Big Data and Hris Used by Hr Practitioners: Empirical Evidence from a Longitudinal Study
INTRODUCTIONData is usually gathered by organisations and then analysed to get information to use for various reasons depending what their business is. Data becoming information can identify or point out business trends, prevent disasters, prevent diseases in countries, combat crime and so on. This sounds easy to do but analysts meet difficulties with large data sets in areas including Internet search, finance and business informatics.The term 'Big Data' is used broadly for data so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate. Challenges include analysis, capture, curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, and information privacy. The term often refers simply to the use of predictive analytics or other certain advanced methods to extract value from data, and seldom to a particular size of data set. Another view is that big data is an evolving term that describes any voluminous amount of structured, semi structured and unstructured data that has the potential to be "mined" for information. Although big data does not refer to any specific quantity, the term is often used when referring to petabytes and exabytes of data (Rouse, 2015).In today's global economy Human Resource (HR) practitioners must be prepared to meet the considerable challenges and expectations posed by the continuing gathering of data, the analysing of it to become information leading to knowledge and then the using of the knowledge to make wise decisions. The influence of 'Big Data' on the HR practitioner's roles, goals and activities is huge in how their function is creating and adding value to the organisation. An example of what is meant is when an organisation is formed in order to fulfill a specific mission or purpose but cannot be achieved unless the organisation searches for and selects the best potential employee with the right skills, knowledge and aptitudes (KSAs) for each identified job or position. It is imperative, therefore, that an organisation would design and implement an appropriate information system in order to attract the best suitable employees in order to achieve its desired goals and objectives. This is where big data is used by the HRM department if they have implemented a human resource information system (HRIS) (Nel, Werner, Botha, Du Plessis, Mey, Ngalo, Poisat Van Hoek, 2014).HR practitioners manage the most valuable asset in their organisations, namely employees, in order to achieve their organisational goals (Du Plessis, 2015a) Therefore, HR practitioners should look for opportunities to build appreciation and application into the strategic, tactical and operational planning of the organisation, and they should also keep this in mind when advertising vacant positions. HR practitioners play the leading role in providing support in designing job specifications, placing the correct advertisements, executing the selection and interviewing process, signing employment contracts with job descriptions and inducting the newly appointed employees. In smaller organisations these activities are generally done by HR consultants on behalf of the organisation. They also advise on the remuneration scale and level which will fit the employee the best. The employee's skills and expertise play a huge role in this decision, hence the use of collected data and information or their HRIS.HR practitioners in New Zealand (NZ) have been exposed to big data and the use thereof through their HRISs in adding value in organisations to be successful. The roles and activities of both the employers and HR practitioners have changed over the years and this study endeavours to shed more light on the use of big data and HRIS. In this paper six closely related themes are analysed and discussed: Knowledge and the use of HRIS systems, succession planning for managers, assessing employee attitudes, employee training and development, workforce productivity and output, and managing of labour costs.