58% of HR professionals plan to invest in HR-related technology by December, according to research

Intranet self-service systems (e-HR) are top of the technology wish list for personnel departments, according to research released today from Northgate Information Solutions*.

The survey of 250 HR professionals, carried out by independent market research agency Vanson Bourne, showed that of the companies not already using each specific technology, 23% intend to invest in e-HR systems, 21% in Internet recruitment and 13% in ERP by the end of 2004. e-HR is a particularly popular choice for companies with over 7000 employees, with 44% of organisations this size planning to invest in 2004. Intranet self-service systems are often implemented by larger companies that are keen to cut down on time-consuming and admin-intensive HR tasks such as processing holiday requests and other employee enquiries.

As human resources is recognised as becoming a more and more strategic role, it’s essential that companies invest in technology which allows HR managers and directors to pull away from the administrative burden traditionally associated with the job, said Lesley Garside, operations manager for the HRS division at Northgate Information Solutions. The less time personnel spends on approving holiday requests and amending personal details, the more it can spend on specialist HR jobs, such as training and development.

Additionally, with growing numbers of Internet users now applying for jobs online, businesses can’t afford to ignore web recruitment systems.

e-HR systems, currently being used by 26% of companies surveyed, allow employees to ’serve themselves’, taking highly intensive administrative tasks out of the hands of the HR department. For example, updating personal details, making holiday requests, training enrolment and benefits management can all be catered for via employee self-service systems. Manager self-service systems provide managers with access to key HR information on team members via the desktop, so they can see relevant information at a glance. Reporting functions available such as salary modelling, which allows managers to see the effect of their team’s pay rises, and competency analysis, that reveals skills gaps within a particular business unit, empower line managers to carry out on-the-spot strategic analysis.

* Northgate Information Solutions commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey 250 heads of UK HR departments in the UK, ranging from companies with 200 to
7000 employees.