Evaluation of employees’ perceptions on the adoption of a human resource information system at Alfred Nzo District Municipality.

Abstract

Many organisations in South Africa have started to use human resource information systems to deliver human resource functions. As the world is driven by technology and continues to change, there is a need for human resource departments to response quickly to the needs of its customers and for organisations to be competitive. This can be done through the use of human resource information systems (HRIS) and processes at the intersection of human resource management (HRM) and information technology (IT). However, there are few studies that have been conducted to investigate the readiness of organisations to use HRIS. HRIS’ failures are documented and literature shows that many HRIS projects failed because of a number of reasons, which could have been dealt with before the implementation of the system to ensure that the organisation was ready for change. Organisations spend a lot of money implementing systems that are already set for failure. This study closes this gap by examining factors affecting HRIS adoption. Using ‘Diffusion of Innovation’ as a theoretical framework, data was obtained from the Co-operate Department at Alfred Nzo District Municipality. To get an understanding of employees’ perceptions of the acceptability of HRIS, the study examined all five variables of innovation: compatibility; complexity; trialability; relative advantage; and observability. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted to generate knowledge about employees’ perceptions on the adoption of HRIS at Alfred Nzo district municipality and relevant documents were collected to support results. Results revealed that technology is under-utilised and employees are hesitant to use HRIS. This implies that the municipality needs to deal with resistance and bring everybody on board, even top management to support HRIS before adopting or adapting the current system. Moreover, the municipality needs a system that integrates all HR functions and the organisation as a whole.