Electronic Human Resource Management, Essay Example

The rapid evolution of the Internet technologies and the organizations’ striving to expand their operations across boundaries create new technological challenges for HRM. Electronic HRM is fairly regarded as one of the most influential practical applications in the HRM domain. Researchers define E-HRM as “the (planning, implementation and) application of information technology for both networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities” (Strohmeier, 2007, p.20). Put simply, e-HRM links different HRM actors into a single complex performance network and supports their activities, while they are trying to meet their business and professional objectives. E-HRM is distinctly different from traditional HR systems in that it does not back up personnel activities and departments but aims at delivering HRM practices and services to employees via electronic systems and media (Verburg et al, 2009).

E-HRM has far-reaching implications for the five basic business practices. The latter include recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, training, rewarding, and retrenchment (Verburg et al, 2009). In terms of recruitment and selection, e-HRM offers a variety of techniques to aid and enhance recruitment solutions, including online applications. E-HRM raises the efficiency of performance appraisal systems and facilitates delivering performance appraisal results to employees. Electronic HRM helps to create new reward and compensation forms and reduces retrenchment risks for employees. Concerning training, the implications of e-HRM are two-fold: on the one hand, e-training solutions are much more efficient and allow matching training opportunities to the changing conditions of organizational performance. On the other hand, employees require new skills and knowledge to manage these e-HRM applications successfully. Despite these difficulties, e-HRM exemplifies one of the most turbulent advantages of the postmodern HRM development, and can readily ensure organizations and employee’ flexibility in their desire to survive in a highly competitive labor market.

References

Strohmeier, S. (2007). Research in e-HRM: Review and implications. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 19-37.

Verburg, R.M. (2009). Managing technology and innovation: An introduction. Taylor & Francis.