Information technology is expected to drive Human Resource (HR)’s transition from a focus on Human Resource Management (HRM) to Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). This strategic role not only adds a valuable dimension to the HR function, but also changes the competencies that define HR professional and practitioner success.

The study aims at investigating what role if any do Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) play in SHRM. It attempts to examine how HR professionals and managers in different organizations see the effects of HRIS on strategic HR tasks and job roles. It also tries to find out if there is any significant difference in the usage of HRIS between Small/Medium (SME) size and Large size companies.

A survey questionnaire was sent to 170 companies and a response rate of 15.9% was received. The target group of the questionnaire was HR managers, HR directors, and HR professionals in companies based in Finland. The scope was widened to include both large and small/medium sized organizations across all the business sectors.

The Role of Human Resource Information Systems

The results of the survey reveal that HR professionals not only consider HRIS usage as a support for strategic HR tasks but also perceive it as an enabling technology. The study also indicates that large sized firms are most likely to experience considerable HRIS usage in support of strategic HR tasks.

Moreover, there was no significant difference in proportion to the size of a company regarding HRIS usage in support of commitment management and managing trade union relations with organizations. Low response rate of this study makes generalization rather difficult however, future research would benefit from higher response rates for more generalized results.
Author: Asafo-Adjei Agyenim Boateng

Download Human Resource Information System in SHRM Project