Dee Caporali extols the virtues of internal knowledge management systems
Software Source, 11 Sep 2002
At last, the traditional role of personnel as an administrative function seems to be making way for more strategically focused HR departments. And it is the latest technology that has enabled this change.
Investment in software to replace paper-based records is not a new phenomenon. It has provided many organisations with a central source of HR-related information and made easier the production of management reports. Yet such systems are only as good as the data they contains - forcing many HR departments to hire staff to administer centrally maintained databases. Updating them is an unrewarding, never-ending task that is rarely 100 per cent effective. And outdated information produces meaningless statistics.
A new approach
Determined to overcome these limitations to their knowledge management, many organisations have turned to corporate intranets. These create an employee-centred environment where information can be viewed and updated by those best able to do so – employees and their managers.
Today, many workers have a PC on their desk, with access to email, word-processing packages and business-solution software: an intranet gives them the chance to check and amend information on them. Address changes, holiday bookings, applications for internal vacancy or requests to attend courses can all be input by the employee and sent automatically to the central HR system. If authorisation from a manager is required this can be arranged electronically through workflow systems using email software such as Microsoft Outlook.
Larger organisations led the way but small and medium-sized organisations are now using intranet technology to compensate for their lack of extensive IT budgets. There is no need to buy hundreds of user licences, as with traditional HR software, or to spend vast amounts on hardware. Standard software can be purchased from a range of specialist suppliers and integrated with corporate intranets to provide a look and feel that people are comfortable with.
All together now
Corporate intranets centralise knowledge sources and allow people to gain quick, easy access to relevant information. But implementing an intranet and publishing information on to it does not, on its own, guarantee success - staff will not adopt a system if it fails to excite them and offers few obvious benefits.
The key to engaging employees’ interest and imagination is interactivity. Workers are more likely to accept it if they are able to influence the information presented on an intranet – and can see the benefits it brings.
Some organisations use intranets to organise e-learning, others have taken things further with social events and online shopping. Development opportunities can be made more accessible, with staff given the opportunity to research information and apply for training from their PCs.
In the early stages, HR managers must ensure that systems are not abused and that all required information is still being collected. Workflow processes can generate emails to the HR department - or to an individual’s manager - warning that information has been changed or that further action is due.
A key step on the path to acceptance can be allowing managers access to information on their teams - such as emergency contacts, holiday entitlement, sickness levels, appraisals due and training opportunities - without the need to contact the personnel department. Crucially, the software can generate statistics on absence, resourcing levels and performance against competencies and objectives – making it easier for managers to get the most out of their staff.
Competency-based approaches to training and development can also be enhanced. Some organisations include lists of employees’ skills on their HR intranet so that workers, or their managers, can keep these up to date. When new projects come along, search facilities help the organisation to find the right people for the new work.
More data, less paper
While intranets are unlikely to herald the end of paper, they will reduce paper-based administration. Payslip provision, flexible benefits systems and HR advice are areas into which they are expanding.
Intranets reinforce corporate identity, connect people across different offices and bring workforces together. Organisations that use them to hold the latest HR information should find that not only is less time spent inputting data, but that it should make that information more accurate – and employees and managers are more effective.
Dee Caporali is a director of Select Software (UK) Ltd ( www.selecthr.co.uk)
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