Bavneesh Gulhati highlights the various advantages of Kalpataru´s internal portal that has helped evolve its HR systems. Premium real-estate developer Kalpataru faced difficulties in upgrading and scaling up its HR system - more time was spent on transactional HR when there was a need to focus on developmental HR. There was no learning management system involved. In the belief that strong and efficient manpower is the key to run a successful business, the company, with the technological assistance of Oracle Fusion, introduced an internal portal, Humantree, to obtain quality information about its employees. Learning and development The company initiated this portal in October 2013. However, it underwent a long, six-month process before it was finalised. During this period, a round of testing was carried out by visiting the office of Oracle Fusion and working on the application hands on. Different processes were mapped and compared between different competitor software to understand the features and compatibility of the application. It was only after ascertaining all the criteria the process was finalised. Profit points Here are the pros of Humantree: It offers a 360¦ view of the organisation´s structure and provides contact details and other critical information pertaining to the internal networks. One can view dynamic and interactive organisation charts, reassign team members to different projects, approve employee goals and even evaluate them. It comprises fully integrated modules for three key areas: Core HR and payroll, talent management, and workforce analytics. The talent management module helps view and tap talent across the entire organisation and to eye population segments. HR can also schedule talent review meetings with managers with the help of a 3 + 3 potential vs performance matrix. In this process, a simple questionnaire is sent out to managers to decide on an individual´s potential rating. The system also captures ´risk of loss´ and ´impact of loss´. The transaction status is instantly visible and one can obtain a bird´s-eye view of every department. The internal portal enables the company to interact for work or social reasons. Through this platform, it can also share information that might be useful to all, discuss issues, raise queries and get recognition for his or her contribution. It provides top management with a snapshot of what is happening across the organisation and offers access to the most critical people metrics. The system also allows ´individual development plans´ or IDPs to be captured and tracked. The objective is to develop individual skills and competencies that have been identified through other interventions such as assessment or development centres, coaching, and leadership development programmes. The onus of working on the IDP lies on the individual but, at the same time, it is not a part of the annual appraisal cycle and an employee is not rated on it. Taleo Recruit and Taleo Learn, part of Oracle Fusion´s applications, are probably the best in the world for managing hiring and on-boarding processes along with learning and development processes, respectively. Humantree displays ´multiple tabs´ or ´dashboards´ and ´smart´ shortcuts to areas that require attention. A manager´s dashboard provides a snapshot to every manager about his or her team members, their profiles, goals and targets, availability and compensation, and helps the manager track the team´s performance. Its compatibility with mobiles and tablets further enhances accessibility and ease of use. The end result Humantree has made an enormous difference to Kalpataru´s performance and overall functioning. Today, every manager is empowered with analytics of reportees to take an informed decision. The HR dashboard also helps the team access the organisation´s data in a graphical format. The usage of the portal has made a vast difference in terms of quality and quantity to the workforce at Kalpataru. In conclusion, one can say that Oracle Fusion has put Kalpataru´s HR at the forefront of technology and given it a tool that can catapult the organisation to the next level of HR effectiveness. About the Author: Bavneesh Gulati, Senior Vice President, Human Resource, Kalpataru, has in the past worked with RPG Enterprises as general manager-group HR for two years. He has also worked with JSW Steel and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd for eight years each.