INTRODUCTION

Competitive business environments have compelled the organizations to think

speedily to innovate and excel for their survival. Technology advancement is one

of the powerful driving forces. It has reshaped the way we communicate, live,

work, and also the way business is conducted. Corporations need to shift from

physical technology to information technology, from capital centered economy to

human centered economy, and further from conflict to cooperative working

relationships. Since many years now, Information Technologies (IT) seems to be

affecting individuals and organizations’ communication and behaviors. The

change in information technology is faster than any other processes in the

organization. One of the major hurdles, which the HR department needs to cross,

is the changing technological environment. The IT possibilities for HRM are

endless; in principal all HR processes can be supported by IT. Computers have

simplified the task of analyzing vast amounts of data and they can be invaluable

aids in HR management, from payroll processing to record retention. With

computer hardware, software and data bases, organizations can keep records and

information better as well as retrieve them with greater ease. E-HRM is the

relatively new term for this IT supported HRM, especially through the use of web

technology. E-HRM is the new field of technology that is widely spreading in

organizations around the world. It aims at transforming the HR functions into one

that is paperless, more flexible, and resource efficient. With the aid of IT and the

state-of- art e-commerce, HRM has become more effective through the use of e-

HRM technologies. e- HRM has the potential to change the way traditional HRM

functions are performed. For e.g. in the analysis and design of work, employees in

geographically dispersed locations can work together in virtual teams using

videos, email, etc. under the recruitment function, job openings can be posted

online, and candidates can apply for jobs online. On compensation and benefits

issues, e-HRM will make it easy for employees to review salary and bonus

information and seek information about bonus plans.

1

LITERATURE REVIEW

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT-

Human resource management is an approach to managing the human

resource of organizations, which recognizes the importance of an organization’s

human resource for contributing to its goals and objectives and the utilization of

several functions and activities to ensure that they are used effectively and fairly

for the benefit of the organization, and the employees. In simple words, HRM

means employing people, developing their capacities, utilizing, maintaining and

compensating their services in tune with the job and organizational requirement.

“Human Resource Management can be defined as a strategic and coherent

approach to the management of an organization’s most valued assets- the people

working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of

its objectives for sustainable competitive advantage.” – (Michael Armstrong and

Angela Baron)

HRM encompasses those activities designed to provide, motivate and

coordinate the human resource of an organization. The overall purpose of HRM is

to ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people. The

human resources of an organization represent its largest investment. According to

the government report, it shows that approximately 73 percent of national income

is used to compensate its employees. In addition to wages and salaries, an

organization often makes sizeable investment in their human resources by way of

recruiting, hiring, and training people to fulfill its need for well-trained and

experienced staff. We know that human beings are dynamic and flexible but at the

same time, they are also conforming and rigid, and sometimes unpredictable. But

in spite of all this, they are an asset, and never a liability. Products can be quickly

2

duplicated and services cheaply imitated- but not innovation, execution and

knowledge of employees. Therefore, employees are the last weapon of

competitive advantage in the global market today.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND e-HRM-

HRM has been developed in recent years as a broad encompassing field of

study that incorporates and synthesizes elements from personnel management,

organizational behavior and industrial and labour relatives, etc. thus it has become

a pervasive and influential approach to the management of employment in a wide

range of market economies. The goal of human resource management is to help

an organization to meet strategic goals by attracting, and maintaining employees

and also to manage them effectively.

E-HRM provides the information required to manage HR processes. These

may be core employee database and payroll systems but can be extended to

include systems such as- e-recruitment, e-learning, performance management and

reward. The system is web-based, enabling access to be online and at any time.

ELECTRONIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (e-

HRM)

E-HRM is a way of implementing HR strategies, policies, and practices in

organizations through a conscious and directed support of and/or with the full use

of web- technology- based channels. The word ‘implementing’ in this context has

a broad meaning, such as making something work, putting something into

practice, or having something realized. Therefore, e-HRM is a concept of – a way

of ‘doing’ HRM. It is typically defining as the use of computer systems,

3

interactive electronic media, and telecommunication networks to carry out the

functions of the human resource management department.

The e-HRM technology supports the HR function to comply with the HR needs of

the organization through web-technology based-channels. It provides a portal

which enables managers, employees and HR professionals to view, extract or alter

information which is necessary for managing the HR of the organization. The e-

HRM business solution is designed for HR professionals and executive managers

who need support to manage the work force, monitor changes and gather the

information needed in decision- making, at the same time it enables the

employees to participate in the process and keep track of relevant information.

