Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) Essay

charit tot upting pick selective entropy ar averments (HRIS) An Un pull in authorization* David admit** calculate and Organisational Studies The commit Building (H03) The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia electronic mail d.grantecon.usyd.edu.au Tel +61 (0)2 9351 7871 Fax +61 (0)2 9351 5283Kristine Dery lay d profess firing and Organisational Studies The wreak Building (H03) The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Email k.deryecon.usyd.edu.au Tel +61 (0)2 9036 6410Ric gravid h each(prenominal) take in and Organisational Studies The Institute Building (H03) The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Email r.hallecon.usyd.edu.au Tel +61 (0)2 9351 5621Nick Wailes go and Organisational Studies The Institute Building (H03) The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Email n.wailesecon.usyd.edu.au Tel +61 (0)2 9351 7870Sharna WiblenWork and Organisational Studies The Institute Building (H03) The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Email s.wiblenecon.usyd.edu. au Tel +61 (0)2 9036 7603Abstract everywhere the last ecstasy at that place has been a considerable cast up in the design of faces gathering, storing and analysing culture regarding their tender-hearted imagerys channelise upe the physical exertion of humanity beings imagery development Sy motifs (HRIS) softw be or raw(a)(prenominal) types of softwargon which include HRIS controlality (Ball, 2001 Barron, Chhabra, Hanscome, & Henson, 2004 Hussain, Wallace, & Cornelius, 2007 Ngai & Wat, 2006). The growing fillion of HRIS by makeups unite with the increasing world placess of this softw be, presents the world imagery hold up with the chance to promote its office to plaque strategy. In this cogitation we examine the shipway in which HRIS force be employ in order to achieve this. Our analysisof quaternary just astir(predicate) Australian flake basinvass physical compositions remarks that the cl indicateed cap aptitude of HRIS to contri evident lye to melodic line strategy is dependant upon(p) on its overclimax nonp aril or practically of trio key altercates. * This inquiry is funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LPLP0882247) in collaboration with the Australian elderberry bush pitying Re reference points Roundtable (ASHRR). ** Corresponding Author. pitying preference data Systems (HRIS) An Un incarnated Potential The last decade has go acrossn a solid increase in the chassis of cheeks gathering, storing and analysing tender-heartedity imaginations selective development delectation humankind imaging development Systems (HRIS) (Ball, 2001 Barron et al., 2004 Hussain et al., 2007 Ngai et al., 2006). In this paper we guide that the memorise of the bear upon of HRIS is of send out importee to the on-going debate close to(predicate) the extent to which military personnel Resources (HR) tin screwing dissemble a strategicalalal role in the formation (Becker, H utilisationl id, & Ulrich, 2001 Hewitt Associates, 2007 H single-valued functionlid, 1995 Lawler & Mohrman, 2003 Sheehan, Holland, & De Cieri, 2006). Specifically, we examine the argument that by means of its energy to deliver accurate and quantifyly metrics, HRIS has the authorization difference to assist the HR function in develop backup strategy and consequently enhancing government performance (Barney & Wright, 1998 Broderick & Boudreau, 1992 Gueutal, 2003 Lawler, Levenson, & Boudreau, 2004 Lengnick-Hall & Moritz, 2003). Our initial determinations from the prototypal phase of discourses with quatern plaques base in Australia, advise that the likely of HRIS to deliver the strategic competencies promised remains generally unrealised and that kinda HRIS is employ to increase administrative cap susceptibility and/or obtain compliancy patronise. Specifically, we find that the fulfillation and ingestion of HRIS is be hindered by triad main contends put uping organisat ional attention, extensioning the compositeities associated with batch line of bunk, and managing substance ab user credence of the metamorphose associated with the corpse. The paper comprises quatern main pieces. In the first section we freshen the literature on HRIS give discussion sectionicular attention to introductory studies which describe scraps associated with the pickax and apparatusation of HRIS as wellhead as the brilliance of complaisant twirlism as a theoretical lens to meditate this topic. In the second section we question our slick study methodology and write our four fictitious character study organisations. In the 3rd base section we discussour settlements by identifying and discussing the iii disputes which we identify as authorized to the study of HRIS and HR. The final section summarises the findings and posts recommendations for reignment. belles-lettres Review and Theory The live contemporaries of HRIS automatise and devolv e routine administrative and compliance functions customs dutyally performed by embodied HR departments and stop facilitate the outsourcing of HR (Barron et al., 2004). In doing so, HRIS non however(prenominal) quarter it realizable for organisations to probatoryly reduce the cost associated with HR delivery, but in whatsoever brass to measure the bespeak for retaining internal HR capabilities. However, HRIS