Importance of technology in human resources management

By Priya Chetty on February 5, 2012

Industries across the globe have witnessed dramatic changes over the last two decades (Chanda, Sivarama Krishna and Shen, 2007). With the advent of development in information technology, the nature of work that people are engaged in along with the requisite skills, knowledge and abilities have undergone a shift.

Use of technology in human resources management

Human resources management is among those professional occupation segment that technological changes had influenced. Technology has transformed the role of human resources management professionals to a large extent. More and more human resources management functions within the human resource department are being performed electronically to improve the administrative efficiency and responsiveness of human resources management to their internal clients, employees and managers. Web-based technology is also being used extensively for almost all key human resource activities. Some of them are employment application creation, employee benefits enrollments and training using e-learning based resources (Mathis and Jackson, 2010)

Due to the above-mentioned automation of human resource activities, human resource professionals are getting more time for other aspects of their jobs. In this way, technology is assisting organizations in amending the time management practices of their human resource department and subsequently enhancing their efficiency.

Impact of technology on human resource personals

As technology is establishing its presence within the human resource department, professionals have experienced more clarity, transparency, and comprehensiveness of information employed by them (Gardner, Lepak and Bartol, 2003).

In addition to information responsiveness, human resources management also includes professionals to be aware of the latest trends in policy making, activities, and employment practices in their industry. Additionally, they need to have current information on the relevant laws and regulations because this helps them in expressing flexibility in the event of unanticipated changes. Further, this characteristic enhances the value and contribution of the human resource department to the organization.

Therefore, in order to keep pace with the constantly changing laws, the information must be consistently sought out. Technology has enabled organizations to connect to the internet to interact with other professionals in organizations in their industry. It has helped many human resource professionals in gathering information that they need to remain informed to demonstrate the desired characteristics and ability. These facts also suggest that technology has not only enabled human resource professionals to access and distribute information but also has influenced their expectations.

References:

  • Mathis, R., and Jackson, J. 2010. Human resource management: Cengage Learning.
  • Chanda, A., Sivarama Krishna, B., and Shen, J., 2007. Strategic human resource technologies: keys to managing people. New Delhi : Sage Publications.
  • Gardner, S., Lepak, D., and Bartol, K., Journal of Vocational Behavior 2003 Issue.

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