HRM is a strategic process having to do with the staffing,
compensation, retention, training, and employment law and policies side of the
business. In other words, your job as human resources (HR) manager will be not
only to write policy and procedures and to hire people (the administrative role)
but also to use strategic plans to ensure the right people are hired and trained for
the right job at the right time.
Every organization, large or small, uses a variety of capital to make the business
work. Capital includes cash, valuables, or goods used to generate income for a
business
No matter the industry, all companies have one thing in common: they must
have people to make their capital work for them.
generation of revenue through the use of people's skills and abilities.
WHAT IS HRM?
the process of employing people, training them, compensating them, developing
policies relating to them, and developing strategies to retain them.
Most experts agree on seven main roles that HRM plays in organizations. These
are described in the following sections;
Staffing
You need people to perform tasks and get work done in the organization. Even
with the most sophisticated machines, humans are still needed. Because of this,
one of the major tasks in HRM is staffing. Staffing involves the entire hiring
process from posting a job to negotiating a salary package. Within the staffing
function, there are four main steps:
1. Development of a staffing plan. This plan allows HRM to see how many
people they should hire based on revenue expectations.
2. Development of policies to encourage multiculturalism at
work. Multiculturalism in the workplace is becoming more and more
important, as we have many more people from a variety of backgrounds in
the workforce.
3. Recruitment. This involves finding people to fill the open positions.
4. Selection. In this stage, people will be interviewed and selected, and a
proper compensation package will be negotiated. This step is followed by
training, retention, and motivation.
Development of Workplace Policies
Every organization has policies to ensure fairness and continuity within the
organization. One of the jobs of HRM is to develop the verbiage surrounding
these policies. In the development of policies, HRM, management, and executives
,are involved in the process. For example, the HRM professional will likely
recognize the need for a policy or a change of policy, seek opinions on the policy,
write the policy, and then communicate that policy to employees. It is key to note
here that HR departments do not and cannot work alone. Everything they do
needs to involve all other departments in the organization. Some examples of
workplace policies might be the following:
Discipline process policy
Vacation time policy
Dress code
Ethics policy
Internet usage policy
Compensation and Benefits Administration
HRM professionals need to determine that compensation is fair, meets industry
standards, and is high enough to entice people to work for the
organization. Compensation includes anything the employee receives for his or
her work. In addition, HRM professionals need to make sure the pay is
comparable to what other people performing similar jobs are being paid. This
involves setting up pay systems that take into consideration the number of years
with the organization, years of experience, education, and similar aspects.
Examples of employee compensation include the following:
Pay
Health benefits
401(k) (retirement plans)
Stock purchase plans
Vacation time
Sick leave
Bonuses
Tuition reimbursement
Retention
Retention involves keeping and motivating employees to stay with the
organization. Compensation is a major factor in employee retention, but there are
other factors as well. Ninety percent of employees leave a company for the
following reasons:
1. Issues around the job they are performing
2. Challenges with their manager
3. Poor fit with organizational culture
, 4. Poor workplace environment
Despite this, 90 percent of managers think employees leave as a result of pay. As
a result, managers often try to change their compensation packages to keep
people from leaving, when compensation isn't the reason they are leaving at all.
Training and Development
Once we have spent the time to hire new employees, we want to make sure they
not only are trained to do the job but also continue to grow and develop new
skills in their job. This results in higher productivity for the organization. Training
is also a key component in employee motivation. Employees who feel they are
developing their skills tend to be happier in their jobs, which results in increased
employee retention. Examples of training programs might include the following:
Job skills training, such as how to run a particular computer program
Training on communication
Team-building activities
Policy and legal training, such as sexual harassment training and ethics
training
Dealing with Laws Affecting Employment
Human resource people must be aware of all the laws that affect the workplace.
An HRM professional might work with some of these laws:
Discrimination laws
Health-care requirements
Compensation requirements such as the minimum wage
Worker safety laws
Labor laws
The legal environment of HRM is always changing, so HRM must always be aware
of changes taking place and then communicate those changes to the entire
management organization.
Worker Protection
Safety is a major consideration in all organizations. Oftentimes new laws are
created with the goal of setting federal or state standards to ensure worker
safety. Unions and union contracts can also impact the requirements for worker
safety in a workplace. It is up to the human resource manager to be aware of
worker protection requirements and ensure the workplace is meeting both
federal and union standards. Worker protection issues might include the
following:
Chemical hazards
, Heating and ventilation requirements
Use of "no fragrance" zones
Protection of private employee information
Awareness of External Factors
In addition to managing internal factors, the HR manager needs to consider the
outside forces at play that may affect the organization. Outside forces,
or external factors, are those things the company has no direct control over;
however, they may be things that could positively or negatively impact human
resources. External factors might include the following:
1. Globalization and offshoring
2. Changes to employment law
3. Health-care costs
4. Employee expectations
5. Diversity of the workforce
6. Changing demographics of the workforce
7. A more highly educated workforce
8. Layoffs and downsizing
9. Technology used, such as HR databases
10.Increased use of social networking to distribute information to employees
For example, the recent trend in flexible work schedules (allowing employees
to set their own schedules) and telecommuting (allowing employees to work
from home or a remote location for a specified period of time, such as one day
per week) are external factors that have affected HR. HRM has to be aware of
these outside issues, so they can develop policies that meet not only the needs
of the company but also the needs of the individuals.
