Why Organizations Need To Collect Human Resource Data

When a human resource officer gathers evidence, the organization benefits in a number of areas. Data collection improves the quality of the recruiting, promotion, production, and even training processes. Human resource data will also offer raw data that is essential for tracking regulatory requirements and equal opportunities problems in all businesses. The human resource manager gathers data for a variety of purposes, including talent control, learning, growth, and evaluation, keeping employees' personal data, performance management, meeting legal requirements, and sickness/absence management. When the human resource manager engages volunteers, employ, or employ the staff, then a record ought to be written and even maintained. The records about employees must be securely recorded logically to facilitate easier retrieval (Leatherbarrow and Fletcher, 2015).

A collection of the human resource data can be a legal requirement. By law, an institution whether it is small or large must keep all the necessary records such as the number of hours that the employees have worked so as to meet certain requirements such as the Working Time Regulations 1998, the national insurance and tax details. Having a record of certain employees will enable the employer to monitor employee’s compliance with the legal requirements.

Collecting of human resource data is also essential in absence/sickness management; this remains to be one of the biggest concerns among different managers. So many unapproved absences from work have negative consequences to the organization regarding productivity and managers. The firm is forced to incur extra unnecessary costs because of this issue. Keeping of records whether those of lateness and absenteeism, lateness or sickness they can enable a firm or monitor the performance of individuals and identify any problem that exists in the area and take the necessary actions that are necessary for resolving any matter that arises. By collecting data, the human resource department and the company’s workforce can analyses the data as well as make the necessary steps that are beneficial to the entire firm. The most relevant data will depend on depending on the needs of the organization. As more and more data is collected by, the employer and the ability to make an analysis and store can be enhanced by using the human resource software.

The important records that are collected by the human resource manager are subject to the data protection act and any other provision that is provided by law. The information should, therefore, be accurate and updated on a regular basis. The filling system should also remain lockable, secured against virus and theft, and only accessible to few authorized people. The information ought to be stored as long as possible to serve as a reference. Either the human resource data information may be retained electronically or hard copy but what remains important is that the data should be kept in an appropriate system and organized manner so that it meets the minimum standards.

Type of Data Collected and How It Supports Human Resource Practices

Various types of data can be collected the firm. First, are the details of any disciplinary action concerning employees; having these forms of details will enable the human resource manager to make informed decisions that are based on facts rather than guesswork. Employee’s records enable the management to take all the previous records into consideration when deciding on the most suitable action to take when an employee an employee has contravened organizational rule. The previous disciplinary records also help in disciplining and awarding employees based on their performance.

The second crucial record is the contractual agreement. Keeping the records of the pay rates, contractual charges and record of hours charged can support the human resource manager when the inland tax authorities request the details of the employees so that they can satisfy whether the firm is complying with the National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulation. The details that are held by the human resource manager also protect the company's reputation against the claims that have been made against them. Having these records can minimize the disputes between the employer and the state, or the employee versus the employer. No employers like to dwell the litigation possibility; at the time the termination of the employee can lead to a legal action, maintaining of these records provide justification and documentation of the action as an employee. All the records have to be kept maintained for at least one year after terminating the employee's contract; this is important in preventing a frivolous lawsuit. An updated and accurate record of an employee records not only the information of employees but also issues that led to reprimands and termination.

Two Methods of Storing Records and Advantages

Examples of the methods used to store data include an electronic system and the manual system. Storing information electronically helps the human resource manager to maintain the information more efficiently while at the same time using limited space. By storing information on servers, the company utilizes less room that the traditional cabinet system that utilized too much space. Data that is stored on the computer devices can also be accessible at any point in time as long as the user has the right password.

The second method of data storage is manual. This is the traditional method of data storage. The human resource manager uses the manual record to store employee’s records. The main advantage of the traditional storage method is that the human resource manager will not experience some of the technical issues that are associated with the crashing of the electronic devices. The manual systems can at times be more accurate when compared to the electronic method of storing data. The manual system is also simple to use since it does not require learning extra skills as compared to computerized system that requires extra skills.

Principles of the Data Protection Act

The data protection act outlines how the employee’s records are used within an institution and even the government. The human resource manager when using employee’s data must adhere to the strict rules that have been established by the data protection act for instance when keeping the data that is no longer useful, keeping the data secure, and safe. The Freedom of Information Act allows the employer to access to all the information that has been recorded in the company’s database concerning them. The request of the employee can be handled in a different manner depending on the nature of employees that has been requested (CIPD, 2017).

References

CIPD. (2017). HR Knowledge Hub | CIPD. [online] Available at https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge [Accessed 11 Jun. 2017].

Leatherbarrow, C. and Fletcher, J. (2015). Introduction to human resource management. 1st ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.