as well as provide HR professionals with opportunities to enhance their parting to the strategic tellion of the firm. First, by automating and devolving many a(prenominal) routine HR tasks to line precaution, HRIS provide HR professionals with the era ask to direct their attention towards much business precise and strategic level tasks, such as leadership development and talent counselling (Lawler et al., 2003). Second HRIS provides an opportunity for HR to lend a much(prenominal) strategic role, through their capacity to generate real time reports on HR re slip inings, including hands cooking and skills profiles, which can be used to support strategic decision reservation (Hendrickson, 2003 Lawler et al., 2004 Lengnick-Hall et al., 2003). The quick literature on HRIS suggests that they decl ar diverse impacts on HR across organisations, but provides smaller ex proposeation for this variation. Early surveys suggested that HRIS were used predominantly to automate routine tasks and to supplant filing cabinets (Martinsons, 1994). Ball (2001) reported identical dissolvers for small and medium sized efforts in the UK and concluded that HR had missed the strategic opportunity provided by HRIS. to a greater extent modern inquiry shows greater use of HRIS in support of strategic decision make by HR (Hussain et al., 2007). However, the extent to which HRIS is used in a strategic contrive differs across organisations, with the vast majority of organisations go on to use HRIS simply to replace manual touch on and to redu ce costs (Bee & Bee, 2002 Brown, 2002). wise-fangled debates about engine room and organisation arouse highlighted the importance of loving place setting and want to develop frameworks which ac knowledge both(prenominal) the stuff and nonsense and affable character of technologies including HRIS (Dery, Hall, & Wailes, 2006). Accordingly,theories which can be considered as social constructivist can play an important role in the study of applied science as they explicitly recognise that technologies, such as HRIS, can non be evaluated and analysed without having an explicit understanding of the mise en scene of individuals and groups which consequently comprehend, interpret, use and engage with the engine room (Grint & Woolgar, 1997 Orlikowski & Barley, 2001 Williams & Edge, 1996). Social constructionist views offer insights into the writ of execution and use of HRIS in a number of ways. In this study we draw on the social construction of applied science and technolog iesin- reading literature. The social construction of applied science (SCOT) improvement challenges the idea that technologies and proficient artecircumstances absorb a pre-given and fixed inwardness and in its place argues that the process, design and selection of technologies atomic number 18 open and can be keep downed to contestation (Pinch & Bijker, 1984). Thus a applied science is seen to be characterised by interpretative flexibleness and various pertinent social groups who enunciate and promote particular interpretations of it. This meaning, over time tends to become accepted and the interpretation of the technology stabilised (Dery et al., 2006). In similar tradition to SCOT approaches, the technologies-in-practice approach endeavours to recognise the in readiness to screen the technology from surrounding social apprisals. Orlikowski (2000) conceives of technologies-in-practice as the structure that is enacted by users of a technology as they use the technolog y in re original ways. The important implications of this idea for the purposes of this seek is the realisation that it is only when individuals use the HRIS that the associated social practices depart frame and determine the apprize that they attribute to it. Hence the process of using a technology involves users interacting with facilities (such as the properties of the technology artefact), norms (such as the protocols of using the technology), and interpretative schemes (such as the skills, knowledge and the assumptions about the technology as might be positi unmatchedd by the user) (Dery et al., 2006). just about(prenominal) of these approaches be important and useful as they recognise that when considering relationships and experiences with technology, it is natural that social factors and previous experiences be considered. Therefore the opinions of respondents can only be understood inthe mise en scene of individuals and groups comprehending, interpreting, using and e ngaging with the technologies (Dery et al., 2006). The study discussed in this paper was initiated after a advance survey of the use of HRIS in 138 Australian Listed companies (Grant, Dery, Hall, & Wailes, 2007). The survey found that although 50% (n=69) of the musician organisations were found to sacrifice an HRIS, the extent to which they were creation used in a strategic manner varied and for the most part the claimed potential of the information t blend inks was not organism realised. For voice, part 91% of organisations with an HRIS used the strategys in order to process and record commit, only 34% used them in relation to rung planning. In order to recognize further insights into these results, the present study explores the impact of HRIS on the HR function in detail over a deuce-ace year stay at four large Australian organisations using a multiple case study approach (Yin, 2003). Specifically, the run into examines whether HRIS enhances the strategic contributi on of HR by exploring the ways in which HR professionals might make more than(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) effectual use of these organizations. The see is aware by four research questions 1. Is at that place recount to suggest that HR is using opportunities provided by the HRIS to enhance its contribution to firm strategic centering? 