Signalling rhe winds of change and taking the industry by storm, USR Infotech has been making giant leaps in the recent times. USR Infotech has been conferred with HR Tech Leader award at the World HRD Congress (Mumbai, India) in 2015, for the best integrated talent management solution with HR ERP made specifically for HR professionals.

On a candid conversation with Vaidyanathan Ramalingan, Founder & CEO, USR Infotech Solutions, we explore details on how this integrated talent management platform can help facilitate careful data management between online and offline data for human resource professionals.

We further discover insights, if HR data on the server is really secured? As Ramalingam claims with confidence, will soon become a one-stop destination for managing human capital and talent online.

1. What are the emerging trends in HR going forward and how do HR professionals help maintain a careful balance between online and offline data management?

Online enables HR reach everywhere going with power of internet, social media and access devices (smart phone, tablet etc). From the customer perspective, it is a recurring investment on talent with a monthly subscription model to avoid upfront cost involved.

For the on-premise model, there is a one-time investment followed by an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) paid yearly to get periodical updates, new features and bug fixes. In this model, the data and server is at the customer’s premise itself allowing them complete control over the data.

However, the drawback is, it can work inside the premise only unless the company has alternative methods to enable access using their internal IT private network arrangement.

2. A new era of HR analytics is dawning on us as we know, what is USR Infotech’s contribution to the analytics and big data space in HR?

We do have the following options in our solutions ranging from charts to dashboard with filters to analytics. We hope to see the analytics usage for an informed decision making process in HR / Talent management meetings with the management team.

As we have an Integrated Talent Management solution available the data visibility in our analytics is from hire to retire towards the entire talent management data points at a single solution.

Vaidyanathan Ramalingan, Founder & CEO, USR Infotech Solutions

3. How does the integrated talent management and HR ERP software work in coexistence?

Traditional HR systems in India were made some 1 to 2 decades ago with the available technology at that point of time and limited internet access those days.

USR INFOTECH is the first company in India to introduce an integrated talent management solution combined with HR ERP (traditional HR scope). Talent management aligns the corporate values with workforce management, organisational competency framework, performance planning and assessment, L&D, development programs and employees’ collaboration.

On the other side, the traditional HR scope covers leave & attendance, payroll integration, asset management, document management, Statutory/HR Help Desk etc. The coexistence is a must to combine both aspects to “manage human capital & talent online, at one place”

4. With HR heading to the cloud, how do you see the Skills2Talent and Skills4talent platform supporting this transition?

Today everyone has a bank account and we never know where the data is and how the money is getting transacted. But we are sure that our money is safely managed and it works well online (anywhere any time including mobile banking).  We hope to bring about a transformation in customer mind-set in both B2C and B2B.

When you are confident towards money, the same is the case for HR data. It is convenient with the power of technology to choose cloud/on premise platform depending on organisational needs. USR Infotech maintains a single code base for both Skills2Talent (cloud) and Skills4Talent (on premise) solution, thus the features remains same for both.

5. Please shed more light on the security concerns faced by HRs and companies generally when transitioning to the cloud platform?

Security is one of the major concerns for companies moving HR data to the cloud, so to address these concerns there are solutions like encryption, password protection, physical security measures etc. The connection and data communication between customers using internet browsers, and our cloud server data centre is encrypted using high grade 256 bit encryption technique.

For enhanced security measures, we do possess the SHA-256 SSL certificate, which is issued by the Go Daddy Secure Certificate Authority – G2. This encryption technique makes it very difficult for unauthorized people to view information travelling between computers. It is therefore very unlikely that anyone can read customer data, when it travels across the network.

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The network security of our Hetzner data centres is backed-up by multiple redundant connections to the largest German internet exchange point, DE-CIX to ensure smooth data transfer. All existing upstream and peering are integrated at the backend via state-of-the-art routers from Juniper Networks  to boost network capacity.USR Infotech – Process Workflow of Integrated Talent Management

The application system security is ensured by continuous security updates on an operating system, security vulnerability scanning using state-of–the-art tools/techniques as per industry standards and fixes, hierarchical user data visibility provision based on information security policies of our customer organisation, usage of true multi-tenancy architecture wherein each customer data is isolated and remains invisible (i.e. secured) to others despite all users using it at a single point of time are some of the security systems enacted.

6. Explain the inner workings, processes, steps implied by this Skills2talent and Skills4talent online solutions and do they easily integrate with other applications used for social media recruiting?

Yes it is very much possible for our solutions to integrate with social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+). Our powerful API framework can integrate with any other portals for both – publishing the job openings and pulling of data i.e. the applicant details from the internet.

7. When you talk about competency based talent, what are the metrics used to measure competency of professionals to target hiring efforts?

It is the competency grade of each employee with reference to the competency modelling and competency mapping benchmark that we perform at the beginning, before setting up the solution for a client. So, right through the process of hiring, to on-the job and competency assessment for promotion, the benchmarks are set to evaluate the skills required Vs the job description.

Our metrics cover, competency grades (at an employee/team/and organisational level), enterprise skill inventory at project/department/organisation level along with proficiency levels, skill gaps, progress of development plans to narrow the skill gaps etc. The development plan tracking includes individual, team and organization tracking capabilities.

Once the competency grades of internal employees are known through metrics, it is then left to discretion of HR/delivery team to acquire the talent via external talent pool (hiring) or groom the internal employees.

