HR systems concentrate on employees, the main asset of an organization. These systems manage employee career development, recruitment processes, personnel records, salary planning, compensation packages, and government regulations.

Human resources information systems support activities such as identifying potential employees, maintaining complete records on existing employees, and creating programs to develop employees' talents and skills.

HR systems exist at several levels in organizations (see figure). At the operational level, these systems process payrolls and track the recruitment and placement of the firm's employees. At the management level, HR systems help managers monitor and analyze the recruitment, training, allocation, and compensation of employees. Strategic-level HR systems identify the manpower requirements (skills, educational level, types of positions, number of positions, and cost) for meeting the company's long-term business plans.