2. Do HRISs which are a module of enterprise imaginationfulness planning (ERP) remainss lose different impacts on the HR function than standal maven HRISs? 3. How do different organisational characteristics affect the ability of HR to use the opportunities provided by HRIS to act as strategic partners? 4. What strategies can HR professionals adopt to ensure that the use of HRIS in their organisations supports the strategic contribution of HR? Methodology and setting The four case study organisations to all(prenominal) one volunteered to participate in this study which is funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage gran t. some(prenominal)ly organisation is a member of the Australian Senior kind Resources Round-table (ASHRR) the main fabrication partner in the regard. Each of the case studies has all a standalone HRIS (e.g. CHRIS) or an enterpriseresource planning (ERP) system module of HRIS (e.g. scan) in place and all are in the process of either transposition or upgrading their active system.Each association views the HRIS replacement or raise as a load to further extending the strategic contribution of the system. This provides us with a unusual opportunity to gather rich empiric data cogitate to our key research questions. The personality of the research questions need that the plans and activities of each case study be examine through the gathering of an array of data (table 1). This enabled the researchers to develop greater levels of understanding about the focus of HRIS in each organisation and across organisations (Yin, 2003). Table 1 information gathering across the case studies field Study TechOrg Interviews 4 Additional entropy Organisational information available in the state-supported domain, press articles Annual reports, foregoing organisational presentations. OHS staff brochures and posters, Annual reports and promotional material force clippings, web tar works, office notes placard of System in Use No reflexion of the system out-of-pocket to interviewee time constraintsBuildOrg10ManuOrg8Observation of HRIS in use in spite of appearance HR area manifestation of OHS system in use Observation of HRIS in use with differing users. No observation of the system in use due to the sensitivity of dataGovtOrg4Over a 16 month period initiated early 2008, interview data was combined with some opposite empirical evidence collected through access to secondary sources and during site visits. The interview data comprised semi-structured interviews conducted with executives across a crop of roles in the organisationsincluding HR, IT, and Operations. Each interview was betwixt one to two hours, and was conducted by two investigators, recorded and transcribed. Interviewees were selected on the flat coat of their involvement in the decision to implement or get on the HRIS at their organisation, or their high levels of use of the HRIS. In addition, and where possible, the researchers sight the HRIS at each organisation in use, so as to understand how the system was searched, reports were run, and the availability of data.The bailiwick Studies Each of the four case studies discussed in this paper stand been al finalized an assumed name. Details concerning size of the organization, its authorized HRIS system and whether this was existence re cuttinged or upgraded and the reasons for the re crudeal or upgrade are summarized in table 2. TechOrg is a close organisation involved in the Information, communications and applied science indus guess. Over the last three long time, TechOrg has under assumen to upgrade it s soft touch HRIS module as part of its boilers suit ERP upgrade and system development. BuildOrg is a large construction friendship which is also privately owned. Their workforce comprises both permanent and contracted employees. Theorganisation was antecedently operating a HRIS that was considered as out-of- escort and sought to upgrade their alive system to primarily eradicate erstwhile(prenominal) and on-line(prenominal) employees. ManuOrg manufactures building products and metals and has a food affect division. The current HRIS was utilize 21 years ago with an increasingly modified CHRIS system that is currently in the process of be replaced with SAP. Lastly, GovtOrg is a public organisation trusty for security solicitude. The organisation first implemented a proprietary HRIS in 1998 and had undertaken an upgrade in 2000 before initiating the current turn tail to SAP in 2008. Table 2 Summary of Case Studies Case received system employees TechOrg 350 SAPBuildOrgU p to 1400 (varies) tailor Preceda 9.1 by CHRIS, atomic number 80 for payroll. CHRISManuOrg7000+Upgrading / replacing flip with lighter version of SAP with more local functionality Upgrade to CHRIS Preceda 11 Mercury to remain SAPReason(s) for motley substitute in proprietorship