My Operations Management classmate and I worked on a six sigma process improvement project for KSU's HR new hire paperwork flow. We spent 50-60 hours this semester doing interviews, process maps, data collection, cycle time tracking and industry research. In the end- I think we came up with great solutions!
We found ways to upgrade their applicant tracking system with automatic feeds into their HRIS database which basically means the data won't have to be manually entered twice anymore. Now the front-end HR software can communicate with the back-end systems and create a much smoother process flow. We also eliminated other NVTA (no value time added) smaller steps.
I believe our process improvement recommendations will save time, paper and resources- all things I am proud of. Our presentation to our peers went well and people were impressed with the time savings the project will create. However, the results may mean that Kennesaw State probably won't need as many scanning or date entry employees. Efficiency often times means layoffs just as outsourcing eliminates domestic jobs. Its not that I was naive to this reality before this project but it sure did illustrate the complexity of the offshore-automated- computer generated consequences on U.S employment. I believe we must work in the most lean and efficient manner in order to compete on a global level and hopefully that will lead to macro economic benefits that in the end, fuel more jobs. Right??
Our presentation link if you like nerdy things...
http://prezi.com/omlqzzbyzux6/copy-of-new-hire-paperwork-hr/
You know better than to worry about that Krista. The saw about unskilled labor, as alan greenspan once put it, is that it does not stay unskilled.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is that the more you automate the more you have to put money from O&M to R&D, which leads to side developments that start new business lines. in other words, the macro benefits you were speaking of.
You dont have to keep that thought as "hopeful", its practically axiomatic, thats why India is currently one of the word leaders in IT development when just 20 years ago they were manufacturing clothes and sewing soccer balls together for dollars a day.