With e-HRM, managers can access relevant information and data, conduct

analyses, make decisions, and communicate with others; and they can do this

without consulting an HR professional unless they choose to do so. For example,

a manager who wants to make a merit pay decision may access files containing

text, and video describing how best to make the decision. Then the manager can

access the data file containing information on his/her employees. With a click on

the mouse, the decision is recorded and other departments (such as finance) are

notified.

With e-HRM, employees can also control their own personal information.

They can update records when their situations change and make many decisions

own their own; they consult HR professionals only when they deem it necessary.

For example, employees can participate in a training program at home after

working hours. The key concepts of this technology are- self service for managers

(MSS) and self service for employees (ESS).

For the HR function, e-HR has the potential to affect both efficiency and

effectiveness. Efficiency can be affected by reducing cycle times for processing

paperwork, increasing data accuracy and reducing HR staff. Effectiveness can be

affected by improving the capabilities of both managers and employees to make

better, timelier decisions. Moreover, it is aimed to improve the HR system

4

particularly performance management and appraisal system. The automation of

the system can result in faster response and action on meeting organizational and

individual development needs. The impact of e-HR technology on the

performance management and appraisal system is expected to be dependent on

the way the technology is used. It is dependent on what and how the technology

supports the system and also on how the technology is constructed, this in turn is

affected by what the organization is trying to achieve with the technology, or in

other words, what the e-HR goals of the organization are.

OBJECTIVES-

The e-HRM is designed to achieve the following objectives-

1. To provide support for future planning and also for policy formulations;

2. To facilitate monitoring of human resources demand and supply

imbalances;

3. To automate employee related information;

4. To enable faster response to employee related services and faster HR

related decisions;

5. To offer data security and personal privacy.

SCOPE OF E-HRM-

A decisive step towards a paperless office;

Higher speed of retrieval and processing of data;

Collection of information as the basis for improving the strategic

orientation of HRM;

More consistent and higher accuracy of information/ report generated;

Fast response to answer queries;

More transparency in the system;

Significant reduction of administrative burden;

Integral support for the management of human resources and all other

basic and support processes within the company.

5

A more dynamic workflow in the business process, productivity and

employee satisfaction.

FEATURES-

the solution can be accessed and used in a web browser;

security of data, protected levels of access to individual modules, records

documents and their component parts;

user- friendly interface;

modularity;

access to archived records and documents;

Connectivity with the client’s existing information system (payroll

accounting, attendance registration, document systems, etc.);

Multi-language support.

E-HRM GOALS

As mentioned in the introduction, the investments to implement e-HRM

technologies are high. Organizations thus have reasons to implement these

technologies otherwise the investments would not be justifiable. What are

organizations trying to achieve with these technologies? What are the goals of the

implementation of e-HRM technologies?

Organizations strive for different goals to be achieved with the implementation of

e-HRM technologies. For recruitment, organizations are utilizing their own web

sites ever better because of the rising costs of web advertising and decreasing ease

of finding qualified applicants.

Some organizations strive to free HR professionals for more strategic tasks . HR

professionals are enabled to spent more time on strategic aspects of HRM when

are freed from administrative day-to-day activities. Other organizations strive for

a better overall financial performance.

6

A typical argument for the adoption of e-HRM technologies is: “Use e-HRM and

your organization can reduce process and administration costs. Fewer HR

professionals are needed because e- HRM eliminates the “HR middleman”.

Furthermore, e-HRM speeds up transaction processing, reduces information

errors, and improves the tracking and control of HR actions. Thus e-HRM

improves service delivery.

The four types of goals for organizations making steps towards e-HRM are

therefore:

Cost reduction / efficiency gains

Client service improvement / facilitating management and employees

Improving the strategic orientation of HRM

Allowing integration of a dispersed HR function (of different

organizational units or entire organizations)

7

1. Cost reduction / efficiency gains:

In the year 2002 a survey was conducted by Watson Wyatt (2006) to research the

impact of e-HRM technologies. Cost reduction was found to be a top metric in

formal business cases for the adoption of the e-HRM technology. As public

organizations have a monopoly position in providing their services to civilians

and organizations (public and private) they have the responsibility of meeting the

needs of these civilians and organizations (Rijn; 2001). It is therefore important to

act responsible with resources acquired from civilians and organizations; save

cost whenever possible and work as efficient as possible. However, the committee

Van Rijn (2001) concluded that reducing costs was not necessary because money,

in their opinion, was not a real problem. The problem was the shortage of

qualified employees on the labour market and therefore the public sector risked

not being able to provide the services demanded. The public sector therefore

should work more efficient to be able to more with less (more work with fewer

employees) and in this way guarantee service provision. Especially the staffing

and management activities should be reorganized (Rijn; 2001). It is therefore

expected that the adoption of e-HRM technologies at the Dutch MIA was driven

by the need of cost reduction and efficiency improvements of the HR system.

