you will consider the HR function you chose in Phase I, and recommend the type of HRIS that you believe would be the most efficient for addressing this function.

Business Assessment

Name

Institution

Business Assessment

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is an online solution that an organization can use to perform different process such as tracking data, data entry, and other activities related to management and payroll. Using this system, an organization is able to plan and manage its human resources costs effectively and minimize the amount of resources used to control them (Torres-Coronas & Arias-Oliva, 2009).The next sections provide a thorough assessment Gladwell Grocery Store focusing on issues facing the HR manager and management of employees. The analysis includes a discussion of key HR functions and explains the reasons for adopting HRIS.

Assessment the current situation for the company

From the case scenario, it is evident that Tom Bell, the HR manager of Gladwell Grocery Store is faced with many issues from not having an HRIS. To start with, the HR is required to make weekly visits to all the ten stores to oversee different activities such as recruiting, scheduling, and responding to employee issues. Travelling on a weekly basis means that the overall cost of operation for the business is likely to increase due to extra costs such as gasoline costs. This eventually reduces the level of profits that the business generates. The fact that Bell uses Excel spreadsheet to prepare payroll and print them using a computer implies that a lot of time is needed to complete the entire process. In an attempt to address some of these issues, Bell found it was necessary to hire an independent HR consultant.

Business assessment for the company

As mentioned by Lawler & Boudreau (2009), Human Resource Management (HRM) is a strategic function that mostly entails managing employees in the place of work. There is no doubt that HRM plays an important role towards that success of many companies especially that undertake their operations on a global scale. From the case scenario, Gladwell Grocery Store has over 400 employees within its ten locations in upstate New York. Based on the number of employees, region of operation, and its internal systems of control, it can be concluded that Gladwell Grocery Store is a medium-sized business operating in the retail industry. Considering the fact that most of the employees are part time, it is very likely that the business experiences a high turnover rate forcing the HR manager to undertake frequent recruitment and hiring. For small businesses such as Gladwell Grocery Store, it is not always easy to attract skilled and knowledgeable personnel. This is because the highly skilled and experienced people prefer to work for large firms where the level of compensation is likely to be high.

Key HR functions beneficial to the organization

HR functions are beneficial to any organization. Some of the functions that can be beneficial to Gladwell Grocery Store include human resources administration, training and development, performance appraisals, and compensation and benefits. However, there is a great need to place much emphasis on the administration of human resources. According to Lawler & Boudreau (2009), the function is critical to the success of employees as well as the business. Effective human resource administrators ensure that organizations comply with different regulations and find ways of keeping employees engaged and motivated. The rate of turnover at Gladwell Grocery Store is likely to go down when employees are motivated through different ways such as rewards and attractive compensation. By adopting an HRIS, the business will find it easier in carrying on with the human resources administration function. In line with the administrative management theory, organizational managers can also enhance the efficiency of the business through effective planning and control of human resources.

How the company would benefit from adopting an HRIS

Adopting the HRIS would benefit Gladwell Grocery Store in the following ways. First, the HRIS will enhance the organization’s ability in managing and controlling human resources. For instance, the HR manager will no longer be required to spend a lot of time visiting all the stores to monitor various activities because the system allows for online monitoring. As mentioned by Jahan (2014), adopting HRIS will improve the way in which the business collects and stores different type of employee data such as daily time record and contract start and end dates. The system would also improve Gladwell’s way of preparing and producing different types of reports.

References

Jahan, S. (2014). Human resources information system (HRIS): A theoretical perspective.

Journal of Human Resources and Sustainability Studies, 2(1): 33-39.

Lawler, E. E. & Boudreau, J. W. (2009). Achieving excellence in human resources management: An assessment of human resource functions. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Business Books.

Torres-Coronas, T., & Arias-Oliva, M. (2009). Encyclopedia of human resources information systems: Challenges in e-HRM. Hershey: Information Science Reference.