The IT-HRM Function Components and Tasks

FUNCTION

The IT-HRM function covers all the people who primarily work in the IT area handling the HR tasks.  The function covers management, professionals and support staff. 

Management

• CIO (Chief Information Officer) / MOT (Manager of Technology) / Director of IT --
      the person in charge of the IT function

• Managers of:
  Planning
   (planning staff, policy analysts, problem analysts, technology watchers)
  Systems Development
   (Systems analysts, Programmers, AI personnel including knowledge engineers, technical writers)
  Operations
   (operators, schedulers, control clerks, supply clerks, data entry clerks)
  Support
   (EUC/IC, DBA staff, telecom staff, security officer, standards officer, documentors, training staff)

• Project Managers
  

Professionals

• Planning
   (planning staff, policy analysts, problem analysts, technology watchers)
  Systems Development
   (Systems analysts, Programmers, AI personnel including knowledge engineers, technical writers, testing clerks)
  Operations
   (operators, schedulers, control clerks, supply clerks, data entry clerks)
  Support
   (EUC/IC, DBA staff, telecom staff, security officer, standards officer, documentors, training staff)

Support Staff

• Planning
   (planning staff)
  Systems Development
   (testing clerks)
  Operations
   (operators, schedulers, control clerks, supply clerks, data entry clerks)
  Support
   (EUC/IC, DBA staff, telecom staff, security officer, standards officer, documentors, training staff, supervisors)

THE IT-HRM Components (6) and their Tasks

HIRING

    To get qualified employees who are skilled and 'fit' with the organization's culture, needs, expectations, and norms.  Most effort is placed on getting managerial and professional staff with less spent on support staff.

• Methods include job fairs, advertisements in newspapers including national, on-campus job fairs, radio and television advertising, and use of executive recruiting firms as well as employment agencies.  Also used are internal employee referral services using rewards.

• Use of attractive benefit packages to recruit

• Use of flexible working hours, signing bonuses, raids on competitors (usually considered tacky and unethical)

TURNOVER and RETENTION STRATEGIES

    A major concern for most IT managers.  The question of how to motivate employees is critical in getting people to stay.  All the strategies are answering concerns for:
    achievement,
    growth potential.,
    challenging work to do,
    recognition, and
    advancement.  ---(salary and status are much lower)

Pay attention to supplying opportunities to work on leading edge of technology, to have challenging work and to reduce routine work.

Some retention strategies
    paying attention to individual needs and desires,
    explicitly informing employees on the usefulness of that person's work, and its worth to the organization
    providing training and education
    providing career paths
    developing equitable control, evaluation and monitoring measures
    establishing informal lines of communication with coworkers and management
    decentralizing structure for more individual autonomy
    recognize/reward contributions
    involve people in planning
    expanding work to include more tasks
    offer equity ownership plans (stock option or stock purchase)

CAREER DEVELOPMENT or CAREER PATH

Providing opportunities for professional development by developing CAREER PATHS where progressive positions exhibit  rising responsibilities, authority, and compensation.  These career paths should not necessarily should end up in management because many don't really want, desire or have aptitude to manage.  One way companies help on career paths is to encourage employees to prepare a career path analysis and to give employees first consideration on job positions as they open up.

TRAINING

Skill development in technical and non-technical areas for managerial, professional and support staff.  The tasks include providing:
on-the-job training
briefings
seminars from in-house and external training staff
time and financial support for off-site classes

To determine who needs the training, when it should be offered, who should offer it, and the level of competency desired-- employers often set up an eduational matrix which identify the groups and courses and then schedule classes on that basis.

COMPENSATION

Salary and Benefit Management.  The objective is to have benefits and compensation at the level desired by the organization.  Direct correlation exists between competency level desired and compensation level.  Those firms who want the cream will pay top dollar whereas those who want competent but not necessarily those at the top will set the level lower.  Each position has a description that details the duties and the performance criteria for each level.  Use salary administration from organization's HR department to find out about market conditions.  From that, IT management sets the compensation level goals for IT positions. 

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Review individual performance based on the goals set by the compensation level set above.  The individual's appraisal should also present opportunities for career development incorporating output from training and retention strategies.