"IT: The Rs 4 crore HR Advantage"

LG Electronics India, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Korea-based

LG Electronics, is one of the fastest-growing companies in the consumer

electronics, home appliances and computer peripherals industry today. A

recipient of the Nasscom "India IT User Award", LG's IT usage

was found to be the best among its categories on the parameters of IT

preparedness, policy, IT infrastructure, people, processes and IT implementation

benefits. LGEIL is a people-intensive organization where human resource is

considered to be a strategic partner for organizational development. Arindam

Bose, IT head at LG Electronics India spoke to Dataquest about the IT

initiatives that drives human resource in the organization.

What kind of HR challenges do you face in your industry and especially at

LG? What is the role of IT to meet the HR challenges in the consumer goods

industry?



One of our main challenges at LG India is in the recruitment front, that is,

hiring fresh recruits from all over India. LG plays an active role in campus

recruitment at B-Schools. This recruitment drive every year is of great

importance to us as we are present in over 250 locations all over India.

The other challenge is that of retention, given the current competitive

business environment. There are also ongoing issues like induction, continuous

learning, potential assessment and determining effective career paths for

employees. Most importantly, we have to achieve all our HR goals in a

cost-effective manner.

IT plays the role of an enabler in HR. IT provides the relevant technological

infrastructure to align HR goals with organizational goals at a reduced cost.

How is IT being used to facilitate HR at LG Electronics in India? What

applications or HR software solutions are used at LGEIL?



First and foremost, IT plays a critical role in e-learning. We have an

intranet-based learning system, which covers all functions. This was started

initially to support our sales force. At LGEIL, product is our biggest USP. If

the sales people know the products well, they will be able to get the premium

the products deserve. Previously, we used spend a lot of money on travel and

arranging meets to make everyone aware of our new launches. But now the moment a

product is launched, it is immediately available on our learning system. This

learning system has now been extended to other



functions like Accounts, Service, Logistics etc.

According to HR estimates, the department has managed to save $500,000 in

2004, thanks to the e-learning system. In addition, our speed of knowledge

dissemination has become 70% faster and satisfaction has improved by at least

50%.

Secondly, smart hiring is the key to success for a modern organization today.

LGEIL recruits from all over India. There are tests like the psychometric test

that each candidate has to take in order to be selected for employment. There

was a time when a single recruitment drive would cost the company Rs 50 lakh on

an average. Now, we have a Smart Hiring System, a recruitment tool, that can

help complete all entrance tests and formalities from remote locations. This has

again helped the HR department reduce consultancy-related expenses to the tune

of Rs 1 crore per annum and Rs 50 lakh per annum on travel and, of course,

valuable time.

There is a host of other online systems like Performance Appraisal, HR Data

Bank, Manpower Management system in addition to HR ERP. The performance

appraisal system allows all employees to submit and track their appraisals

online and brings transparency to the whole process.

The HR Data Bank enables the HR department to manage the entire recruitment

process like determining vacancies, inviting applications, assessing resumes and

candidate profiles, conducting required formalities and final selection in an

organized and cost-effective manner. The manpower management system tracks the

overtime clocked by employees through our Attendance System and directly links

it with our Payroll system without any manual intervention

What are the quantitative and qualitative benefits of human resource MIS

implementation?



The IT initiatives at LG Electronics have been giving the HR department a

cost advantage to the tune of Rs 4 crore per annum over the last couple of

years. From a larger perspective, an IT-driven human resource management system

facilitates better management, increases retention, drives transparency and has

a direct impact on productivity levels. Employees who have got used to hi-end

online HR processes are likely to find it difficult to adapt in an organization

that does not provide similar facilities.

Where do you see HRMS taking LG India?



We believe that manpower is our most critical asset. LG Electronics has a

vision to become a $10 billion company in India by 2010. We are looking at our

Human Resource Management System to play a vital role in attaining our goal.