Human resource information system: Lesotho case study
A central computer database system, UNIQUE,4 was introduced to manage human resource information in 2001. Although responsibility for the system lay with the Ministry of Public Service, it was primarily used by the Treasury Department to process pay. Indeed the Ministry of Public Service no longer appeared to use the system to manage human resources across the Public Service. Originally UNIQUE also linked a number of ministries including Finance (Treasury), Law and Constitutional Affairs, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs. The system was developed by Business Connexions/Data Dyanamique of South Africa.
The Ministry of Public Service acknowledged the role that good recordkeeping could play in ensuring the control over number of public servants. The Ministry attributed some of the problems that it experienced in managing human resources to the manual recordkeeping system, which made tracking information on public servants slow and cumbersome. Control over the total establishment was weak and inefficiencies in managing human resource information and data held in the payroll system had led to overpayments and late payments as well as potential opportunities for abuse of the system.
It was noted that there was often a lack of agreement between the lists submitted by ministries and the Treasury payroll printouts. Due to the slow movement of casualty returns between ministries and the Ministry of Finance, it was particularly difficult to verify information between these two sets of records, with the result that the payroll was often higher than is budgeted against established positions. Staff noted that the system provided an audit trail and a history of payments over time. However, the extent of its records management functionality was unclear. Access was password-controlled. Select Treasury staff had individual responsibilities for different ministries when inputting data into the system.
The Auditor General and her staff expressed concern about inefficiencies in the manual processing of the documentation. In particular, human resource managers needed to be keeping documentation up to date, checking the accuracy of information and ensuring that systems were working properly. However, often this was not done. Audits had been completed in some ministries, but more work needed to be done to ensure that recordkeeping was of a high standard. The Auditor General was principally concerned about issues of overpayment.
Retrospective approval of study leave, combined with late or non-existent casualty returns, was a major problem that resulted in significant overpayments to staff. These moneys were often very difficult to recover. A number of officials indicated that ghost workers were an issue. It was speculated that this occurred through the reuse of employment numbers of recently retired or deceased staff members, manipulation of personal information and collusion of staff. The slow processing of documentation, the lack of a methodology for crossverification between pay and human resources information, and the limited means of auditing the records, had created opportunities for both deliberate and accidental inaccuracies.
Staff within the Treasury noted that the UNIQUE system placed a lot of responsibility on them and that great care was needed to ensure accurate data entry. Occasionally, employing ministries delayed or defaulted in submitting casualty returns, and this delayed the processing of employee salaries through UNIQUE. The affected employees often ended up being paid directly by cheque, and the relevant data was not made available on UNIQUE, which had an impact on the accuracy of the payroll printouts. When UNIQUE was demonstrated during the visit, an example was given of a situation where it had taken a year for an employee to get on to the system.
Staff within the Treasury noted that the UNIQUE system placed a lot of responsibility on them and that great care was needed to ensure accurate data entry. Occasionally, employing ministries delayed or defaulted in submitting casualty returns, and this delayed the processing of employee salaries through UNIQUE.

The affected employees often ended up being paid directly by cheque, and the relevant data was not made available on UNIQUE, which had an impact on the accuracy of the payroll printouts. When UNIQUE was demonstrated during the visit, an example was given of a situation where it had taken a year for an employee to get on to the system.
Regular network availability in the Ministry of Finance was not guaranteed. This inevitably led to significant delays in processing of salary data. When this situation arose, the last available month’s data was used to process salaries. This had led to numerous complaints from staff. Direct payments, for instance to insurance companies or mortgage companies, were often affected. The ministry network had been unavailable for three weeks at the time of the visit.
There were implications in terms of maintaining current electronic data. In discussions, it was suggested that the information held in UNIQUE was inaccurate. This appeared to have been caused partly by erratic network availability, as well as by the lack of timeliness of processing casualty returns. Some Treasury staff did not view UNIQUE as complex or cumbersome, but other officers suggested that the system needed to be replaced.
The Ministry of Public Service was due to begin the process of replacing its current application (UNIQUE) with a more functional human resource information system. This activity needed to be undertaken in consultation with the Ministry of Finance, which was developing the IFMIS. In the long term, staff recognised that the development of a public service-wide networked HRIS would assist in effectively managing personal information for public servants; a full review and business reengineering process would likely be required.
In particular, there was a need to restructure the casualty return system, whereby changes to pay information could be made through networked systems from the ministry, thus enhancing the accuracy and timeliness of human resource and payroll information. With ongoing reforms and devolution of human resource activities to ministries, care needed to be taken to ensure that personal files and database information in ministries were consistent and of a high standard in order to assist with data entry into the new HRIS.
The recordkeeping functionality of the systems also needed to be considered to ensure the integrity of personal information over the long term. Uninterrupted network capacity, backup, storage and migration strategies would be necessary in order for personal information to survive over time. Procedures and staff training on human resource and payroll manual and electronic records needed to be developed.
Source: extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.irmt.org/documents/building_integrity/case_stu dies/IRMT_Case_Study_Lesotho.pdf

QUESTION: ONE (25 MARKS)

In light of the above case study, critically identify the underlying challenges that demanded the Ministry of Public Service to implement a more functional Human Resource Information System (HRIS). (10)
Examine some of the reasons for the slow introduction of computer-based systems and technology in the HR department including skills and knowledge required from the HR practitioner working with HRIS. (15)

QUESTION: TWO (25 MARKS)
Project attributes can be defined according to their purpose; time frame, ownership, resources, roles, independent tasks, or organizational change. The time frame is the most important to be defined because it sets up the beginning and end of the project. Every project is an attempt to accomplish something, a goal to produce something tangible and to add value for the organisation.
In reference to the provided abstract, critically analyse some of the key fundamental predefined flow of tasks in project management that are critical during the planning and implementation phase of the HRIS.

QUESTION: THREE (25 MARKS)

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations face numerous internal and external forces that shape their future trajectory. Critically analyse the key factors that significantly influence an organisation’s future success and sustainability. In your discussion, highlight the role of innovation and digital transformation in maintaining competitive advantage.

QUESTION: FOUR (15 MARKS)
Investigate the impact of recession on the investment of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) particularly in economically developing countries.

Answers to Above Questions on Human Resource Information Systems

Answer 1: 

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