See: Holistic and Proactive Approach to Total Talent Management

8. Tell us more about the ERP implementation for multiple user types and currency support?

As we have made our solutions for the global market, we carefully architected our solutions with multiple user types and currency. The multiple user type includes Corporate HR, country HR, Business HR and from the employees perspective it includes managers and employees including temporary staff.

Our solution also covers the third party users like placement consultants, sourcing companies, knowledge partners, training companies, background verification providers, pre-employment medical check labs etc. So, the data is captured centrally at one single place online.

9. What is e-competency mapping that helps cover a complete talent lifecycle from hire to retire? Also on the Multitenancy DB architecture for security, how does it help improve enhanced security online on an open sourced platform?

E-competency indicates the competency modelling and mapping that is performed electronically, thus avoiding paper or excel based approach. Hence all data is maintained online and managed continuously depending on the business and talent requirements.

Multitenancy DB architecture means every tenant’s (customer’s) data is isolated and remains invisible (i.e. secured) to other tenants despite all users using it at a single instance/application. So, there is no need to manage multiple databases. This helps avoid cost overheads as well as to leverage advanced database management technologies.

Our solutions are made of 100% open source with the best in the industry security measures (SSL, password and physical security).

10. How much does this HR ERP management solution focus on training and L&D initiatives within a company? Can this software be customised according to different industry requirements?

Our solution is based on competency modelling and competency mapping. Based on the organization competency framework, the learning identification is done to plan for continuous L&D focus. Once the requirement is derived from our system the complete enterprise training management is executed. The effectiveness indicators will give driving points for continuous improvements year-on-year.

11. How do you measure performance using this online performance management tool? How does it help save time and costs?

Our solutions are very intuitive and modern when it comes to performance management.  We align the corporate goals with workforce using multiple approaches. These include, balance score card, KPA/KRA/KPI, goal cascading (management by objectives) and multi-rate assessment (self/supervisor/competencies/360/matrix reviews).The cost and time saving is quite obvious due to system driven approach. This avoids maintaining excel records or paper work.

12. Now is the product available for free or this service is at a cost to the company? Does this solution facilitate easy online upgrades?

We give 14 days free subscription for our cloud solutions. Thereafter the billing cycle starts based on the products opted for. All upgrades are available for our solutions.

13. What are the new product development plans by USR Infotech this year and in years to come? Any new product launches on anvil?

We are the only and very first company to design and launch the Integrated Talent Management & HR ERP software. The Version 3.0 of this online solution has 13 unique products available already. Also we are soon launching a bunch of new products this year and next year as well.

These include Learning Management System (LMS), Online Test and Certification, Improved analytics, Mobile App, Learning content integration, Training market place integration etc. The idea is to “manage all human capital & talent online, at one single place”

14. What makes this integrated HR ERP solution developed by USR Infotech different from its competitors?
    1. Our solutions are made of 100% open source technologies.
    2. Instant form builder self-service (no need to depend on the solution provider or third party implementation partners). This means you can create your own forms for a particular talent management phase as per your organisation HR policies.
    3. Workflow configuration self service, which means there is no need to depend on a solution provider or third party implementation partner. You can configure your own workflow for a particular talent management phase as per your organisational HR policies.
    4. Talent is the key today. USR Infotech has the highest focus on competency based Talent Management solution as against the traditional HRMS software. Presently available solutions in the market typically concentrate more on HR operational aspects such as, leave, attendance, payroll, statutory and employee reimbursements etc.
    5. Perhaps many believe that HR means it is only the HR operations and therefore ignore the importance and need for a true talent management solution. Talent management is not rule driven, instead it is strategy driven. This changes year-on-year based on market, customer and technology transformation. We provide ready to use libraries in our system to avoid manual typing effort and accuracy of the context driven content. Our built in library includes, industry/function/sub function specific skill areas, skills, competencies, KPA/KRA/KPI/Goals (for performance assessments), development plans (Career/Competency/Team development, Organisation development).
    6. Easy social media integration for employer branding and talent acquisition.

15. What are the USPs that this online platform offers in terms of convenience, easy accessibility, better navigation, enhanced security and solutions etc.?
    1. Our solutions are accessible anytime, anywhere using any device (computers/tablets/smart phones)
    2. Our solutions are made of 100% open source technology, so it is purely platform independent and works on any hardware/software that is available today.
    3. Our solutions are made of HTML 5 GUI (Graphical User Interface) technologies to access it in tablets and Smartphone using the auto fit-to-screen capabilities.
    4. The instant form builder is made up of drag-and-drop capabilities to move up and down sequences and change the workflow instantly.

16. Tell us how do you see the future of HR in 2020 and beyond?
    1. Most HR systems and the lifestyles of millennial would have their own devices to work (in knowledge sector) and thus cloud solutions will increase in popularity.
    2. Overall, there will be a transformation to use smart phones to access the HR and Talent management applications on the move.
    3. HR and HCM will be moving towards Talent Capital Management. This means moving out of traditional HR operational focus (leave/attendance/payroll, statutory compliance, reimbursement) to diverge into areas of exploring integrated talent management and manage all human capital and talent online.
    4. HR shared services might become more popular which makes the corporates to focus more on the core business activities, while outsourcing HR services to shared service providers.
    5. Analytics and big data technologies will be used to screen, abstract and analyse huge HR transactions. Relevant analytics will be based on the role/need of an employee.
    6. Predictive analytics can provide more insights to derive retention management, workforce planning, continuous L&D etc.

Also read: HR Trend Next: Talent Management on Smartphone