As mentioned before, cost reduction is often a reason for implementing e-HRM

technologies. Different authors (e.g. Ruël et al.; 2004, Watsonwyatt; 2006) have

suggested that the implementation of e-HRM are driven by cost reduction goals of

the HR system. There are two areas were costs could be reduced through the

implementation E-HRM technologies, namely

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of the HR department

Costs of administration

Reducing use and distribution of paper

Reducing costs of HR transactions

8

2. Client service improvement / facilitating managers and employees:

MSS and ESS are as mentioned earlier the key concepts of e-HRM. With MSS

and ESS, organizations are trying to meet the HRM needs of managers and

employees and at the same time support the organizational business objectives

(Keebler & Rhodes; 2002). The committee Van Rijn (2001) concluded that in

contemporary times were there is a shortage of qualified employees, the

employees became at least as important as the customers (civilians and

organizations) of the public sector. The committee suggested therefore that

employees should be kept satisfied and motivated and improving the service

provided by the HR department is mentioned as a part of the solution. It is

therefore expected that the adoption of e-HRM technologies at the Dutch MIA

was driven by need for client service improvements. Service is something that is

experienced by clients. To improve the service level to clients of the HR

department it is important to focus on the experience of the clients requiring

service of the HR department (Keebler & Rhodes; 2002). According to Keebler &

Rhodes (2002) the e-HRM technology should not only be designed to make the

HR processes as efficient and cheap as possible, but the e-HRM technology

should be made useable too, to increase the service experience of the managers

and employees. In this way a client service improvement of the HR system can be

achieved. To realize service improvements of the HR department it is important to

focus on two aspects, namely:

9

The design of the interface which supports interaction between the HR

department and the clients of the HR department

Content of services provided by the HR department

Usefulness of the services provided by the HR department

Personal character of services provided by the HR department

Availability and accessibility of the service provided by the HR

department

Timeliness of services provided by the HR department

3. Improving the strategic orientation of HRM:

The link with the implementation of e-HRM technology is according Lawler III &

Mohrman (2003) that the technology frees up time in the HR organization which

can be spent on the activities related to the strategic role of HR. The authors

divided the design and planning of organizational development further in:

HR planning activities: The forecasting of HR needs and the projected

matching individuals with expected job vacancies (adapted from Daft;

2000).

Organizational development activities: The application of activities for

improving

organizational performance through increasing its ability to cope with

environmental changes, improve internal relationships, increasing

problem solving capabilities and the full use of human potential.

10

Organizational design activities: Defining the set of formal tasks assigned

to individuals and departments, formal reporting relationships (including

lines of authority, de responsibility, number of hierarchical levels, span of

managers’ control), and the design of systems to ensure effective

coordination of employees across departments.

Strategic planning activities: Deciding about action steps how to attain

organizational goals.

4. Allowing integration of HR functions:

According to Ruël et al. (2004), the need for integration of the HR function can be

an e-HRM goal. Although, the authors found this goal within international

organizations it is expected that this e-HRM goal also can be found within the

public sector as the adoption of a Shared Service Centre HRM is initiated by the

Dutch Ministries. The committee Van Rijn (2001) concluded that the different HR

functions of the different parts of the public sector should be integrated into a

single Shared Service Centre HRM. Another suggestion made by the committee

was outsourcing parts of the HR function to the private sector. IT should enable

the integration of the dispersed HR function and therefore could be HRM goal for

the adoption of e-HRM technologies within the Dutch MIA. Lepak & Snell

(1998) state that IT can be of support when the HR function is to be integrated, as

different parts of the HR functions are provided by different parties (managers,

employees, HR professionals or even other organizations). There are however two

conditions for the integration of the HR function These conditions were used to

measure the intention of the organization to integrate the dispersed HR functions

and are:

Standardization of the HR function: Equalize the content of the

HRprocesses of different organizations (public or / and private)

Harmonization of dispersed HR functions: Enable cooperation

of the HR function of different organizations (public or / and

private.