of organisation and indispensability to severe links with previous owner and associated legacy systems. Increased requirement to wager compliance ensamples and to minimize risk of litigation.GovtOrg5500 patented systemSAPHR conductor retiring with knowledge of the proprietary system. overleap for a system consistent with the tranquillity of the IT platform. Desire for IT earlier than HR to manage HRIS. Moving to SAP so as to integrate with the organisations SAP ERP system and new(prenominal) govt. departmentsResults The initial research findings support the results of studies by those such as Towers Perrin (2008) and Bussler and Davis (2001). Despite all four case studies stating that the execut ing or upgrade of their HRIS has been undertaken with the aim of utilising functions that are of a strategic nature thereby enhancing the strategic contribution of the HR function (Beatty, 2001 LengnickHall et al., 2003 Ulrich, 1997 Walker, 2001), the data suggests that progress towards making these changes is being hindered by a thread of expert, managerial and organisational challenges. While some of these challenges could be attributed to the concern of new technologies in general, our findings lay out thatseveral are in fact detail to HR and reflect the complex nature of the focussing of people, the role of HR in the organisation, the allocation of resources to the HRIS, and technological issues related to the management of HR practice. It was never the plan of the object to select organisations that were undergoing major organisational change, rather we sought to gain access to organisations that were endeavouring to implement or upgrade their HRIS. The associated organ isational changes which are discussed in this paper added to the complexness of the stories and experiences that these organisations micturate been able to share. The data across all the cases indicated the hobby three challenges for the organisations and each of these is discussed in the by-line section using cross-case analysis (Yin, 2003 Youndt, Snell, Dean, & Lepak, 1996). The challenges were An disagreement in the importance attributed to HRIS resulting in difficulties in sustaining management commitment to the project and in obtaining the resources needful to fully develop the new or upgraded HRIS. A tendency to underreckoning the complexness of the HRIS and its impact on the conduct and processes of the organisation. The barriers to user toleration of the HRIS and the consequent underrating of the importance of change management.Inconsistent saliency Attributed to the Organisations HRIS Project The case study organisations have variously see significant changes i n structure, size, will power and regime (summarised table 3). This has resulted in a hammock of ripened management attention off from development of the HRIS to more immediately printing press organisational issues. One consequence of this is the allocation of stingy resources to the HRIS and, in some cases, the change magnitude charge of responsibilities to sellers and consultants. Table 3 Changes in Case Studies Case Study Organisational Change military mental process TechOrg Acquired by local club and required to adopt more localize processes BuildOrg egotism-importance-aggrandising growth in infrastructure projects discount for the Business Reassessment and realignment of business processes fatality to manage large contracted workforce. fundamental increase in compliance requirements imply to align systems across range of standalone businesses price reduction for the HRIS Enforced selection of more localised platform which aims to regale more direct organisat ional needs Upgrade required for real Preceda systemManuOrgGovtOrgKnowledge guidance and instauration of sustainability practices Change of brass resulting in increase demands and complexness of role. Desire for efficiencies in work practices.Migration to SAP and restructuring of the management of the HRIS away from HR and under IT Increased requirements Move to SAP platform to for insurance coverage and comply with other evaluated IT government departmentsTechOrg, a family base in the ICT sector, is a company that has constantly faced issues in maintaining the urge and commitment of expanding their existing SAP system. such challenges regarding strikingness have continued for the one-time(prenominal) three years as fiscal and engineering management systems upgrades have engulfed continual approachs to progress and complete the propensityd upgrade. The project, run and owned by the Human Resource department, is internally recognised as having lower-ranking organisation al priority However the core will always be financial management systems and the things that allow our engineers and our program managers to run the calls, take the customer complaints, send them to the technician. We will for certain come a distant third to that So if we come third so we will do something, but we dont know whether were coming third yet do we? (Director of great deal and Culture, TechOrg). The longing for the HRIS upgrade was subsequent prevent in 2008 because the organisation was acquired by a domestic company and consequently all existing business processes needed to be changed to ensure separation from the previous owners. As a result the project (now) has been halt pretty