Perceived extent of adoption of human resource information systems on performance of public universities in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the perceived effects on extent of adoption of human resource information systems on performance of public universities in Kenya. With a structured questionnaire targeting 22 heads of human resource functions, the study analyzed 19 questionnaires which on which a response rate of 86.36% was attained. The study establishes that though the Universities have implemented various HRIS systems, HRIS is mostly being employed as an administrative tool more than a strategic tool in the public universities. The role that HRIS can play in improving the efficiency and performance of the Universities is missing as HRIS has not made the HR department important in the organization. The respondents could further not establish a direct link between HRIS and its impact on their routine work especially on the Human resource management practices namely performance management, human resource planning, recruitment and selection and training and development. So even though HRIS appears to have tremendous promise, it has not been fully utilized according to its potential in the public universities in Kenya. The study thus recommends that Universites should conduct user training which ensures that there is adequate user skills and awareness of the human resource management information systems in use and its full potential to University performance. human resource departments in the public universities should ensure that the integration and specific module of information system (IS) is working as expected during the implementation of human resource management information systems through effective piloting.