An Assessment of the Utilization of Human Resource Information Systems in Selected Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Service Delivery is one of the important key functions of any organization that is involved in Human Resource Management activities. This is clearly demonstrated by the numerous strategies that organizations are putting in place in order to satisfy demands of their customers.  Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) is one such strategy that has gained popularity in application by many organizations.  Though most of these strategies have propelled organizations in fulfilling their objectives, lack information on HRIS exists in Kenya. The study objectives were to: examine the HRIS usage in universities in Kenya and establish the application of HRIS in universities. The study used survey research design. The targeted population of 88 was drawn from Departments of Human Resource, ICT and Finance from the two Universities. The three departments were purposively selected since they were directly involved with HR matters. The entire population participated in the study since it was small and manageable. The researcher used questionnaires and an interview schedule to collect data from the respondents. Collected data was analyzed descriptively and presented through tables. From the findings, it was established that the institutions used both the automated and the manual HRIS. HRIS was found to be commonly used for payroll and record management. Besides, HRIS was also found to be used for recruitment, promotions and skills inventory. The study therefore recommends that the management of Kenyan Universities should allocate adequate resources for the implementation and maintenance of the system. HR managers should play a proactive role to support HRIS implementation in their organizations. It is also recommended that since the Universities in Kenya have adopted different types of Human Resource information systems, these systems need to be integrated and exchange data in order to increase availability and readiness of information to support top management on decision making.

Keywords: Human Resource Information Systems, Universities in Kenya, Service Delivery, ICT