11

TYPES OF E-HRM-

E-HRM is not a specific stage in the development of HRM, but a choice for an

approach to HRM.

The 3 tiers of e-HRM are-

1. Operational e-HRM-: It is concerned with the basic HR activities in the

administrative area like payroll, employee personal data, etc. The

operational type of HRM provides the choice between asking employees to

keep their own personal data up-to-date through an HR website or to have

an administrative force in place to do this.

2. Relational e-HRM-: It is concerned with supportive business processes

such as recruiting and selection of new personnel, training, performance

management and appraisal, and rewards. For relational HRM there is the

choice between supporting recruitment and selection through a web-based

application forms and letters, etc.

12

3 tiers of e-HRM

Operational e-HRM

Relational e-HRM

Transformational e-HRM

3. Transformational e-HRM-: It is concerned with strategic HR activities

such as organizational change processes, strategic competence management,

strategic knowledge management, etc. In transformational HRM, it is

possible to create a change ready workforce through an integrated set of

web- based tools that enables the workforce to develop in line with the

company’s strategic choices.

FUNCTIONS OF E-HRM

a) Resource Management:

Storage of applicants details;

Retrieval and amendment of those details;

Matching CVs to person specifications for short listing purposes;

Link with internet recruiting processes;

Letter writing, acknowledgements, invitations to interview, offers and

rejections;

Management reports, analysis of response by media and monitoring

recruitment costs;

Evaluating applicants and employees;

Selecting placing, promoting, terminating and transferring employees;

Analyzing and designing jobs.

b) Compensation and Reward Management:

Analyze and report on average pay or pay distribution by jog, grade, age

or length of service;

Assist in job evaluation;

Forecast future payroll costs on the basis of assumptions about members,

promotions and pay levels;

13

Administer pay reviews, producing review forms, analyzing proposals

against the budgets

and calculating the cost of performance related pay awards in accordance

with different assumptions about amounts and the distribution of awards

within a budget;

Provide information to line managers which will guide them to do their

pay decisions;

Generate instructions to adjust pay as well as letters to individuals

informing them of their increases;

Managing employee wage and benefit plans.

c) Performance Management

Generating forms;

Analyzing and reporting on the result of performance reviews showing the

distribution of

people with different degrees of potential or performing at different levels;

Highlighting individuals with particular skills or special promise;

Writing role definitions;

Generating employee opinion surveys online.

d) Training and Development:

Training and developing employees;

Storing e-learning modules on the database which enables trainers to

select an appropriate module or mix of modules to meet a specified

learning need;

Analyzing the training recommendations contained in performance review

reports to identify collective and individual training needs;

Identifying suitable training courses to meet training needs;

14

Making arrangements for off the job courses;

Informing employees about the arrangements for courses;

Handling correspondence about training courses;

Storing data on standard or individually tailored induction, continuation or

development

training programmes, including syllabus, routings, responsibilities for

giving training, test procedures and progress reporting;

Generating instructions and notes for guidance for all concerned with

providing or undergoing on-the-job training programmes;

Storing progress reports and monitoring achievements against training

objectives;

Producing reports summarizing current and projected training activities

and calculating the output of training programmes;

Recording and monitoring training expenditure against budget.

e) Employee Relations:

Promoting employer brand;

Providing high standards of safety and welfare facilities to employees

through easy accessible e-HR solutions;

Frame employment policies online;

Provide a network of internal communication;

Consultation and negotiation facilities for employees.

15

E-HR ACTIVITIES

e- recruitment

e- selection

e-training

e-performance management

e-compensation

1) E-Recruitment: Recruiting the right person for the right job is the most

critical aspect of human resource management. Starting with high caliber people

is the first step. Only then can this be followed by effective performance

management and employee development.

E-recruitment simplifies this process by providing a sophisticated web-

based solution that manages the process of recruitment from start to finish. It is

also known as ‘online recruitment’. E-recruitment is a tool for many employers to

search for job candidates and for applicants to look for job. It can be either a job

website like- naukri.com, or the organization’s corporate website or its own

intranet. Many big and small organizations are using internet as a source of

recruitment.

Using a job centric design with multiple position linkage provides features

as job advert generation, online applications, applicant matching, interview

question database and letter of appointment generation. The recruitment monitor

shows at a glance the status of organizational recruitment and provides reports

that compare candidate suitably to the job profile. The candidates can visit the

sites, post resume, and the prospective employees can draw the resume depending

upon their requirements.

