RIORDAN HR System Design

Riordan Manufacturing: Determining the needs of the HR system

Riordan Manufacturing's success has been driven by the intelligence and resourcefulness of its employees. Constructing an effective HR system to capitalize upon its human intelligence and resources is essential. Riordan is a globally-based organization, which means that an integrated HR system can be difficult to construct. Using IT to unify HR best practices and philosophy can enable Riordan to thrive and grow.

When determining the needs of the HR system, the overall conception of how HR is to relate to the rest of the organization must be considered. For example, one approach to fostering workplace commitment is a 'commitment-based' model which focuses on team-based activities. The stress in this model is upon "work design, rewards, and appraisal practices [that] signal the importance of shared/team activities" and using the HR system "to share knowledge and distribute information" (Human resource systems and helping in organizations: A relational perspective, 2013, AOM). In such workplaces, the system used by HR must accommodate team-based performance reviews and the training required to foster such teamwork. In more transactional workplaces which emphasize "short-term calculative exchanges leading to identifiable task outputs" IT enables workers to 'check in' to see what rewards they may gain from working overtime or a longstanding duration at the company (Human resource systems and helping in organizations: A relational perspective, 2013, AOM).

Of course, over the course of its lifespan, Riordan may deploy many varieties of performance review and reward systems and HR may need to accommodate a wide variety of strategic needs. The IT system should thus be flexible enough to be able to change with shifts in company policy, yet relatively straightforward and comprehensible to the members of HR, employees, and managers alike when...

Still, regardless of the overall approach of the organization in terms of its philosophy to HR, all HR IT infrastructures require certain basic functions and components to perform. At minimum, payroll, employee data, attendance, and other basic functions should be integrated in the design of the system. Particularly since Riordan Manufacturing is such a large corporation, cohesion of these features in a systematic faction is essential, so there is no confusion of how and what overseas employees should be paid and how their work should be valued. For lower-level and hourly workers, in most IT applications, "there are a variety of ways time data can be collected. The easiest is a simple online employee timesheet. The employee simply inputs the hours they worked and submits the information. Some web-based systems act as time clocks where employees log in, clock in for the day, out for lunch, and so on. The third option may involve the actual use of physical time clocks, which integrates with a software application and your HR and Payroll applications" (Simple steps to selecting HR software, 2013, KPA: 3).
Other components of HR which may be integrated into the system include recruitment and training, such as the employee's completion of various steps required for orientation and training. Ideally, allowing for some employee self-management of this component can take some of the burden off of HR, such as giving employees the ability to sign up for classes using an "employee Self-Service (ESS) system. In this case, employees may be able to view training details or enroll in classes online" (Simple steps to selecting HR software, 2013, KPA: 3). Benefits packages should also be employee-accessible to enable employees to easily determine how many vacation and sick days they have, as well as retirement options. "Benefits Open Enrollment products are sometimes included with ESS applications or sold separately. In either case, they provide the basic…