HR Shared Service Centers

In this chapter the authors consider articles in professional literature regarding Human Resource Centers, with the goal to explore issues raised by practice: motivation, risk analysis, structure and implementation. Using Grounded Theory approach, they analysed 34 articles, and through open and axial coding, we have modeled the HR SSC’s.

The Enrichment of the HR Intranet Linked to the Regulation's Process Between HR Actors

The subject of our communication will be a better understanding of how the regulation between the on line HR designers and HR experts is built, and to know about the consequences on the HR intranet’s enrichment and the HR reengineering. The author’s communication will articulate in two parts. Firstly, she will come back on the e-HR concept in a way to enrich the definition proposed above by a systematic approach. Secondly, individuals will see how this model, mentioned in all the speeches, meets the logic of the different actors and how the differences between them could be managed; which raises an issue to resolve.

Utilizing the Lead User Method for Promoting Innovation in E-Recruiting

In order to maintain their customer base, many e-recruiting firms are in need of developing innovations. The Lead User (LU) Method has been heralded in the new product innovation literature but not yet applied often in e-service settings. Based on an e-recruiting portal, the authors compare new service ideas emerging from interviews with 60 registered applicants to the ideas derived from 15 so-called lead users. Whereas most users offered us social-network features they already know from other platforms, lead users came up with more novel service solutions for different user segments. From both type of users we learned that applicants are more inclined to re-use the same e-recruiting portal if it includes community and social network features for specified user segments, sharing a similar social identity supplementing offline ties. Thus, carefully specifying and treating differentially various user groups at the outset of an e-service innovation project is likely to pay off. This and other practical findings have prompted us to sketch implications for innovating e-recruiting services.

IT-Based Integration of HRM in a Foreign MNC Subsidiary

The design and implementation of a globally integrated e-HRM system within a multinational corporation (MNC) requires different parties to reach some form of agreement on which HR processes must be standardised and which must be locally adapted. In this respect, the IT-based integration of HRM presents an intriguing setting in which to study micro-political behaviour during HRM integration, that is, how parties promote their own interests and the strategies they use during negotiations. Accordingly, the study’s aims were to identify those issues which generated the greatest degree of conflict during the IT-based integration of HRM, the key actors involved and the resources that were deployed during negotiations. A longitudinal, in-depth case study approach was used, and followed the integration of a global e-HRM system in the Finnish subsidiary of a large European-owned MNC over a period of nearly two years. Qualitative data was collected via semi-structured interviews with key subsidiary HR personnel and was complemented with company documentation. The findings indicate that the key areas of conflict were system design, the standardised use of English, and grey areas of HR policy. Three key parties were identified as being involved in subsequent negotiations. These parties utilised a range of negotiation resources including business case logic, technical know-how, internal benchmarking, local constraints and ignorance.

HRIS Project Teams Skills and Knowledge

Global, enterprise-wide, information systems (GEIS) projects are often delayed with budget over-runs often due to a lack of understanding of the key roles required on the project. The “hybrid” knowledge and skills requirement of functional GEIS teams, typically composed of both IT personnel and representatives from the departments where the system is going to be used, are generally not acknowledged and understood. This chapter presents the findings of a study conducted with project teams working in a multi-national organisation implementing and maintaining the HR “pillar” of an SAP GEIS located in four countries. The main purpose of that study was the identification of HRIS skills and knowledge in the key roles on the global project and make suggestions for development of project team members. Using a human capital frame of reference, we provide a guiding framework which can be used as a sensemaking tool by those responsible for managing people working in hybrid roles on such projects.

Does User Centered Design, Coherent with Global Corporate Strategy, Encourage Development of Human Resource Intranet Use?

In organizations, researchers as well as professionals have generally observed insufficient use of computer technologies when compared to their expected outcomes before their implementation (Bowers, 1995). Reiterating in detail Orlikowski’s theoretical propositions, the authors try to impart a clear theoretical status and to identify how transformation of the « artifact » can eventually transform uses. Using a longitudinal case study describing uses of a HR Intranet in an aeronautical firm, the authors want to show that: computer technology conception integrating user’s needs, which scientific literature usually calls « user centered » conception, allows use development. However, data gathered in the interviews allows stating that this kind of conception achieved to develop uses only because it was in a strong interaction with corporate policy.

Early User Involvement and Participation in Employee Self-Service Application Deployment

This chapter theoretically and empirically addresses the notion that user participation and involvement is one of the important factors for IS success. Different models and studies are reviewed to define and classify types of early end-user involvement and participation. Next, five case studies are presented of Dutch governmental organizations (Ministries) that have recently deployed an employee self-service application. Based on interviews with developers, project managers and users it can be showed that the deployment success of such systems is positively related to the extent of early user involvement and participation. In addition, it was found that expectancy management is important to keep users informed about certain deployment decisions. In this way, employees can truly use the self-service applications without much support from the HR-departments.

E-Work and Labor Processes Transformation

The evolution of the managerial discourse is the result of fashion lifecycles that sometimes have no rational or technical foundations and find no real application within the firms. Taking our cue from the new-institutional perspective, the chapter explores the real labor transformation processes related to the introduction of e-work projects, considering their outputs, outcomes and impacts. The study is based on a multiple-case analysis and underscores the relevance and impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on both “rational” firm’s productivity and “normative” employees’ psychological contract, also considering different institutional environments. Some critical issues and guidelines inherent the design and implementation of technology-based work systems are discussed, such as the dual perspective approach (the organizational and the employer viewpoint) during the needs-analysis and goal-setting phases; the relevance of coherent organizational culture and human resource practices; the removal of organizational structural constraints; the management of cognitive resistance; and the importance of the evaluation and monitoring phases.

HR Portal

Intellectual capital is today considered a key issue in analyzing the critical determinants of company performance. Companies design more and more human resource (HR) strategies when creating and developing intellectual capital. HR portals are applications that enable single personalized access points designed for specific user profiles and organizational positions. Our clarifications and recommendations highlight that HR portal implementation and use can be contingent if the HR function offers a specific set of HR applications to single employees based on differentiation strategies. HR portal implementation and use can also be individualized if the HR function offers a set of alternatives where the single employee can choose a personal HR configuration that is still aligned with the strategy and based on the differentiation of the workforce. Our contribution intends to underline the role of HR portals as a tool for the pursuit of a mature differentiation strategy of the workforce, where the technologies can increase the opportunities for negotiating and exchanging preferences and expectations between employees and the HR function.

Information Overload in the New World of Work

In this chapter the authors present a revision of the information overload concept elaborated by Eppler and Mengis (2004). The main elements of our approach are literature synopsis and analysis, qualitative semi-structured interviews, and discussion. Their review of the information overload concept is multidisciplinary as we identify similarities and differences among the various management perspectives and refine it with the empirical findings. They hope that by doing so, we can identify synergies between the theoretical conceptualization (Epper and Mengis, 2004), and real-life settings. They present results in a highly compressed, visualized format that allows for a more concise representation of the subject domain, easy comparisons, and hopefully – reduction of information overload. The empirical study was done at the Microsoft B.V. (The Netherlands) where Information workers became the most important type of workers within an organization.