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.