16

There are two kinds of e-recruitment that an organization can use, they

are-

Job Portals: i.e. posting the position with the job description and the job

specification on the job portal and also searching for the suitable resumes

posted on the site corresponding to the opening in the organization. 

Companies can have an online recruitment/ application section in their

own website, where the job seekers can submit their resumes in to the

database of the organization for consideration in future, as and when the

roles become available.

Resume Scanners: it is one major benefit provided by job portals to the

organizations. It enables the employees to screen and filter the resume

through pre-defined criteria’s and requirements (skills, qualifications,

experience, payroll, etc.) of the job. Job sites provide a 24*7 access to the

database of the resumes to the employees facilitating the just-in-time

hiring by the organizations. Also jobs can be posted on the sites almost

immediately and is also cheaper than advertising in the employment

newspaper. E-recruitment helps the organizations to automate the

recruitment process, save their time and costs on recruitment.

Advantages-

● Cost efficient: Advertisements in internet when compared to

newspaper, magazines, and employment agencies is considerably cheap.

● Time saving device: Time to deliver; to communicate is minimized by

e-recruitment. Response is direct and immediate without any delay.

17

● Widens the search:  It provides global reach that also within a fraction

of second. The process supports the definition of recruitment by creating a

vast pool of potential candidates.

● Standardization: The information of the candidates is collected in a

standard format. Besides collecting the data it also consolidates

information received from various sources.

● Reservoir: It acts as the reservoir of information. From the job profile

to candidate profile is available along with past applicant data.

● Lessen paper work: As the data collection, filing, administrative work

are done electronically thus paper work or documentation has been

lessened.

Disadvantages:

● Vast pool of applicants: This benefits the Organizations as well as it is

disadvantage to them also, because the huge database cannot be scanned in

depth. Either first few candidates are called for interview or the resumes

are screened based on some key words. On the other hand applicants also

face global competition.

● Non-serious applicants: Lot of applicants forward their resumes just to

know their market value. As personally the candidates are not checked

thus whether they are serious is not known. At the time of interview the

recruiter might realize that the candidate is not serious in leaving the

current job. But by that time some serious candidates might have been

rejected. 

18

● Disclosure of information: Candidates profile and company details are

available to public. The applicants do not want their employer to know

that they are looking for a change. Phone number, address information

leads to many security problems

2. E- Selection:

E-selection includes such activities as 800 number scheduling, web based testing, face

to face interviewing and job offering.

The purposes of e-selection are mainly three:

a. Achieving cost reduction.

b. Maximum utilization of human capital

c. Sustainability.

Cost reduction is the main objective and infact, it is mainly for cost saving that

organization switch over to e-selection from conventional selection process. E-

selection help cost reduction in several ways. Loss rates between events in the

selection process are minimized, administrative cost involved in the selection process

are reduced and cost of sourcing candidates into the employment process become less.

The second option of e-selection is to achieve maximum utilization of human capital.

this is being achieved through high retention rates, increase percentage of candidates

who meet employment and improved productivity after the new hires.

Sustainability is the last objective of e-selection. Sustainability refer to the

organization’s ability and willingness to maintain the e-enabled system and also

progressively evolve the system to satisfy changing requirements. Sustainability is

necessary to ensure that the business continues to reap ongoing benefits from e-

enabled system.

19

3. E-performance management:

Performance management is another area which has been e based. The use of

technology in performance management tends to increase productivity, in hence

competitiveness and motivate employees as indicates. This is possible through two

ways:

1. Technology may facilitate measuring an individual’s performance via computer

monitoring activities.

2. Technology become a tool to facilitates the process of written reviews or

generating performance feedback.

Ex here include multi-rater appraising those supervisors or team members generates

online, as well as of the shelf appraisal software packages that actually construct an

evaluation for a manager. This particulars technological approach occurs more often

in the context of jobs. This involves personal judgment and high discretion.

Technology can be applied in performance management in several ways. In the first

place, routine or low discretion jobs can be subject to computerized performance

monitoring (CPM) system that helps generate performance data. Second, software are

available that help generate appraisal forms and their accompanying narrative.

Third, performance management system can be interrogated with an overall enterprise

resource planning(ERP) software system. This approach helps HR professionals to

identify high performers, spot skill and competency gaps and to analyze pay relative

to performance. With this information being available, HR manager can plan for

training, coaching and education.

Forth, firm internets and internet may also help performance management process.

