'HRMS gives a bird's eye view of the employee profile'

Established in 1934, Nirula's is today a diversified group having a chain
of Elegant Business Hotels, Waiter Service Restaurants, Family Style
Restaurants, Ice Cream Parlors, Pastry Shops and Food Processing Plants in
India. The chain caters to over 50,000 guests every day. Rahul Puri, deputy
manager, systems, Nirula's, speaks to Bhaswati Chakravorty of Dataquest about
people management, the technology way.

On HR challenges at Nirula's?

Manpower is a very important component of the industry that we operate in.
Nirula's is a 1,400-member organization across Delhi and the National Capital
Region. We have recently expanded to Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Dehradun. There is
constant requirement of people in the food industry. We need to recruit the
right kind of manpower, map their profiles and outline training needs. The
system should also be able to throw up vacancies and track candidate profiles
that match the requirements. The objective of aligning technology with human
resource is to optimize the HR resources that would enable the team to perform
more efficiently.

On some of the applications deployed at Nirulas to facilitate HRMS?

We have deployed specialized applications that cater to specific
requirements of the organization on a macro level. That is, these applications
are available to the senior management and the HR team at Nirula's to
facilitate human resources.

The IT team at Nirula's has developed a payroll and HR management system (HRMS)
that is part of a larger ERP-based solution at Nirula's. The application is an
integrated HR management system that gives a bird's eye view of the employee
profile, providing a performance map of the employee and helping in optimum
allocation of human resources. The application maps an employee from the
induction stage and keeps track of an employee performance and movement. The HR
management system also automates leave management, loans and advance management.
The annual appraisal process is also automated with the help of appraisal
management software that is part of the HR management system.

On HR management system deployed at Nirula's?

The HR management system at Nirula's became operational two years back.
The application is being used in our corporate office in Gurgaon and our branch
offices in Connaught Place and Noida. The application has enabled
computerization and automation of HR processes and systems at the management
end. We are yet to extend the facility to our employees, but we would consider
this in the near future.

On the benefits of the human resource management system at Nirula's?

An efficient HRMS system helps handle scalability issues better.
Availability of applications with updated employee information facilitates
efficient human resource management and streamlines the entire HR process in the
organization. Updated employee information is easily accessible and this, in
turn, helps the HR department identify training needs and facilitate employee
development. The system allows the systematic use of manpower resources within
the organization, facilitates better HR management, increases productivity and
brings down costs significantly.