Activity 1
This report will explain what Data Management is and why HR departments need to collect data, what types of data needs to be collected, what this data is used for, as well as how they are stored.
One of the HR function’s main priorities are to track existing employee data. HR should focus on both business results and human capital improvement. In order for a company to potentially drive workflow, report accurately on the staff and sometimes even demonstrate the value of a team’s existence, HR has to have a good understanding of the data requirements, but also have a good system to capture and track this data. It is also important to understand how this data can support ...view middle of the document...
A company should keep a record of every absence of each individual as accurate records can sometimes be the only way to identify when and where problems are occurring; they also provide a historical record for determining patterns of absence for individual employees and departments. It will also help a company determine when statutory sick pay (SSP) applies and in assisting employees return to work. In some sensitive cases, companies should ensure that they comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. If an absence record contains specific medical information relating to an employee, this is deemed as sensitive data and you will have to satisfy the statutory conditions for processing such data. Aside from keeping data for SSP purposes, knowing who among the company’s employees are off sick and why, could be an essential information resource for various reasons :
* Identifying employees whose return could be delayed or prevented
* Could frequent absences disguise other problems, e.g. domestic issues
* Planning cover for the work of the absent staff members
* Identifies patterns of ill-health that could highlight possible work-related causes, or the onset of disability
* Can assist with benchmarking your company’s performance against competitors to judge whether your record is good or bad
Other types of data to be captured can include :
* Equal opportunities
* Equal pay
* Recruitment needs (planning)
* Assess targets e.g. percentage of women in management roles
* Talent and performance management
How the data is stored is as important as the data stored. Computerised HR systems seem to be standard in most companies as a wide range of sophisticated software becomes more readily available. Some smaller companies may still operate a manual system such as using index cards for personal information and manual forms to track absence and sickness details. Any record keeping system, however, needs to fulfil certain criteria. It must be accurate, reliable, confidential (only access of certain users to certain areas), compatible with company systems and adaptable to support changes, easy to use and financially viable for the company. It is also important to know where records will be kept, who has access to the records and if the data management system complies with company security regulations, as well as any Data Protection Regulations.
The benefit of each method are :
Computerised
Having a computerised system holds several benefits to a company. If the system is of such a nature that employees have access to “self service”, it can empower employees by giving them some ownership of selective data management, but also reduce the maintenance needed by HR. Some systems can be customised to fit the specific HR tracking needs of a company in addition to the mandatory requirements as set out by UK legislation.
Manual
This type of data storage would normally only be used by very small...
