Human Resource Management (HRM) shapes and maintains the culture of an organization and aims at striking a fine balance between employee and employer needs. As business consultants, we second what Steve Wynn rightly says, “HRM isn’t a thing we do; it is THE thing that runs our business.”

At hospitals, the functions of Human Resource Management include, but are not restricted to, personnel planning, recruiting the right people for the right job, orienting and training, managing salaries, benefits and incentives, evaluating performance, resolving disputes, and communicating with all employees at all levels.

With growing importance of leveraging technology for processes at hospitals, technology can be used as an aid in HRM to increase efficiency and to improve stake-holder engagement. E-Strategies / technological innovations can result in an efficient, effective and engaging HRM.

Some of the key areas of Human Resource Management at hospitals that can benefit with E-strategies are:

1. E-Recruitment: Given the highly specialized nature of the healthcare work-force required at hospitals and also considering the high attrition rate at hospitals, recruitment is a round-the-clock role of the HR department. A significant amount of time and resources are spent on the recruitment process resulting in higher costs for the organization. This process can be digitalized by use of digital platforms and applications such as LinkedIn, Naukri, Monster, etc. that allows to set specific filters for applicants and also analyzes from a pool of applicants to narrow-down on the best-fits. This process can also be done using the hospital website’s career page where applicants can apply directly and all the communication can be handled through it.
2. E-Training: Training and development are continuous, ever-evolving processes for every organization. Over and above clinical and technical training, hospitals have identified the need to train their people on better communication skills, customer management skills and problem-solving skills. The entire training schedule of the hospital can be brought online on an e-portal. This portal can be custom made by the hospital based on their requirements or a ready platform that allows some level of customization can be procured. As hospital consultants, we recommend that an e-platform for training must consist of – training modules for each category of staff along with sufficient learning material, progressive levels based on the difficulty and application of the subject, functionality to use the portal across various devices and at different locations, evaluation module to gauge effectiveness of the training and chat functionality to enhance communication. It is necessary to monitor this training platform and is equally important to train the staff on its use.
3. E-HRM: With growing importance of cost-effective operations at hospitals, it is highly recommended to bring the entire functionality of Human Resource Management to an E-platform. This is especially applicable to larger hospitals and also to the ones that have multiple units across the country and outside. An online HRM platform should allow to manage, in addition to the functions mentioned above, employee attendance, payroll administration, performance appraisal, resource management and employee life-cycle management on a single, online platform with better efficiency, control and transparency.

E-platforms for Human Resource Management have proved to be cost-effective for multiple industries and segments. Many larger hospitals in India have also implemented such platforms, either for their entire HR operations or for parts of it. It is high time for the healthcare and hospital industry to recognize the importance of such technological initiatives and to work towards its successful implementation.