Human resource management (HRM) is the process of employing people, training them, compensating them, developing policies relating to them, and developing strategies to retain them. As a field, HRM has undergone many changes over the last twenty years, giving it an even more important role in today’s organizations.
The Role of HRM
- Staffing
Staffing refers to the continuous process of finding, selecting evaluating, and developing a working relationship with current or future employees. Staffing can be done within the company or by contractors at various levels of the staffing process. Staffing activities might include:
- Profiling the job position
- Selecting employees
- Establishing performance standards
- Evaluating performance
- Training and development
Generally, the staffing function is handled by the Personnel Department or the Human Resource Department. The personnel policies are formulated by the personnel department to achieve the maximum usage from personnel in the organization.
- Development of Workplace Policies
Building an effective human resource department has to do with building a culture where employees are valued and treated fairly. To do that, it’s important for organizations to take policy development seriously as these promote consistency and help create a more positive company culture. HR policies are necessary because they set in place different rules and standards by which organizations can work more smoothly.
Areas where HR policies are necessary:
- Working Conditions
- Compensation and Benefits
- Employee Relations
- Employee Placement
- Health and Safety
- Workplace Diversity
- Training and Development
- Privacy
- Vacation
- Sick Leave
- Maternity, Parental, and Adoption Leave
- Recruitment
- Performance Management
- Disciplinary Action
- Discrimination and Harassment
- Compensation and Benefits Administration
Compensation and benefits refer to the benefits a firm provides to its employees in exchange for their labor. Compensation and benefits are thus a key part of Human Resource Management.
- Retention
Employee retention strategies are the way that companies try to keep their employees working with them to reduce turnover. In today’s society, recruiting is more about finding the right candidate for the job, versus finding a job for someone, making the recruiting more of a sales position.
One of the challenges many recruiters confront themselves with is how to keep the employees happy and to improve employee retention. BPO is one of the most dynamic industries with many job opportunities for foreign speakers, making the candidates constantly hunted by recruiters.
- Training and Development
Organizations provide learning opportunities and tools for employees to advance their overall careers. Talent development is a business strategy that companies implement to retain their top talented employees. Developing talent is one of the best ways to assure an organization has the leadership it will need for a successful future.
- Dealing with Laws Affecting Employment
Laws help ensure that job applicants and employees are treated fairly and not discriminated against. Hiring, training, and job placement must be unbiased. Promotion and compensation decisions must be based on performance.
- Worker Protection
A large part of working in human resources (HR) is managing employee risk. It is HR’s job to keep employees safe and make sure the company isn’t liable for any employee injuries. While managing risk is a lot of preventative work, you also need communication skills to explain accidents to employees/superiors when they arise. When you think of worker safety many people believe that this is the only representative of jobs that require manual labor. Making the workplace safer is an essential part of keeping employees happy and productive. If employees feel unsafe, they are less likely to be productive.
- Communication
HR is responsible for communications to help employees succeed. HR is responsible for communications related to employee training, benefits and wages, and company news. All this information helps the workforce succeed. Communication expresses the company’s values and priorities as it connects with both external groups (including customers) and internal stakeholders (who are mainly made up of employees). HR gives employees the information they need to thrive, such as how the company works, the benefits of contributing their best effort to the company, any training opportunities, and policy changes. This helps employees feel that they matter to the organization.
HR improves the company’s bottom line with its knowledge of how human capital affects organizational success. Leaders with expertise in HR strategic management participate in corporate decision-making that underlies current staffing assessments and projections for future workforce needs to be based on business demand.
While company leaders and front-line managers support employees and help them accomplish their goals, HR takes a holistic view of how to ensure the company has the talent required for the organization to perform.
The importance of HR management is also demonstrated in all the ways HR supports the needs of employees at various stages of their careers. HR ensures employees have the tools, resources, and leadership they need to perform to their potential, which is no small feat when you consider that each employee has different needs in the workplace.
