HR Professional Perceptions of Human Resource Information Systems

Out of eight Society for Human Resource Management chapters in Texas, 163 human resource (HR) professionals were interviewed. The interviews indicated that high security and reliability were the top two capabilities identified in the human resource information system (HRIS) in their businesses. Furthermore, interview results indicated that the least effective capability and also the the most problematic issue was that of integration with other information systems. Various other top-rated issues include user dissatisfaction, strenuous upgrade cycles and bugs. Two orthogonal factors (cost and quality) were identified after a factor analysis of HRIS capabilities. Leading concerns of HRIS continue to be associated with cost and customer service for prospective end-users. Data Results Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) professionals indicate (according to a survey of 163 professionals in Texas) that security and reliability were chief concerns regarding the capabilities of HRIS systems in their respective organizations. Conversely, the ‘integration’ of this network was indicated to be the weakest capability of HRIS systems and also the chief problem. Various issues also indicated were day-to-day user complaints, bugs, and software updates. Results indicated that most professionals possess an HRIS system of some sort, that being said, results were unable to garner cost information due to either ignorance or lack of response to that particular question. Future research should entail a much larger sample size, a larger geographical swath, and a need analysis profile from chief industries categorized by size of company. The results of this paper are a bit limited for the simple fact that all those surveyed were HR managers and specialists specifically in the HR field which provides a fairly narrow scope of respondents. Also, it worth noting that the needs of HR professionals change with the size of their respective company size which is another weakness of this study. Results indicated some top priorities for HR professionals in terms of HRIS systems which include, but are not limited to system adaptability, flexibility, system integration, ease of use, and an intuitive user platform. HR professionals are betwixt competing objectives, challenges facing them to grow, elevate performance and adapt while also trimming costs and increase efficiencies. HR professional seek to accomplish both of these objectives by leveraging the power and infrastructure of (HRIS) Human Resource Information Systems. These systems are great HR assistants because they store, aggregate, synthesize, integrate, sort, increase speed, trim costs due to efficiency, organize and administer information at the click of a button. One of the chief advantages of such a system is the ability to enter information from remote locations, and with multiple locations. HRIS systems are clearly integral parts of an HR professional’s arsenal. There are two sides of this coin, the perceived advantages and the perceived disadvantages. Thanks to Steve Silva, Graduate Assistant, Boise State University, for writing this original abstract/summary of the paper