Eight reasons to go global:
- Determining headcount
It’s one of the most difficult challenges confronting global human resources—particularly at a time when many organizations are restructuring and reengineering operations. Without adequate systems in place it’s nearly impossible to get an accurate count of personnel in various countries. And that can adversely affect many decisions.- Tracking expatriates
As employees move from one country to another, it’s often difficult and time consuming to modify records and keep benefits up-to-date. A solid HRMS can help alleviate many of the nagging problems by updating records or moving a record from one country’s database to another. It also can ensure that human resources has fulfilled all legal requirements and processed all the necessary paperwork.
- Tracking and analyzing benefits
A well-constructed HRMS can track benefits as well as provide sophisticated reporting abilities for human resources management. It can help keep policies and procedures in place, and can alert the human resources department before a problem occurs.
- Analyzing compensation
As compensation models become more sophisticated—and evolve—a global system can track changes within individual countries. Again, it also can provide advanced reporting abilities and play a major role in corporate decisions.
- Career planning and succession planning
As corporations adapt to the global environment, so must their succession planning models. No longer can a corporation rely on the fact that top talent is located exclusively in the United States. Increasingly, employees are spread throughout the world.
And keeping track of personnel and locations is a growing challenge for human resources. Likewise, providing career planning through a global network allows employees to become more responsible and reduces the workload for human resources. In many cases, workers are able to access files detailing job requirements and skill sets and even apply for positions.
- Retrieving data on knowledge, skills and abilities
Within many organizations, HR is finding that having the capability to produce reports on skills and abilities within particular countries helps to identify strengths and weaknesses within the organization. It also helps define hiring, training and other needs on a local or companywide basis.
- Providing line management with up-to-date information
More than ever before, managers in the field need accurate data at the push of a button. A well-conceived system with the proper security restrictions can empower personnel to make quick and informed decisions. And that fits into many organizations’ efforts to become flatter and less bureaucratic.
- Streamlining payroll
An effective HRMS can greatly simplify the process of paying individuals in dozens of different countries. Even if the bulk of payroll is handled locally in each country, a system can tackle many of the administrative details.
Personnel Journal, June 1995, Vol. 74, No. 6, p. 96.
