New system streamlines functions of department

August 14, 2006|by WAYNE RIDENOUR / Washington County Board of Education

Editor's note: On the second Monday of each month, Washington County Board of Education members and school staff will use this space to write about school system issues. This month's column is written by board member Wayne Ridenour.

The No Child Left Behind Act is a far-reaching piece of legislation. Not only are there issues of student achievement, but also items that impact the job of the Human Resources Department. After assuming the chair of this committee, I met with our new director to discuss not just issues of interest to me, but also to ask how we could help him carry out his responsibilities.

Without hesitation, he asked that our Human Resource Management System be implemented as soon as possible.

As my education regarding the HRMS expanded, I realized that implementation of this system would move the human resource department into the 21st century. HRMS is simply a sophisticated program/system that, when fully operational, provides the capability to handle all central human resource and payroll processes from recruitment to separation of employees.

What are some of the benefits for the Washington County Board of Education? The system will streamline recruitment by allowing a paperless applicant process. It will provide desk rsum reviews for administrators.

The certification auditing will allow employees to be notified if certificates have expired or need updating. Health and safety tracking allows for accident and OSHA reporting. Further, the system will permit us to be certain that all employees meet the federal highly qualified mandates.

Employees also will see benefits, as they will be able to go online and change home addresses and view an employee profile for accuracy. They also can view current benefits and paychecks, and update emergency contacts. Employees will be able to take ownership of their personal information.

For the system, the benefits are efficiency, security, cost savings and a reduction in time spent on redundant activities.

The system should streamline principal workloads, allowing for more time with students. The HRMS will reduce or eliminate the possibility of costly mistakes, which can occur in an outdated paper system.

The flexibility of HRMS will allow the human resource department to continually adapt the program for changing needs, further enhancing our school system. This program is another way that Washington County and the Board of Education are moving forward in an effort to provide the tools our employees need to do an even better and more efficient job.

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