Michael Baker

The HRMS can either be combined with an existing Oracle eBusiness Suite, or tailored as a stand alone system. But can new technology really add value to the management of human resources?

'Our whole point is that more efficient human resources management can save money and contribute to the bottom line. This is about saving costs through greater efficiency,' says Mr.Baker.

'This system handles everything to do with the employee. From payroll, value added, screening, assessments, career planning, and appraisals. A file on each employee contains everything to do with that person, plus all applicants can be handled with i-recruitment.

'There is also a section on skills development with i-learning. And all this data is housed in one place for use by any part of the organization.'

Mr. Baker argues that HR must be treated as a strategic function as people are the 'only competitive advantage that any business really has, the intellectual capital' of a company.

'Larger organizations are all trying to do more with less people these days,' he says. 'And that means getting the right person with the right skills in the right place at the right time is all important. This new technology allows you to measure and match skills. You can ask: how much of a skill do we have? Do we retrain or recruit?

Oracle's i-recruitment package assists in recruiting the right people by screening CVs, and psychometric tests can be incorporated and developed to ensure matching skill sets. Contractors can also be managed in the same way as employees and contracts reviewed automatically as they expire.

Mr. Baker points out that recruitment is a very important function and often handled very badly by Gulf companies. 'Agencies take 20-30% of annual salaries in fees and it can take six months to get an employee working at full capacity, so anything that improves this expensive process is welcome.

'Retention of staff is another issue, and you have to look at how to satisfy the aspirations of staff. So is obtaining the right mix of cultural backgrounds to achieve a harmonious balance.' This can all be part of HRMS.

It seems to come down to a better flow of information and availability of data to aid management decisions on HR. And Oracle has melded the recruitment, employment, skill development, retention, and exit life-cycle of staff into a typically clever addition to its powerful eBusiness Suite.