HRIM Professional and Skill Sets

One of the visitors to my blog wanted to have an understanding on the skills for a good HRIM professional. In this blog article I have made an attempt to clearly define the skill sets for an HRIM professional.

Human Resource Information Management does not necessarily mean that it is about HR systems. The scope of this domain goes well beyond systems to also cover the area of information management (with or without systems). For example, when HR introduces a new employee reward program, the issues an HRIM professional should look at are

1. How data for eligibility of an employee for the reward program is defined (information source, reliability, and consistency has to be ascertained)
2. Who can nominate the employee for the reward program (how to define the ‘who’ part; information source for the same)
3. How to access the nominated employees list (emails; other systems). The focus, here is, again on information source and sustained process
4. Who communicates the information for reward administration? Again, the focus here is on information management and sustained process

HR Systems does address some parts of the solution. However, the solution goes beyond the boundaries of the system. As HRIM professionals, we are responsible for executing the complete solution, including change management and rollout. A good HRIM professional should be well rounded with the following skills and competencies shown in the diagram below.

HR Process Knowledge is the core skill for an HRIM professional who should also be well versed with the best practices in HR processes.

Large HRMS Knowledge is the second area the HRIM professional should be well versed with. HRIM professionals should understand the large HRMS solutions such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle and should have gained experience in working on these systems either as business consultant or techno-functional consultant. This experience provides the necessary understanding, of database structures, system interdependencies and system interfaces to external solutions.

Compliance / Legal Knowledge is the third dimension and focus area for an HRIM professional. Every country has its own legal requirements and the HR systems in organizations are required to have the features to manage these legal requirements. For example, it is mandatory for any Talent Acquisition solution to manage EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) requirements in United States. Similarly, any payroll application in India must generate all statutory forms such as overtime muster, holiday register, etc. HRIM professionals are expected to be knowledgeable about legal / compliance requirements.

Technology Knowledge is a great value adding quality to any HRIM professional as it gives a competitive edge. A good understanding of IT infrastructure, database knowledge,; internet/intranet knowledge, and software development tools and the process enhances the skills of an HRIM professional.

Consulting Knowledge is a must-have for any HRIM professional. On most occasions, HRIM professionals play the role of facilitators between business professionals and technology teams. To be successful in this role, consulting and facilitation skills are essential. Project Management skills as part of consulting skills is another essential skill the HRIM professional.

Some of the skills such as communication skills and command skills are not getting mentioned here as the proficiency requirements in these skills are different for different levels of the profession. However, a good balance of the above mentioned five criteria makes a good HRIM professional.

Outsourcing Vs Insourcing in Indian HR Operations

Outsourcing Vs Insourcing is a subject usually associated with Information Technology. Often, we assume it happens only abroad. In India we have gone the outsourcing route for a long time. Some of the most common processes which do get outsourced are Security; Canteen; Facilities maintenance etc. In the HR perspective we outsource parts of certain processes such as recruitment sourcing; benefits administration etc.
There is a lot of scope for outsourcing. However, it is important for us to make comprehensive analysis of the process before we take a decision on whether it can be insourced or outsourced. The following steps are a recommended guideline to follow while making a decision on outsourcing Vs Insourcing

1. Is the process core to the business? Core businesses require close monitoring and control. It is recommended that core business processes are insourced. For example, candidate selection and making an offer is core to HR function and hence it is recommended to be insourced. Similarly compensation administration process is core to HR function and it is preferred to be insourced. If the process is not core to the business then we can consider the same for outsourcing. For example, background verification and benefits administration processes are not core HR function and hence they can be considered for outsourcing.


2. Is the process standardized? This is an important question to be asked whenever we start looking at outsourcing as an option. Process standardization is key step for consideration. It is recommeded that non standard process should not be outsourced. 80% of the processes in HR function can be standardized. The function should always strive towards standardization because it reduces resource dependency.


3. Is the process documented? This is the most important aspect before we start seriously exploring the option of ourtsourcing. Often we find this step being missed. Documentation is essential for knowledge share and right process execution consistently. This is a must do step from the point of view of the outsourced vendor. If we diagnose the reasons behind non functioning of the the outsourced process, we find lack of documentation as the main reason. Outsourced vendors, in their eagerness, to get the order, do not really get into the details of step 2 and 3 and as an end result, customer (HR function) would suffer. The function should ensure to have proper documentation of the standardized process before proceed on the outsourcing direction

If we follow the above steps diligently, the decision on insourcing Vs outsourcing will be arrived logically. The framework below would provide the guideline while making decisions on whether the proces has to be insourced or outsourced.