Fifth, stand-alone software packages are a great help in performance management

system.

20

Some of these packages are relatively inexpensive and easy to use. The greatest

benefits of appraisal software are the elimination of paper work and simplification of

the logistics for evaluators, workers and administrators. Software packages facilitate

the automation of the tedious parts of evaluation, enabling manager to focus on

contents of the evaluation process rather than on forms. In addition, some

programmes allow users to click buttons on screen for each rating and simultaneously

create sentences and paragraphs of text. Appraisal software may also include a

coaching utility that provides information to evaluators about coaching individuals

they evaluate.

Some packages content psychometric features. Psychometric features help check

evaluators from inflating ratings. Such built in checks boost robustness and accuracy

of ratings.

4. E-learing

E learning refers to the use of internet or an organizational internet to conduct training

online. E-learning is becoming increasingly popular b’coz of the large no of

employees, who need training. Take Wipro, for ex, out of its 17500 employees, 2500

are on site15000 employees are in of shore centers at Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai,

pune and Delhi. How to organize training for all these? Wipro also has a policy of

subjecting any employee for a 2 week training every year. E-learning helps Wipro

considerably. Similarly, at Satyam nearly 80% of the 9000 employees are logged into

the in-house. Infosys has almost 10% of its total training through e-learning.

E-learning has come a long way from its early days when it was used extensively for

technical education such as learning new language and familiarization with new

technologies. Today firms, are introducing soft skill modules as well. Satyam uses e-

learning modules on management provide by Harvard manage mentor plus. Satyam

has even tied up with universities 21a consortium of 16in international university and

Thomson learning- for an online mba.

21

Requisites for e-learning:

1. Sufficient top management support and funding needs to be committed to

develop and implement e-learning.

2. Managers and HR professionals need to be ‘retrained’ to accept the idea the

training is being decentralized and individualized.

3. Current training methods are not adequately meeting org training needs.

4. Potential learners and adequately computer literate and have ready access to

computers and the internet.

5. Sufficient no of learners exist and many of them are self motivated to direct their

own learning.

22

Advantages and disadvantages of e-learning

Advantages Disadvantages

1. It is self paced. Trainees can proceed

On their own time

1. May cause trainee anxiety

2. It is interactive, tapping multiple

Trainee senses

2. Not all trainees may be ready for e-

Learning

3. Allows for consistency in the delivery of

training

3. Not all trainees may have easy and

uninterrupted access to computer

4. Enables scoring of services/assess-

mints and the appropriate feedback

4. Not appropriate for all training

content ( e.g. leadership, cultural

changes)

5. Incorporates built in guidance and

Help for trainees to use when needed

5. Requires significantly upfront cost and

investment

6. It is relatively easy for trainers to

update content

6. No significantly greater learning evidenced in

research studies

7. Can be used to enhance instructor led

training

7. Requires significant top management

support to be successful

Success factors:

Cultural changes have taken place about how training and learning happens

and is delivered.

E-learning is closely aligned to the needs of the business.

E-learning is closely “blended” with other types of training such as classrooms

activities and is not used to wholly replace other activities.

Learning needs that drive the technology rather than the other way around

E-learning has ongoing support from a senior level and is marketed effectively

throughout the organization.

23

A range of people with different skills are involved, including expert trainers,

facilitators, champions of e-learning and specialist web and graphic designers.

6. E-compensation

E-compensation represent a web – enabled approach to an array of compensation

tools that enabled an organization to gather, store, manipulate, analyze, utilized, and

distribute compensation data and information. Using an internet browser, the internet

and the worldwide web, individuals access electronically distributed compensation

software, data bases, and analytic tools from anywhere- their office, their home, on

vacation and on the other side of the globe.

HR professionals are able to gain access to knowledge management databases, best

practices and competitive information. Web- enable tools also enhance HR

professionals ability to distribute this key information and compensation metrics to

employees and managers for critical decision making. In addition, web – based tools

help increase HR managers productivity through automating information access and

distribution of transactional compensation administration responsibilities to line

managers and employees.

