Manufacturer steps up to employee self-service

With new initiatives and supporting technologies, Fortune 500 manufacturer Cummins Engine Company is helping its employees help themselves to HR information.

Cummins is the world's largest producer of diesel engines above 200 horsepower, with 1998 sales of $6.3 billion and 16,000 employees in the United States alone.

As part of a strategic initiative to consolidate and streamline key business functions, Cummins is deploying Interlynx Technology's InterAction employee and manager self-service applications, with Web-based self service and interactive voice response via desktops and kiosks.

With the new program, employees can view and update HR information, enroll in benefits, and set up payroll deductions via the company's intranet. Managers can additionally establish requisitions for new hires, process transfers and promotions, and update employee separation data.

The benefits of the new self-help initiative are already visible to Cummins, which has been reducing costs across the board.

"Providing our employees direct transactional access to their benefits and other HR information will allow us to continue to reduce costs while at the same time increasing service to our people," said Gloria Hoselton, Cummins' director of HR services.

The InterAction applications are also user-friendly, which means Cummins can simply give employees "meaningful, transaction processing applications without having to deploy a significant training effort across the company," added Hoselton.

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