data forecasting and the deployment of human resource metrics. Visier.com
This is a business intelligence and data analytics tool built for HR teams. It comes with pre-built analytics dashboards to help companies get the most from their data without tying up IT resources.
By collating and analysing human resources data, the human resources department can align it to the objectives of both the human resources strategic plan and the organisation’s strategic plan. The data and information can assist with the policy and procedure frameworks and can provide valuable information on the changes that may be required to update policy, procedures and any human resource functions. The data analysis can provide evidence of how the various human resource functions and processes initiatives contribute to the organisation’s strategies and objectives.
Important Readings
Read the following article on human resources analysis by PeopleScout.com titled “How to leverage workforce analytics and hr data in workforce planning.”
Read the following article on human resources analysis by AIHR titled “What is HR analytics?”
Watch the following video on human resources metric and data by Gregg Learning titled “HR Basics: Human Resource Metrics.”
Important Readings
Read the following article for further information on human resources analysis by Valamis.com titled “Human Resources analytics.”
Check your understanding of the content so far!
Choose the industry of someone in your family and identify two trends in the labour market. Discuss these two trends and the industry it is relevant to in the module forum.
Prior to moving on to the next topic, have a conversation with someone that is not in Human Resources or studying this qualification and in your own words:
- Describe what human resources technology is used for.
- Explain, using FOUR examples, the type of data and information that can be stored and accessed on a HRM or HRI systems.
- Explain the aim of using various types of technologies in human resources.
- Describe data and information that may be sourced from human resources systems.
- Describe the valuable information that human resources data and analytics can provide.
