Handbook of Human Resource Information Systems: Reshaping the Human Resource Function with Technology. - book reviews

HR Magazine, July, 1994 by Sandra E. O'Connell

Summertime. Too few employees are around to offer supervisory training, the university's open course enrollment isn't until November, and year-end reports are five months away. Perhaps you will have some time to catch up on professional reading. Though not light beach reading, the three books briefly reviewed this month will expand your knowledge of HR systems and may well provide practical advice for an upcoming project.

Each of the authors has more than 25 years experience in human resource systems and each has written for a slightly different audience. The challenge will be to pick only one to read.

1. Human Resource Management and Information Technology: Achieving a Strategic Partnership by Naomi Lee Bloom, Naomi Bloom's Learning Products, Huntington Beach, Calif., 1992.(*) For organizations getting ready to launch a major systems planning project, this two-volume package could become your road map. The book (Volume 1) and accompanying resource materials (Volume 2) are a tutorial; using them together is similar to attending one of Naomi Bloom's seminars. (The set is $900, priced as a seminar rather than a book.)

Bloom's approach to systems planning "is grounded in very contemporary notions of strategic business planning and information engineering," and the reader is expected to be familiar with these concepts. Her goal is to define the methods that human resource professionals need to "make information technology a major source of leverage for HRM."

Every aspect of HRM systems planning is covered. Chapters are devoted to methodology, the business context for HRM, the business case, initiating a project, building the HRM business model, implementation planning and establishing the HRM systems program. The emphasis is definitely on systems concepts--written exclusively with HR examples. The chapter, "Business Context--Sources of HRM Complexity," ought to be required reading for human resource managers. It is a crisply communicated description of the inherent difficulties in HRM systems.

Volume 2 is a collection of resource materials that will improve your project planning and save time. Primarily a series of templates for gathering data, the forms cover every situation that requires data gathering and documentation: Business Objectives, a Data Model Starter Kit, and a Current System Worksheet are a few examples. The richness of the author's experience shines through both the worksheets and the dozens of samples.

Bloom is articulate about complex concepts and has shown care and creativity in the publication of her material. The design qualities will help the reader greatly. Nevertheless, Human Resource Management and Information Technology is for the professional with some systems background, not the occasional user of HR software.

2. Human Resource Management Systems: Strategies, Tactics and Techniques by Vincent R. Ceriello with Christine Freeman, Lexington Books, N.Y., 1991. (Available from SHRM, member price is $32; nonmembers $35.) In contrast to Bloom's book, Vince Ceriello has a different audience in mind. In the author's words, the book "is a kind of translation service for professionals whose primary interest is in human resources but whose work prompts them to become involved with computer systems."

This is a comprehensive, four-part guide to systems planning and implementation for the HR manager. The numbers tell the story: 22 chapters, 736 pages of text with nearly 175 graphic figures. Readers will especially appreciate the generous use of forms, checklists, drawings and models that communicate the complex information of HRM systems. Ceriello is careful to define terms and includes a glossary in chapters where needed.

Section 1 takes the reader through the phases of planning and designing a system. Section 2, which discusses systems implementation, is packed with information including a few non-standard topics such as identifying vendors, using consultants, and contracts and warranties. Managing an HRM system is a topic not typically covered, so the chapter is a particularly useful one. Section 3 is one of the book's strengths--10 chapters on applications other than the HRIS. Whether your search is for EEO, payroll, compensation, training and development, or one of the other "specialty" applications, the information is valuable and well-organized. Part 4 highlights emerging trends in this fast-moving field.

Ceriello's book will probably serve you best as a reference for both conceptual background and sound advice for a number of projects. And because the author covers topics not discussed elsewhere, it will find a place on your "often used" bookshelf.

3. Handbook of Human Resource Information Systems: Reshaping the Human Resource Function with Technology by Alfred J. Walker, McGraw-Hill, $49.50(*)

Readers will quickly see why Walker recently received one of the first Summit Awards from the Association of Human Resource Systems Professionals for significant contributions to the field. Walker's view is that "the information and automated processes needed to manage human resources effectively are simply not available to most organizations today." While acknowledging the past, the thrust of this book is the future and what the HRIS will make possible.