Recording, analysing and using HR information Essay

It is beneficial for a business to collect a variety of data to gain an understating of its performance to satisfy compliance legislation. However the information collected needs to be useful, relevant and selective. Raw data collected can be converted into useful information. It is important for human resources (HR) to collect data to meet legal requirements, keep necessary contact details of employees, records all contractual arrangements and to provide supporting information in the event of a claim that may be made against an organisation. It also supports an organisation when making decisions. Data can be collected in two different types of formats within an organisation. These are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative is data collected numerically which allows for data to be measured and calculated. Quantitative is a descriptive method of collecting data. This type of data can be observed but not measured. These two different types of data support HR practices in a number of different ways, such as, showing patterns of absence relating to employees, highlighting any learning and development requirements that an individual may require, trends’ in staff turnover and key performance indicators. Customer feedback can also be obtained to allow a business to improve it services and costs can also be easily monitored. HR data can be stored by a number of different methods each having advantages and disadvantages. Data can be stored electronically and non-electronically. Storing data electronically can be beneficial as it is easy to access, can be shared easily and takes up less space. Online HR systems are available to employees where data and information can be added and updated by an individual and also can be accessed by one or more people such as line managers. This is useful for appraisals and monitoring performance. Storing data electronically through databases is also more secure than manual documents. Sorting data manually such as diaries, word processing documents and paper based surveys also has its benefits as it can be more cost effective to a business and cannot be easily lost where electronic data could be. Also employees require less training to store and organise manual data. There is an array of different UK legislations currently enforced relating to data and legislation is in place to enforce correct storing, recording and accessibility of data. One of these UK legislations are The Data Protection Act, The information commissioner has produced a code of conduct relating to the data protection act. This applies to personal data held and the legitimate grounds for this being held, which information is classed as sensitive and cannot be gathered without explicit permission. Another type of current UK legislation is the Human Rights act. This confers the right of respect of privacy on individuals and provides for employees in the public sector to take legal actions against their employer of they consider their rights infringed.