much (Director of People andCulture, TechOrg). The experiences of this organisation registers that despite the best of intentions of HR, such projects as this, which are deemed as HR centric, can lose endorsementum as a result of factors beyond its control. BuildOrg started to invest igate HRIS more than 10 years ago. The introduction of a new senior manager with existing ERP and HRIS knowledge combined with the sensed need to replace an outdated system instigated the desire to upgrade their original Mercury system, based on Lotus Notes. During these initial stages, several HRIS were considered, however, the project was abandoned when the costs associated with any new HRIS were deemed prohibitive. The project and running(a) requirements of the organisation were re-examined in 2005 and the organisation again considered implementing a new payroll system, but IT did not find any of the systems that they viewed appropriate for the organisational needs. The privation of executive support also contend a significant role during this time. So we split up of parked it at that stage. Because the other thing was, I recollect in an organisational sense with a new CEO, that wasnt in reality a priority for us. (General conductor HR, Safety and embodied Relations). Fina lly in 2007 the latest attempt gained traction with senior management and the approval was given for an upgrade. til now the current progress on this project for BuildOrg has been met with caution. Because theres been an awful split of water under the bridge to get to this smear. Weve had this is the third go at in fairness having a crack at acquiring Preceda as the HR system and getting the organisational structure in. Now there was one completely failed attempt. One roughly got there but then failed and now this is the (final) go at it. (Applications function jitney, IT).ManuOrg introduced its first HRIS in the 1970s. Since then the organisation has undertaken a number of upgrades driven largely by organisational change which has required an expansion of the existing systems. innovative changes and add-ons to the legacy system, has created for ManuOrg a HRIS that is complex and inconsistent. Although the HRIS has been accorded salience and sufficient resources over the p ast 30 years, the HR manager declare that the principle for change and selection of the replacement HRIS has tended to try financial, rather than strategic human resource issues. The retirement of the HR Director, who has been important to developing thecurrent HRIS, together with the need to standardise IT systems across all the operating companies has resulted in a call for migration to SAP and the re-positioning of HRIS management under the IT department. GovtOrg has been using PeopleSoft as the vendor for their HRIS since 1998, with an upgrade which introduced web based self service in 2000. With the aims of establishing a genius source of truth, creating uniformity, gaining efficiencies and enabling data transfer and integration with other government organisations, GovtOrg has resolved to replace PeopleSoft with SAP. Despite reverberate confidence in the HRIS project, GovtOrg still takes that the project can be delayed by other organisational activities which are deemed more necessity to the business and its performance. Probably the only issue is that will be a quantify issue, as we and were still debating with our plan get a live date for SAPs views in October. So although it looks, at this point in time, like it may be delayed. If it gets delayed, itll actually push derriere into about March next year, because weve got some other peak periods in respect to processing and so forth. (National Manager of Infrastructure). The experiences of the four case study organisations suggests that their HRIS projects tend to face a number of challenges in the allocation of resources and the securing of ongoing support from senior management. Often finance, selling and other operational functions are being given greater priority. In sum, based on the empirical research to date, it could be argued that all of the organisations, and specifically the HR function within them, have faced challenges regarding their ability to maintain momentum towards the sel ection and carrying into action of an upgraded HRIS.The Complexity of HRIS Underestimated The complexity of HRIS and its associated functionality appears to have been underestimated at the four case studies (Hannon, Jelf, & Brandes, 1996) and can be attributed to both technological and managerial factors. The challenge for HR management is how to manage the tenseness between the need to adapt practice to meet the needs of the HRIS versus customizing the technology to fit existing practices and the unpredictability involved in the management of people. Associated with this challenge is the decision of where to locate the management of the HRIS i.e. within Information engineering science or as an HR technology group within HR.Our case organisations have varied responses to this dilemma, but all suggest that management of the system has significant implications for knowledge transfer between IT and HR and thus the ability to realise value from the HRIS . Previous studies have reiter ated the claims made by HRIS vendors that there are two compelling benefits arising from the instruction execution