It Was All Started by a Mouse

Walt Disney liked to say "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse."

The same could be said for HR systems. We are where we are today in large part due to a mouse, a computer mouse.

The advent of the personal computer in the early 1980s along with IBM’s promotion of the information center concept signaled a change in our industry and profession. HR records moved from the mainframe to the desktop. We were able to not just collect and store the information, but we could catalog it and report on it. Granted the reports were fairly rudimentary (creating mountains of greenbar paper), but we could put together metrics on headcount and turnover and succession planning. Companies formed new departments within HR – the HR information center (HRIC) – and began staffing them with HRIC managers and system analysts.

As the technology grew more sophisticated, so did our HR systems and, one would like to think, the value we brought to the organization.
 
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." – Walt Disney

We in HR systems also continue to move forward. 

Today our HR applications are in the cloud and on mobile devices. Our information has become intelligent, our data is analyzed, measured and graphically represented. Organization charts are more than just names in a box.

I encourage you, as HR systems and information management professionals, to put your curiosity to good use. Open your mind to the creative and imaginative solutions you will find when you share stories with colleagues and exhibitors you met at the IHRIM 2013 Conference. Continue to be educated and entertained by purchasing the conference audio presentations (a great way to get benefit from the conference if you were unable to attend or attended and had to choose from many great sessions). Going forward, take advantage of the learning opportunities provided through IHRIM’s upcoming webinar or in our library of webinar recordings.

“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney

There are so many people to thank who helped make the IHRIM 2013 Conference and Technology a success – the IHRIM Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, presenters, exhibitors and sponsors. Thank you!

Save the date for IHRIM 2014: HRMS Strategies Conference and Technology Expo, to be held June 1-4, 2014 at the Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, California.

-- Lynne E. Mealy, HRIP, President & CEO, IHRIM

This blog is based on the welcome I gave at our 2013 Opening General Session on June 3 at Disney's Contemporary Resort.