Information Technology Utilization in Organizational Human Resource Development: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Digital transformation has reshaped organizational landscapes, including how organizations develop human resource (HR) competencies. Information technology (IT) has become a strategic infrastructure supporting employee learning, training, and career development. This study aims to explore the forms of IT utilization in HR development, identify supporting and inhibiting factors, and analyze their implications for the effectiveness of HR development at the organizational level. The study employs a qualitative approach with a case study design at Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Abdul Muthalib Sangadji Ambon, formerly IAIN Ambon. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten informants, participatory observation, and documentation studies, and analyzed using the Miles and Huberman interactive model. Data validity was maintained through source and method triangulation. The findings indicate six principal forms of IT utilization in HR development: Learning Management Systems (LMS), virtual training and blended learning, mobile learning/microlearning, HR Information Systems (HRIS) for career planning, community-based knowledge management systems, and people analytics for identifying development needs. Supporting factors include leadership commitment, infrastructure readiness, and employee digital literacy, while inhibiting factors include cross-generational digital competency gaps, workload constraints, and insufficient evaluation of digital learning's impact on performance. This study contributes contextual insights into organizational actors' experiences of IT integration in HR development and highlights its potential to support adaptive, technology-based HR development. The findings also provide practical considerations for HR practitioners in designing employee digital capability strategies.