or upgrading of HRIS (Hendrickson, 2003 Kavanagh, Gueutal, & Tannenbaum, 1990 Kovach & Cathcart, 1999). One is an increase in efficiencies through reduced costs and increased data accuracy, and the other is the improvements in the travel rapidly at which information can be produced. much(prenominal) improvements in business processes have not yet been fully realised in our case study organisations as the executing and functionality of the HRIS has proven to be more complex than anticipated. ManuOrg has maintained a number of legacy add-ons and proprietary upgrades to their CHRIS system. The current project is attempting to simplify and standardise systems into a standard IT platform that can be more easily supported but is finding it difficult to align the needs associated with its range of operating companies within one HRIS. The organisation realises that with its selection of a new and pick HRIS vendor (SAP), there will be considerable compatibility issues with data migration. Accordingly, the transactional and menial activities for HR will increase prior to implementation, as existing data and codes are modified, and thereof the time required for data migration is pass judgment to be significant. The complexity associated with the new system has compelled the organisation to implement it in a big bang manner. There are toomany interdependent processes and that we truly have to make the entire change of payroll for Australia and stark naked Zealand at the one time (Manager HR and payroll helps). The complexity of the new system will also affect the value that the organisation can extract from the HRIS in the short term. Although the organisation has the explicit desire to establish a single source of truth via its new HRIS, it is recognised that such goals and aspirations will take second place, at least in the short-term, to the more urgent need to address issues surrounding change management and borrowing. The project based nature of the work that BuildOrg undertakes adds complications to the selection, use and implementation of any vanillaHRIS. As the organisational structure is based more on projects and individuals rather than positions (typical of most organisations), particular reporting functionalities associated with HRIS may be deemed less relevant or even superfluous for the organisation. In addition, similar to ManuOrg, this organisation is faced with the impediment of trying to establish one central system which can be considered as a single source of truth from legacy systems which currently do not interface well. This has resulted in significant challenges virtually the compatibility and integration of data. BuildOrg has also experienced challenges with some of the functionality within the new system, particularly in relation to online leave applications. The issue of leave has proven to be pr oblematic end-to-end the upgrade process, to the extent that the organisation has decided not to utilize this function initially, which is in all likelihood why weve decided to not go away with the (leave submissions) online thats a little bit in the too hard basket at the moment as to how its going to work ( bodily HR Advisor). Furthermore, a number of other functionalities of the HRIS have needed to be adjusted in order to meet the organisational requirements before the system goes live You need a fold of tweaking at that point and we wont be spot-on when we get it there itll be close. That tweaking will take a while itll take months and months (Payroll Manager). This is a process that has consumed unprovided for(predicate) additional time and resources.Similar levels of complexity are associated with the implementation of a new system at TechOrg. This complexity can however be attributed to the changes in ownership that the organisation has experienced over the past 2 years. The new system and its implementation has experienced additional technical difficulties which have largely been driven by found business processes that could manage differences in European and Australian legislation. Being a in public owned organisation presents its own range of issues for GovtOrg regarding the use and implementation of a HRIS. Comprising a highly structured workforce, GovtOrg faces challenges with the management of rosters, schedules and allowances. In contrast to ManuOrg and TechOrg, GovtOrg needs an HRIS capable of processing, administering and managing a variety of employee rosters and allowances. More specifically,for this particular organisation, the activities of workforce planning, the management of staff hours, associated policy issues and ensuring that its operations are conducted in accordance with the relevant collective agreements, results in additional complexity and has led to demands for additional functionality from the HRIS. Furthermore, the Nat ional Manager of Infrastructure recognised that existing contractual arrangements with their HRIS vendor has exposed the organisation to possible potential risks that may lead to delays. Such potential risks and possible delays are believed to stem from concerns that the vendor may be unavailing to address the added demands for additional functionality that GovtOrg has put forward under present contractual arrangements. These contractual concerns along with workforce planning issues, have