ABN AMRO Profiting From Self-Service HR System

Think of the myriad reasons a bank employee must talk to the human resources staff: adding a new child to a health insurance plan; changing an address; increasing or reducing withholding taxes; signing up for or changing contributions to a 401(k) plan.

ABN AMRO Bank has made it easier for employees to perform such tasks on their own, thanks to HR Employee Self-Service, a Web-based application developed by Atlanta-based Geac Enterprise Solutions.

The application, which Netherlands-based ABN AMRO began using this spring, allows employees to log onto the bank's intranet and enter a password to look up HR information and perform functions like making changes to a retirement or health insurance plan. The software includes encryption to prevent unauthorized access to confidential information.

Developed using Geac's Active Architecture , HR Employee Self-Service ensures that employee information is updated in real-time.

By relieving HR personnel of day-to-day clerical tasks, the application frees them to focus on more valuable activities, said Doug Ring, vice president of e-business technology at Geac. "Plus it gives employees a sense of empowerment and reduces errors." Although the HR self-service software was customized for ABN AMRO, any type of company may use it, he added.

The HR software integrates with other Geac core back-office applications in use at ABN AMRO, according to Michael Siconolfi, senior vice president of finance and HR systems at ABN AMRO. "As we begin to implement more and more e-commerce solutions, we will build integration into our existing Geac financial applications." ABN AMRO is piloting another Geac application that will allow its vendors to track bill payments via the Internet.