Human Resource Information Systems

Introduction

Previous papers discussed the essence of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) and the importance of their implementation in Larson Property Management. This essay, in turn, seeks to identify various reasons behind the project’s failure and propose the change management model that will help address these factors. Moreover, the paper intends to elaborate on the process of HRIS system implementation in detail and provide the project’s cost-benefit analysis. Finally, the necessary steps to ensure proper maintenance and evaluation will be discussed.

Change Management

The initial step that Larson Property Management’s decision-makers should take after the agreement to implement HRIS was reached is to analyze potential barriers leading to the project failure. In this regard, previous research determined several factors that managers should address to ensure their initiative’s success. Firstly, one of the most common reasons that cause failure includes the inability to forecast the project’s hidden costs (Irum and Yadav 5). Secondly, HRIS implementation may be unsuccessful due to a lack of expert knowledge (Rahman et al. 102). Additionally, communication problems and misunderstandings between various project groups may further complicate the HRIS implementation and usage. Finally, the storage of employee personal data on cloud servers may raise privacy concerns among the workers and, thus, lead to resistance to the change. Therefore, administrators should analyze whether one or several barriers mentioned above may deter the progress of HRIS implementation.

Next, to address those issues, it is necessary to adopt an appropriate change management strategy. Although there are many frameworks that the company can implement, it is suggested to consider two approaches, namely McKinsey 7s and PDCA models. That choice is based on the notion that the mentioned frameworks provide a sufficiently complex view of a change process and best fit the organization’s purposes. According to the McKinsey model, every firm consists of seven fundamental elements: strategy, structure, system (activities and procedures), shared values, staff (recruitment, training, and motivation), leadership style, and skills. It is maintained that all of the elements are interconnected and, thus, the change in one part will necessarily affect other areas (Cox et al. 314). Therefore, based on this framework, the managers should analyze how the transformation in a system affects other areas and whether those areas are ready for a change.

PDCA is the abbreviation for plan, do, check, and act and is the second model under review. According to this framework, before the change implementation, managers should analyze how to better realize innovation or counter problems and then test their hypothesis in a controlled environment. After that, experiment results should be evaluated, and if potential solutions failed then the plan reconsideration is needed. Contrary, if tested measures succeeded, then they can be implemented in practice. Therefore, after reviewing the two frameworks, it can be argued that the McKinsey 7s model is more suitable to achieve the company goals. It not only shows the importance of primary planning but also considers the worker’s culture and knowledge which is a crucial success element as it can be concluded from the previous discussion concerning failure antecedents.

HRIS Implementation

Based on the McKinsey 7s model, now it is possible to determine which steps should be taken before the actual change implementation and discuss necessary timelines for these activities. Firstly, during one month, the company’s top managers and the financial department will plan a detailed project implementation process and determine all the direct and indirect costs. Secondly, the importance of such a decision should be communicated to frontline managers in several meetings. Next, the latter should announce the plan of innovation to workers and explain the purposes of change. Due to potential resistance from employees, it is necessary to hold at least 4-5 meetings three months before HRIS implementation. Finally, during the system testing period (2-3 weeks before actual commencement), HR managers should work closely with IT specialist(s) to obtain necessary HRIS related skills and knowledge.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Vendor: Zenefits
Costs and Benefits Value per Unit Unit Overall Value (for the first month) Overall Value (for the second month)
Costs
Purchase of Essentials plan $8 (per employee) 200 $1600 $1600
Purchase of mobile phones $400 (per item) 5 $2000
Hire an IT specialist $2000 (monthly salary) 1 $4500 $4500
Employee training $200 (per employee) 5 $1000
Internet service $15 (per GB) 4 $60 $60
Electricity $39 (per megawatt) 10 $390 $390
Costs Total $9500 $6550
Benefits
Increase in GDP per hour work (HR) $350 increase 5 $1750 $1750
Reduced number of workers in the HR department $3000 (monthly salary) 2 $0 $6000
Reduced number of workers in Finance department $3500 (monthly salary) 1 $0 $3500
Reduced paper usage $5 (per pack) 20 $100 $100
Benefits Total $1850 $11350
Undiscounted Total (Benefits – Cost) -$7650 $4800
Discounted Total (Benefits – Cost) -$7650 $4800 – $4800*10% = $4320

Maintenance

Finally, to ensure that the HRIS operates properly, an IT specialist will be hired. This professional will help workers to solve potential problems with their computers and mobile phones and communicate with Zenefits concerning bugs in the software so that the latter could fix the issues. Moreover, in the first three-four months, the managers will conduct surveys to research whether workers have some difficulties using the system. Based on the results of the inquiries, the employee training program will be improved accordingly.

Conclusion

In summary, the current paper identified the main factors associated with the failure to implement HRIS. They included hidden costs, lack of expertise, communication problems, and employee resistance. Next, McKinsey 7s and PDCA models were compared, and it was found that the former one is more suitable for the company’s purposes. Therefore, following this framework, the implementation process was described in detail. Finally, a cost-benefit analysis table and maintenance and evaluation plans were presented.

Works Cited

Cox, Andrew Martin, et al. “Extending McKinsey’s 7S Model to Understand Strategic Alignment in Academic Libraries.” Library Management, vol. 40, no. 5, 2019, pp. 313-326.

Irum, Ayesha, and Rama Shankar Yadav. “Human Resource Information Systems: A Strategic Contribution to HRM.” Strategic Direction, vol. 35, no. 10, 2019, pp. 4-6.

Rahman, Mohammad Anisur, et al. “Barriers in Adopting Human Resource Information System (HRIS): An Empirical Study on Selected Bangladeshi Garments Factories.” International Business Research, vol. 10, no. 6, 2017, pp. 98-103.

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