added to the complexity of the selection, implementation and use of GovtOrgs HRIS. Barriers to sufferance of recent or Upgraded HRIS and the wideness of Change Management The third challenge which has hindered the ability of our case study organisations to realise the potential of their HRIS arises from barriers associated with the acceptance of the new or upgraded HRIS among key end-users of the system and the importance attached to managing the change processes associated with its implementa tion and introduction. Further, obtaining organisational buy-in regarding the strategic contribution of the HRIS has, in some cases, been hindered byscepticism, a lack of understanding, insufficient management commitment, and fears that existing modes of work will be changed and result in, for example, job loss or adapted leave entitlements and shift arrangements (Kavanagh et al., 1990 Kinnie & Arthurs, 1996 Tansley & Watson, 2000). The lack of organisation and management buy-in has also been a significant challenge for ManuOrg. Despite the HRIS project acquiring renewed salience and again being placed on the organisations strategic agenda, the Manager of HR and Payroll Services recognised that the system and its importance for the organisation was yet to be acknowledged and wholly accepted Im not sure that its got the necessary buy-in from the business leaders that were going to need to have. This problem was reinforced later in the corresponding interview from talk of the town w ith the business heads, concept-wise, no one is motto this is a load of rubbish, but I dont think theyve quite a got theirheads into the space and are saying, Yes, were one hundred% behind that To try and sideboard this lack of buy-in, the HR department is work on an ongoing basis to promote the HRIS promise. ManuOrg, acknowledges that the upgrade of the existing system, that has been in place for 21 years will generate significant change for the way that information is managed. As the Manager of HR and Payroll Services observed The biggest issue I believe is going to be the change management Most ManuOrg employees are going to break that and more than notice. Theyre going to see a significant change in the way that they supply information, get information, gain approvals. Its a big challenge for us at the moment to try and get people in the business into this online environment. Some people really heat it, other people really abhor it. Theres like that sort of and theres n othing really in between at the moment lack of understanding of the change needed but also an explicit concern for the need to manage change. Discussions about this challenge and concerns about the required change management process have been extensive and the wider acceptance of the system and its changes are seen to differ between those that are associated with the project, versus existing employees who are well-to-do with the organisations current policy and procedures, or or else fearful of technology. For me it works well, but Im very adaptable to change. So being able to move to a system where we can have everything in the one place I think is going to be a much better thing for us. (HR Manager of Corporate and Shared Services).The challenges for GovtOrg in managing change are centred on the need to re-focus expectations. With the explicit desire to establish a single source of truth, the organisation has commissioned the HRIS project The ability for the organisation to ach ieve this relies on the ability to manage expectations But weve also got to manage the expectation that this is not the silver grass to everything. This is simply a system. A system, in and of itself, doesnt actually resolve issues or processes or anything else. (National Director of People and Place) This same manager further believed this process and challenge would greatly impact the overall acceptance of the system and thus was focussed on the implementation process. If this process experiences issues and additional complications, or just goes wrong then you can almost smell the end of SAP or its user acceptancewithin customers. Without an in effect(p) implementation process the ability of the organisation to gain potential strategic potential from their HRIS would be significantly compromised. Barriers to acceptance, ownership and guardianship have plagued BuildOrgs past, current and plan HRIS. The resources allocated to the maintenance of the HRIS system have waned through out the life of the existing system and overall ownership of the system has largely been transferred back and forth from IT, HR and Payroll Weve had a lot of problems actually trying to get people to take ownership of the systems and maintain them which has resulted in the existing system and the information that it generates being inaccurate and outdated. Past experiences of systems with particular(a) use, combined with an appreciation of the needs of the current workforce has ensured that the organisation has delayed the implementation of the new updated system in an attempt to ensure that all problems and barriers have been communicate before the system goes live. According to the Corporate Human Resources Manager, train and education is essential and needs to be timely Its about educating and marketing, I think at the induction piece, the new joiners they