Abstract
Human resources (HR) are pivotal for an organization’s accomplishment of its goals, yet very difficult to manage. HR functions cover a wide variety of practices not only including compliance of laws, recruiting, training, and compensation but also expanding to strategic decision-making and organizational culture. Therefore, accurate HR-related data should be acquired, maintained, and appropriately distributed. As such, Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) are essential for any organization, regardless of sector. However, the applications of the HRIS vary across the public sector (Battaglio, 2015). For public organizations, making decisions about HR involves using public resources, making good HRIS a necessity. Although technology has been used in HR functions since the 1940s, the development of HRIS has lagged other business functions given the complexity of human resource-related practices (Johnson et al., 2021). Considering that HRIS does not yet apply to the decision-making level and still remains at the functional level in public organizations (p. 33), Human Resources Information Systems: A Guide for Public Administrators by Nicolas A. Valcik, Meghna Sabharwal, and Teodoro J. Benavides provides a great addition to our knowledge of HRIS in the public sector.
This book provides an overview of HRIS from its history to recent practical applications in the public sector. Chapter 1 provides a brief background of HRIS, key definitions, and major components that can be used in the public and nonprofit organizations. Chapter 2 synthesizes the history of HRIS and discusses contemporary opportunities and challenges (p. 25). For example, HRIS enables organizations to process a large amount of data efficiently and project future HR-related trends. Key challenges include measurement difficulties, resistance to change, budgetary constraints, relying on external expertise, and data security are mainly derived from the unique characteristics of the public sector. Chapter 3 discusses the current research on HRIS adoption phases and Technological, Organizational and Environmental (TOE) factors that impact on its level of adoption. Security challenges in the public sector are also addressed. Chapter 4 delves into HR data management by focusing on database architecture development, compares mainframe, server-based and cloud-based HRIS, and highlights that the evolution of HRIS enhances organizational efficiencies and capabilities.
Chapter 5 through 8 focus on applications of HRIS in the public sector including recruitment, performance, training, and compensation. Chapter 6, for example, offers a list of major functionalities that an organization’s HRIS must contain for legal compliance and Chapter 7 summarizes benefits that public organizations gain from using HRIS. Chapters 9 and 10 cover practical challenges, such as technical, financial, cultural, and other external factors, that cause hardship in obtaining and maintaining accurate and good-quality data for employees in the public sector. As developing HRIS requires a significant investment, it is essential to have organizational culture and computer literacy that are conducive to adopt and utilize it (p. 100). Specifically, the book offers a checklist that organizations can use when deciding to invest in HRIS enterprise software (p. 146). Chapter 11 focuses on higher education specific HRIS due to its unique structural features. For instance, higher education institutions have different types of employment, such as faculty (full/part time, tenured/tenure track/non-tenure track), staff (full/part time, contract), and student workers (full/part time). Lastly, it finishes with summaries in Chapter 12.
The authors emphasize the importance of obtaining accurate HR data, which feeds into performance evaluation, compensation, and workforce planning (p. 165), and organizational decision-making. Integrating complex operations into a system requires state of the art equipment to operate HRIS and leadership support. Nonetheless, it is expected that HRIS will gain attention and more widely adopted in public organizations. The book highlights the role cybersecurity, cost efficiency, and changing workforce in public organizations play in adopting HRIS. The authors make a fundamental contribution to the study of HRIS and is the first book that focuses solely on the conjunction of HRIS and the public and nonprofit sectors. Paired with a traditional HRM textbook, this book can be considered as a secondary textbook for an HR management class. Further, this book is suitable for a strategic HR management course at a graduate level as it includes practical guidance for utilizing HRIS.
There are however few limitations. First, the book does not cover HR analytics or HR metrics that are closely associated with HRIS. Data alone cannot provide a solution to a problem. For better decision-making, data should be leveraged and analyzed (Johnson et al., 2021). Second, the case studies presented in the book (such as “Some of our Faculty Are Missing” in chapter 8 and “We Need a Bigger Boat!” in chapter 10) could be expanded/augmented to be used in class discussions with more analytic details and discussion questions. Lastly, although the book addresses some HRIS topics in the nonprofit sector, it does not fully flesh out the topics that specifically apply to nonprofit organizations. Considering that a significant number of nonprofits especially small size organizations often use volunteers for their majority works, an additional chapter that focuses on volunteer related HR issues could be included. Addressing these in a subsequent edition will ensure that the book remains a key textbook in HR management courses.
In conclusion, the book provides a foundation for both practice and research in HRIS. It offers instructive lessons for practitioners that can be easily applied to their workplaces. The book offers insights to senior managers and officials as they contemplate investing in HRIS. Lastly, the book offers scholars in public administration and management a succinct overview of the evolution, key themes and debates, and points to contemporary challenges and opportunities of HRIS for public and nonprofit organizations.
