Human Resources Management Web Site

HUMAN RESOURCES Management WEB SITE ANALYSIS

Society for Human Resources Management:

Web Site Analysis

Society for Human Resources Management:

Web Site Analysis

In reviewing the online website for the Society for Human Resources Management, certain aspects of the site and its features immediately jump out as being relevant and inviting toward its viewers, while other features fall short. The SHRM website is designed around the association's devotion to human resource management noting its representation of more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, with an additional 575 affiliated chapters found within the United States, China and India.

The site is structured in a manner that seeks to provide the answers to the most frequently asked HR questions, along with shedding light on relevant HR issues that have found themselves in the media or in high notoriety in terms of public opinion. It is in this aspect of the website's focus that both the highlights and lowlights of the website's physical structure come highly into play. In aiming to provide so much information to users who access its site, SHRM is faced to deal with a double-edged-sword in terms of providing immense amounts of information to the public in a manner that can be clustered and confusing at times in terms of navigation.

The overall look and feel of the website is one that is welcoming to new viewers, but also overwhelming. In viewing the site, it is apparent that the team behind the organization's web content has aimed to include any and all information that may be relevant to viewers looking for answers to their HR questions. However, with ten headings -- listed in different colors -- opening up to scores of sub-headings, a news ticker, log-in application, featured stories and videos, most popular content section, and sponsored links, all surrounded by a virtual border of advertisements, the site structure itself proves significantly overwhelming, especially for a first-time viewer. In assessing the overwhelming feeling felt by the first-time viewer, it seems apparent that the target audience for this website is truly the SHRM member, who has the capacity to log into the site, and will hopefully find a more streamlined structure within the "golden gate" of the member-login box.

The SHRM website gives its viewer content but does not give much structure. In viewing the homepage specifically, the eye jumps back and forth all over the page, rather than skimming the information, which should be presented in a more cohesive manner to ensure that the material presented is taken in by the viewer at even a minimal level. The SHRM website will likely prove a noteworthy addition to any HR professional's resource list, but time will be needed in order to most accurately navigate the site itself. It is clear that all the information an HR professional could want is located within the pages provided by the SHRM website, the problem is figuring out where to begin clicking.