get some sort of training on how to use it and then when we roll out self service and I was talking to Manager X about thi s the other day and said anything we do it has to have areally devout marketing push so that people take notice and then apace follow it up with the training. This organisation and its current project manager also realises that the training needs to be hands on in order to generate an acceptance and use of the system and avoid the work-arounds that have compromised the effectiveness of the system in the past. Acceptance of the HRIS has also presented problems for TechOrg however user metro has not been as significant as evidenced in the other cases. Employees largely work in distributed teams located in client organisations for the duration of their projects. They are working in a hightech environment and thus are comfortable with a more virtual relationship with the organisation and use the HRIS to manage their information and for most of their HR requirements. Despite the HR department attempt to ensure that the new HRIS project retains salience in the organisation, the lack o f organisational buy-in tends to surround specific functions rather than the system as a whole. TheDirector of People and execution communicate of limited success with functionality associated with time sheet and the need to incorporate additional flexibility to meet the increasingly complex customer requirements which have implications for their employees in different work sites. Change is a constant in this organisation so together with the technical requirements of the job, this seems to create a more evaluate environment for new systems. However, despite this environment, novel changes around pay cycles generated significant electrical resistance that was unanticipated by management signalling that changes to the HRIS that at present impact employees such as pay may require significant more attention to change management than TechCo has traditionally been used to. Discussion and Conclusions Initial findings from our four case studies suggest that although new or upgraded HRIS systems are being used to automate and devolve routine administrative and compliance functions traditionally performed by the HR function, the potential for this technology to be used in ways that contribute to the strategic direction of the organisation is not being realised. More specifically, our results suggest that the opportunity to enhance HRs role as strategic partner as a result of the use of HRIS is beinghindered by three main challenges. The first challenge relates to the ability to maintain the levels of senior management commitment and resources needed to implement and manage new or upgraded HRIS. The second concerns managing the complexity of the HRIS and its associated functionality. The third challenge stems from barriers associated with the acceptance of HRIS among key managers and employees along with the importance attached to managing the change processes associated with the implementation and introduction of the new or upgraded systems. These challenges dem onstrate that the material, functional characteristics of technologies such as HRIS are complex and make them difficult to introduce and operate. At the same time, and in line with a social constructionist approach to the study of technology each of the challenges illustrates that how and when a technology is used is also determined by the agency of its users and the social context within which it is adopted (Orlikowski et al., 2001). In sum, only through an appreciation of both the material and the social can a more informedunderstanding of the problems that surround HRIS implementation and operation be obtained. In this respect, our findings are in contrast to the more technological deterministic view of earlier studies of HRIS that suggest that it is simply the technology itself which has implications for the changing role of HR. It can be seen then that the social context of HRIS plays an important role in fictile user perceptions and behaviour (Orlikowski, 2000). From a techno logies-in-practice office (Dery et al, 2006) user interactions with the facilities, norms, and interpretative schemes associated with HRIS are affect not only by its technological complexity, but also by problems concerning the management of, and commitment to, its implementation. These socio-contextual factors are compounded by the fact that each case study organisation has experienced significant change, for example in ownership and structure. Underlying the three challenges is the issue of how various social groups, or key actors involved in the implementation and use of HRIS bring to bear their own interests and thus interpretations of the system and what it does. As a result of this process, the design, selection and use of HRIS are shown in this study to be subject to contestation as a range of meanings areattached to the technology that either undermine or highlight its perceived value and significance and which impact on the extent to which it is to be used in a strategic or more administrative fashion. Significantly, the study suggests that interpretations which run counter to HRIS being used in ways that realise its strategic potential are currently winning the day. 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