BENEFITS OF E-HRM

24

The main benefits of e-HRM are an increase of quality and pace, because the

existing administrative processes were slow and inefficient conditional upon

mainly paper-based processes.

a) Standardization: By standardizing the system used within the group and

by providing employees with direct access to records, particularly leave

records, the company can achieve a significant reduction in employee

queries and reduce the need for HR to undertake data entry of employee

records.

b) Ease of recruitment, selection and assessment: e-Recruitment can be

one of HR’s nightmares. With e-recruitment the company gets an

additional possibility besides the normal application by paper to recruit

people over the web in an online-application process. Although this, and

like processes, will always need significant human intervention. E-HR

systems can streamline the process and reduce errors.

c) Ease of administering employee records: Whether be it leaves, benefits,

personal details, accident and discipline reports, etc., it is generally

accepted that once everyone can overcome the initial it phobia, HR and

employees will experience fewer headaches and efficiency will rapidly

increase.

d) Reductions to cost, time and labour: Reduced duplication, reduced time

spent fixing errors, reduced labour costs through ESS, reduced or no hard-

copy entry. Not only manpower can be saved, the processing time can also

be shortened. With this e-HRM reaches the prime objective of cost

effectiveness.

25

e) Access to ESS training enrolment and self development: e-Training can

enable employees to search for and enroll in training programmes on-line

and validating course availability. This can streamline the training

administration process enabling employees to access computer based

training. Cost and pace can be individualized as well.

f) Cost and ESS: ESS reduced the workload of HR department by more

than 50%, for instance in the traditional method the employee has to type

in a formal leave application get approved from his/her direct boss who

will send it to the HR department for further approval which would

consume lot of time to be processed. On the other hand, with e-leave, the

employee needs only to log in and make his/her leave application and

his/her boss will be alerted to approve. Upon approval the leave balance is

automatically updated and this is just one aspect.

g) Location and timeliness: With ESS, the employee could log in online

anywhere and anytime without being in the office and without the leave

card could be sitting at the boss’ table for a few days, lost or buried.

26

ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTING E-HRM-

Employees related –

(a) Fear of the new technology developments in organization

(b) Acceptance of the new technology

(c) Acquired knowledge and skills

(d) Training required

One of the major hurdles which the HR departments need to cross is the

changing technological environment. It is essential that the employees

should be fully aware and comfortable with the fact of introduction of a

new technology. The important issue in the new technology development

would be the development of a shared culture where the employees learn

to embrace the change amicably. Thus, the HR professionals need to

work with the technical staff and help the employees cope up with the

change. Another issue is that employees are scared of new developments

and they may oppose to the new technology, as they think their

performance evaluation and assessment depend on the successful

implementation of such technology. Therefore, the superiors need to

groom their subordinates to get comfortable with the imminent

technological advances. The managers must take care as to train the

employees in the art of conducting business over the net.

27

Unions – In PSUs and government organizations, unions play an active

role, from taking decisions, forming strategies, and to implementing some

technology; union’s decisions are taken into account on behalf of the

employees. In case of e-HRM since it’s a new web-based technology,

employees may not be comfortable in using this new technology. So the

union may oppose in implementing of this new technology.

Privacy – It is one of the growing concerns about information privacy in

organizations nowadays. Organization may use e-HRM to collect, store,

and disseminate data about job applicants and employees. These data are

used to enhance HR decisions, maintain employee records, and streamline

HR processes, including recruitment, selection, training, performance

management, compensation, etc.

28

IMPLEMENTATION OF E-HRM-

There are five phases in the implementation of the e-HRM business solution-

29

Phases of e-HRM

1. Analysis (Infrastructure) - In the first phase, a company (software

developer) analyzes the existing infrastructure with regard to quantity of

data and classification of business activities.

2. Business processes in the company- After the existing processes have

been analyzed, the options for automating these processes in the client's

environment are proposed. Finally a project plan is developed based on the

model of the processes identified.

3. Implementation- After a fundamental analysis of the processes in the

work team, individual modules is deployed in the client's environment.

With modular design a gradual implementation is possible, and company

specific functionalities are discussed with the client and build upon

request.

4. Implementation and training- A complete knowledge of the components

of the solution is a key factor for successful implementation. The entire

team of project managers, information technology professionals and

human resource specialist are involved in user training and

implementation.

5. Maintenance- A maintenance contract typically includes:

Technical support experts available by phone, through e-mail or on

site

Adaption of existing modules or development of new ones

Application of software adjustment to changes in the system

environment or operating system

Functionality improvement and software upgrades in the form of

new versions

Consultation about further development of the system.

