The way people look and name the concepts is different. Sometimes they all refer to one thing with different words and sometimes, despite of words resemblance, the difference is fundamental which makes the term misleading. Here, I try to find out the root of each term which mentioned in the title and make them distinguishable.
e-HRM: Let me first define the meaning of e-HRM and then we will go through the other terms to identify the similarities and differences. Strohmeier (2007) defined e-HRM as follows: “e-HRM is the (planning, implementation and) application of information technology for both networking and supporting at least two individual or collective actors in their shared performing of HR activities.” So we can say it is finally an application of Information Technology with a specific level of usage and sophistication which is implemented in an organization to make employees able to be connected and do their HR related activities. Previously Ruël et al. (2004) have defined it in another form of words: “a way of implementing HR strategies, policies and practices in organizations through a conscious and directed support of and/or with the full use of web-technology-based channels”. However the connotation is the same the stress is on the web-technology which defines a more specific aspect of information technology. As a result, the activities are internalized by the HR department and all the employees including line managers are able to use it on a network which can be an intranet, internet or any other kind to fulfill three distinguished roles that IT may serve HRM as Snell, Pedigo and Krawiec (1995) noted: Operational (administrative tasks) like payroll, Relational like training or Transformational which deals with strategic orientation of the organization [more on different types of e-HRM]. First sentences through which Gueutal and Stone (2005) start their book in the preface make the whole paragraph clear enough: “Welcome to the new world of HR. Things will look a bit different here. No longer will you deal with an HR professional to handle your HR needs. The HR portal will take care of you. Need to change your address? How about some online training? Want to check on your latest performance review? The portal is here to help.”
Virtual HR: “a network-based structure built on partnerships and typically mediated by information technologies to help the organization acquire, develop, and deploy intellectual capital” (Lepak and Snell, 1998). As Lepak and Snell discussed ‘Partnership’ refer to contract with third parties which can be in the form of outsourcing HR activities through a network. Then they propose an architecture to specify the activities that are more suitable, based on organizational context, to be outsourced through a Virtual HR. As it is clear there is an important difference between Virtual HR and e-HRM which sometimes are used interchangeably. Whereas the HR activities are outsourced and done externally in a Virtual HR platform, in e-HRM the activities are performing internally through a virtual channel.
Web-Based HR: “Today’s Human Resources function is being transformed by the Web. Web-Based Human Resources shows HR professionals how to use online technologies to offer more services to more employees at a lower cost” (Walker, 2001). As a definition for Web-based adjective, it refers to applications which work under an active internet connection and uses relevant protocols like HTTP to deliver services. So it seems the stress is on the means of networking which excludes other domains like intranet that works only in the area of organization.
HR Intranet: Right on the contrary of previous term -Web-Based HR- the term emphasizes on the implementation of HR electronic services through an internal network in the area of organization with the help of intranet architecture. Then, access to the platform would be restricted to the internal employees who are working in the organization`s buildings.
HRIS: As an abbreviation for Human Resources Information Systems, it was defined by Kavanagh et al. (1990): “system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute information regarding an organization’s human resources. An HRIS is not simply computer hardware and associated HR-related software. Although an HRIS includes hardware and software, it also includes people, forms, policies and procedures, and data.” Primarily it emphasizes on the computerization of HR activities including employees and data since a company that does not have a computerized system still has an HRM system on paper. So the stress here is more on the systems and processes that are used by HR professionals (as users of HRIS) than on electronic functions which e-HRM proposes to all employees in the organization (as users of e-HRM). In another words, as Kavanagh et al. (2011) state, e-HRM tends to be more application and HR-function focused (e.g., e-recruitment and e-training), and an HRIS is more focused on the systems and technology underlying the design and acquisition of systems supporting the move to e-HRM.
CHRIS: Computer-based which indicates C at the beginning of the term is the only difference in comparison with previous one. This term is the same as HRIS with an accent on computerization or keeping the track of information on computers.
With keeping all the definitions in mind, the most significant characteristic of such a movement in HR department would epitomize the usage of bits or electronics whether through virtual HR, Web-Based HR, HR intranet or HRIS. As a result we can conclude the term, e-HRM, as a super set of all the kinds of electronization process of this department.
REFERENCES
Gueutal H. G., and Stone D. L., The brave new world of eHR: Human resources management in the digital age (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass SIOP Professional Practice Series, 2005).
Kavanagh M. J., Thite M.,Johnson R. D., Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions – Second edition (California, U.S.: SAGE Publications, 2011).
Kavanagh M., Gueutal H. G., and Tannenbaum S, Human resource information systems: Development and application (Boston: Kent Publishing, 1990).
Lepak D. P., and Snell S. A. (1998), “Virtual HR: Strategic human resource management in the 21st century”, Human Resource Management Review 8(3): 215−234.
Snell S. A.,Pedigo P. R., and Krawiec G. M., “Managing the Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management” Pp. 159-174 in Handbook of Human Resource Management, edited by G. R. Ferris, S. D. Rosen, and D. T. Barnum (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1995)
Strohmeier S. (2007), “Research in e-HRM: Review and implications”, Human Resource Management Review 17(1): 19-37.
Walker A., Web-Based Human Resources (NY: McGraw-Hill, 2001).
Chase the Pace of My Mind 