Human Resources and Technology, Part II: New Hires

Of all the advances technology has brought to the workplace, human resources is one area that has benefited immensely. As discussed in a previous article "Human Resources and Technology, Part I: Recruiting", advances in computer systems, networks and the internet have greatly improved a company's ability to find the best talent. But finding that candidate is only one step in the long, involved process of hiring. To comply with hiring regulations, a great deal of man hours, resources and planning can be expended, which too often delays placement. With the advent of technology, however, this process has not only been shortened, but perfected.

The larger an organization, the more chaotic business processes can become unless procedures are adopted that ensure consistency. Paradoxically, it is those procedures that sometimes slow down progress. This is especially true with bringing on new employees, as the longer a position lies empty, the more activity stagnates and money is lost. And yet making an offer to job candidate can be a drawn out affair requiring approval at multiple levels, as well as a major amount of paperwork. Thanks to the development of both email, as well as Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS), the speed of this process has increased by leaps and bounds.

Prior to technology, paperwork was the Achilles heel of hiring. Just receiving approval to make a job offer meant the manual completion and delivering of large amounts of paperwork to hiring managers for their records and approving signatures. If corrections were needed, the process usually started all over again. And paperwork was easily overlooked and even lost. Today, with HRIS Sun servers this same process can now be a matter of a few mouse clicks. HRIS networks can almost immediately generate new hire requisitions that are automatically populated with candidate information, job description and offer details. By cross-referencing the original job listing with the department chain-of-command, candidate information and a job offer requisition is immediately electronically sent to the necessary departments and managers. Managers can give digital hiring approval by simply clicking a box. Whereas placing a candidate might previously have taken days and even weeks, risking the loss of that candidate to another job offer, now hiring approval can happen in a matter of hours from locations around the world.

HRIS systems not only expedite hiring, it can prevent human error that causes costly internal and government hiring violations. For instance, companies generally must comply with fair and equal pay laws. But creating a set of salary pay grades for individual positions and experience is only one step. A HRIS system will not only store and check these guidelines against salary offers, but can also audit all new hire offers against the salaries and demographics of current employees in similar positions. Doing this helps to ensure equal pay regulations are not violated. Additionally, the required completion of paperwork such as benefits election, I-9 and W-4's are ensured as the HRIS system will not only offer reminders to complete but even disallow a hire until these requirements are met. Even better, all of this information can be immediately and effortlessly repopulated to payroll systems, decreasing the use of man hours as well as the risk of human error.

Even the best business can be bogged down by ineffective procedures in hiring. And a gap in an organizational chart can be the hole through which profits and resources drain. By utilizing HRIS hp hardware and software, organizations can keep their focus on business rather than red-tape.