30

COMPANIES ALREADY IMPLEMENTED e-HRM-

1) Ford Motor Company-Ford is an American Multinational corporation based

in Dearborn, Michigan. It was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. In

addition to Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo cars in

Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan. It is currently the second largest

automaker in the US and the fourth largest in the world based on number of

vehicles sold annually. By the end of 2009, it was the third largest automaker in

Europe. It has employee strength of about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants

and facilities worldwide. It has major manufacturing operations in Canada,

Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Australia, Argentina, and

several other countries.

In 1988, Ford India originally an American company entered the Indian

market with its Ford Escort. Ford Motor India Pvt.Ltd is owned by the Ford

Motor Company in India with its headquarters in located Chengalpattu in

Tamilnadu. Currently it is the eight largest car manufacturers in India.

31

Ford Motor Company IBM

ABN-AMRO Dow Chemicals

2) IBM- International Business Machines is a multinational computer,

technology and IT consulting corporation. Its headquarter is in Armonk, North

Castle, New York, US. It is the fourth largest technology company and the

second most valuable by global brand. It manufactures and sells computer

hardware and software, and offers infrastructure services, hosting services,

and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to

nanotechnology. With employee strength of 400,000 employees worldwide, it

is the second largest by market capitalization and the second most profitable

information technology and service employer in the world. It has eight

research laboratories worldwide. The company has scientists, engineers,

consultants, and sales professionals in over 200 countries.

IBM employees have earned five Nobel Prizes, four Turing Awards, nine

National Medals of Technology, and five National Medals of Science. As a

chip maker, it has been among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales

Leaders in past years.

3) ABN-AMRO- ABN-AMRO Bank is a Dutch bank with its headquarters in

Amsterdam. In 1991, ABN-AMRO was created as a merger between

Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN) and Amsterdam and Rotterdam Bank

(AMRO). In 2007 the bank was acquired, in what was at that time the biggest

bank takeover in history, by a association made up of the Royal Bank of

Scotland Group, Fortis bank and Banco Santander, of which the first two got

into serious trouble as a result of the Financial crisis of 2007–2010. Prior to

acquisition by the associations in 2007, ABN AMRO was the largest bank in

the Netherlands and eight largest banks in Europe by assets. At the same time,

it was placed at number 15th in the list of world’s biggest banks and it had

operations in 63 countries, with over 110,000 employees, by a magazine, The

Banker. ABN AMRO offers unparalleled suite of client services in India. By

leveraging its global reach and drawing on the expertise of its team of

research, sales and trading, equity capital market and M&A advisory

professionals, ABN AMRO has led many of the biggest and most innovative

32

landmark transactions in India for its corporate and Institutional clients. In

addition they offer a broad range of transaction banking products, fixed

income and foreign exchange products and services including sales and

trading, fixed income origination, derivatives, structured lending and

commodity financing.

4) DOW CHEMICALS- it is an American multinational corporation,

headquarter in Midland, Michigan. In 2007, it is the second largest chemical

manufacturer in the world by revenue, and as of February 2009, it was the

third largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization. Dow

chemical is a provider of plastics, chemicals, and agricultural products with

presence in more than 175 countries and employing 46,000 people worldwide.

It was founded in 1897 by Canadian- born chemist Herbert Henry Dow. It is a

member of the American Chemistry Council. Human Resources at Dow is

focused on unleashing the power of the human element with award-winning

people processes and programs designed to not only attract, but develop,

reward and retain diverse talents in the places where they do business. Dow’s

presence in India began in 1957 with the Polychem Limited joint venture.

Dow India has employee strength of 900 employees. Over the last few years,

the Company has strengthened its market franchise in India by creating

Centers of Excellence. These critical commercial and technical resources

improve Dow India’s ability to serve the market while providing a strategic

advantage for the Company globally.

33

CONCLUSION

Information Technology has played an important role in HRM practices. E-HRM

is the application of IT for HR practices which enables easy interactions within

employee and employers. It stores information regarding payroll, employee

personal data, performance management, training, recruitment and strategic

orientation.

 

It decreases the paperwork substantially and allows easy access to voluminous

data. The employee can also keep track of his/her achievements without having to

go through litigious procedures. It uses intranet or other web technology channels.

It can also be used for implementation of different HR strategies. The

authorization of different HR functions can be distributed through E-HRM.

34

Bibliography

Books:

Aswathappa K (2008), human resource management

Mc Graw- Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi

Magazine:

Wright, P, Dyer, L (2000)- people in the e- Business:

New challenges new solutions.

Le, Tart,J (1997). Technology frees HRs, time for a change

HR Magazine-12

WEB-

www.indianmba.com

www.src.si

35