Use of software in HR management

Without a doubt, the human resources (HR) department is highly critical for a organisation. Its many functions serve as a backbone for the company by providing everything---  from skilled and talented labour to management training services, employee enrichment opportunities and more. Since labour is the single largest expense for most service based organisations, human resources help companies to derive the greatest value from this important asset. In order to function optimally, however, human resource departments must have the right tools and resources in place. HR department can be automated and made more productive with the aid of technology.  There are many software programmes that can be utilised to improve the productivity of employees and managers and the results of their efforts.
Selection and recruitment
There is Human Resources Information System (HRIS) which is adopted mostly by large companies but yet to be valued by small businesses. HRIS softwares are highly detailed and they are designed to enhance and speed up the efforts of HR employees in a number of ways. For instance, an HRIS  can assist with the recruitment process by simplifying the tasks such as collecting resumes, reviewing candidate information and more.
Maintaining compliance
HRIS can largely reduce human oversights and errors in screening HR related compliances. There are software programmes that are designed to review compliance with specific rules and regulations—this makes it easier to ensure that a company is in compliance with laws and regulations, which can ultimately improve company reputation and assist in avoiding penalties.
On the other hand, local companies even which are exporting to global market are somewhat doubtful of the value addition of software usage in HR related work. An expat manager working in a large readymade garments company in Bangladesh explained, “Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are not very enthused about purchasing software or updating them. Most organisations are not reaping the benefits of technology available today”.
Payroll management
Towards the middle of the month, HR and accounts start working for the salary disbursement procedure with some common information such as basic salary, provident fund, gross salary, salary cutting issues, grievance handling procedure etc. All of these tasks can be easily automated. For documentation both HR and accounts departments can have same filing materials. Companies can do away with one common software for both HR and accounts.
Another common problem that arises in companies is that HR department does not treat database of former employees with importance. Usually organisations only emphasise information about present employees but it is very important to close the files of former employees, otherwise in long term companies may face serious problems. Also, for financial and legal clearance purposes, HR and accounts need to properly manage files of the  former employees. All of these clerical jobs can be quickly done by the use of software.
HR and accounts have some common policies which can be implemented in the software too. Companies often see HR and accounts as less important departments as they do not bring new businesses. Hence reducing cost and increasing productivity in these departments should be a priority for companies. That can be done only through the use of software. According to Israt Zaman, HR and accounts automation project manager at a local FMCG company, ‘To convince management committee and to implement automation related change, employees need to work for months. Even after implementation, results come in after gradually. Hence, employees who want to take up this challenge should look at this with a long-term perspective.’
For the managerial decisions, most companies in the West now use advanced analytics. Scenario in Bangladesh is not very bright in this area. We need to play the long-term game starting out with basic automation in departments such as HR and a,ccounts to using software to grow market share. Every organisation should evaluate which tasks and roles they can automate and then solve it through using the readily available software such as Human Resource Accounts Payroll System.
The writer is an HR executive
working at a private orgnisation,
she can be reached at
tabassumnabila64@gmail.com