The importance of human resources management
Employees are the foundation of any successful company. This is why human resources management is so important.
The HR department performs a variety of tasks and is responsible for ensuring that employees feel safe, valued and properly supported. Excellent human resource management keeps the HR department running smoothly and evolving over time.
If this sounds interesting to you and you’re interested in a career in human resource management, read on to learn why it’s so valuable in the professional world.
WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT?
The simplest description of human resources would be to say that it is the department of a company or organization that takes care of the relationships between employees and managers.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is the area of the HR department that oversees these departments.
HRM encompasses a range of positions, responsibilities, and aspects of business efficiency and employee well-being – and each area of HRM requires strong leadership from an experienced manager.
Key responsibilities of the HRM department include:
Hiring and training new employees.
An HR professional in a leadership position is often responsible for hiring and training new employees. This means that the HR team is responsible for finding candidates who meet the required qualifications for specific positions and for fully vetting the employees they hire.
HR managers are also expected to promote diversity among employees, train team members on their new work environment, and ensure a healthy relationship between employees and management.
But what exactly does an HR manager do when it comes to hiring and training employees? The most common tasks of such a human resources manager include:
- Conducting interviews and reading resumes
- Conducting background checks on applicants
- Overseeing or leading training procedures
- Introducing new training techniques
- Writing job descriptions, posting job openings, and recruiting potential applicants
- Making a good impression on behalf of the company (HR is usually the first department applicants come in contact with)
- Bottom line: a recruiter is often the face of the company to potential new employees. Recruitment, hiring and training policies are monitored and improved with the help of HR managers.
Employee safety and satisfaction
A human resources department is also responsible for ensuring that employees are safe, healthy and satisfied. With proper human resources management, necessary workplace safeguards are maintained and implemented, and solutions to problems between team members are found to avoid risks to the company and its employees.
Daily responsibilities of a human resources manager who specializes in employee relations may include:
- Creating workplace safety policies
- Ensuring that the company complies with federal and state workplace safety laws
- Addressing employee concerns and complaints
- Preventing and eliminating harassment or discrimination in the workplace
- Managing employee relations
- Facilitating communication between managers and employees
- Bottom line: human resources managers are responsible for many tasks, but the well-being of employees should always come first. As an HR manager, you will spend a lot of time talking to employees, listening to their concerns, and managing workplace relationships. The main goal of successful, strategic HR should be to ensure that employees feel safe, respected and heard at all times.
Managing business risk
HR works with business leadership to help manage risk and compliance. HR leaders should be well-versed in business law, ethics, statistics, and problem solving to support their company’s risk management efforts.
As a Human Resources Manager, you may be tasked with the following risk management responsibilities:
- Analyzing statistical risk based on company data.
- Addressing and preventing potential litigation issues
- Monitoring layoff practices
- Properly train other managers
- Conduct diversity and Title IX training
- Protecting company data and maintaining privacy for sensitive information
- Reviewing new hires and improving hiring practices.
- The bottom line is that human resource management serves to protect the company and its employees. As a risk management specialist, you will help manage your company’s risks by performing statistical analysis, being knowledgeable about business law, and improving overall company policies and procedures.
Paying employees and negotiating fringe benefits
Even employees who love their jobs wouldn’t do them if they weren’t paid. One of the most important roles of the human resources department is to manage compensation and benefits for a company’s employees. Proper administration of compensation, time off, and insurance helps keep employee satisfaction high.
As a human resources manager, you will be responsible for distributing, communicating, and improving compensation and benefits packages. Responsibilities in this department include, but are not limited to:
- Negotiating insurance packages with vendors.
- Arranging benefits for new employees
- Tracking payroll
- Organizing employee paperwork (for payments and taxes)
- Preparing 401k and retirement plans
- Managing vacation, paid time off, and sick days
- Determining salary increases and bonuses for employees
- This is perhaps one of the most important areas of human resource management, as many candidates choose their jobs based on salary and benefits. As a manager, you have the opportunity to develop these packages and improve employee benefits as the company grows.
Summary: Human resources managers are often responsible for their employees’ compensation and benefits. A human resources manager’s responsibilities include negotiating insurance plans, making sure payments are made on time, and improving and developing employee benefit packages.
WHY HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IS A GROWING INDUSTRY
Human resources management is not what it used to be. Technology, workplace policies, and a changing marketplace are some of the major factors influencing the growth and evolution of HR. Some examples of these new and improved practices include:
Modern recruitment methods – HR is using tools such as online job boards and social media to make recruitment faster and more efficient and to better reach diverse candidates. Recruiters must learn how these programs and websites work to be successful in today’s environment.
Inclusive practices – Many companies, with the help of their HR departments, have increased emphasis on the value of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, which helps create a safer and more inclusive work environment for employees, along with better hiring, training and reporting practices.
New forms of training – Training is increasingly dependent on technology, making it essential for human resource management to stay on the cutting edge. Advances in this area include digital training modules and streamlined communication through online messaging. Many employees can even be trained from the comfort of their own homes as remote work becomes more popular.
Growing industries – The digital economy sector is constantly growing, and companies are quickly gaining traction and expanding their workforce. These developments are leading to larger HR departments in industries that were once small. Over time, you may see high demand for HRM positions that didn’t exist before.
Social media – Online presence and digital marketing are becoming increasingly important to corporate reputation and image. Some HR departments are branching out into social media management, creating an entirely new area in the field.
The bottom line is that as the professional world changes, it’s important for HR professionals to stay current and keep up. Technological advances and the streamlining of HR will play a critical role in HR over time.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Now that you are familiar with the details of human resource management, let’s get back to the real question: why is human resource management so important?
Human resources is an important aspect of any organization – from improving employee well-being to managing risk. Without proper management, this complex area of work would be unstructured and would struggle to evolve. A strong HR department, supported by solid leadership, is one of the best ways for an organization to ensure employee satisfaction, productivity and future growth.
Happy employees are the foundation of a thriving business, and human resources management is the glue that holds it together. That’s why every business needs an experienced, empathetic manager to lead its HR department.
CONTINUE YOUR CAREER IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Human resources management is critical to any business, and the skills required for the position are equally valuable. The first steps toward a successful career in human resource management are finding the right platform to manage your human recourses. Sign up with icehrm.com which is know as one of the best digital HRM platform available.