What is Human Resource?

Every growing business or organization wants workers who understand its goal and make adequate effort to achieve it. These workers must expand the business into new territories and maximize profit.

The human resource (HR) unit allows organizations to achieve their vision through adequate recruitment and management of workers.

In this article, I will shed light on the meaning of human resources and why every organization needs human resource (HR) personnel.

Meaning of Human Resources

Human resources (HR) became popular in most organizations during the 20^th century. However, it was first used by the American economist John R. Commons in his book “The Distribution of Wealth” (published in 1893).

Many people commonly refer to the hiring manager of organizations as human resources (HR); occasionally, the term “HR” is also used to mean the working population in an organization. However, human resources (HR) refer to an organization’s department or unit saddled with the responsibility of recruiting, training, and managing employees.

Generally, HR units will address any misapprehensions between employers and employees and ensure that the working process of an organization is smooth by providing the tools needed for optimal employee performance.

Human Resources Personnel: Types

The human resource personnel is the overall head of any organization’s HR unit or department. Common names given to HR personnel include hiring manager, recruitment officer, talent officer, personnel manager, etc.

The HR personnel enforce the company’s business goals on employees, hire and interview incoming staff, process employee payment and benefits, and make all workers comply with the company’s working practices and policies.

In some organizations, HR personnel are given titles based on some specific things they do.

Common types of human resources personnel include;

1. Employment personnel/specialist

The employment personnel is commonly known to job applicants as job placement personnel or job advertiser. They understand how the organization works and can recruit adequate applicants based on its hiring structure, job descriptions, and other employee benefits.

2. Human resource manager

This is the overall head of the human resource unit, ensuring that other unit members perform to the company’s expectations. The human resource managers meet with the organization’s top executive personnel and communicate proceedings to their team members. Human resource managers usually handle the confidential part of employee recruitment and interviews; they guide team members to achieve organizational goals.

3. Human resource assistant

The human resource assistants hold the second overall role in the HR unit. They assist the HR manager with administrative tasks such as employee performance reports, documentation of grievances and absences, and compiling employee compensations.

Responsibilities or Functions of HR Personnel

The general role of HR personnel is to recruit and retain the employee in an organization, and they do this by;

1. Developing a staffing plan

Once the HR personnel knows about the vacant position in an organization, they develop ads for the vacant position considering the potential employee’s role.

2. Training and development of employees

Training is needed if employees will perform at their best. The HR personnel is often responsible for employee training to develop efficient working capacity. This training includes but is not limited to team building, corporate conversation, company policy, job skills, and legal aspects of the employment.

3. Developing and implementing the company’s policy

The HR personnel also ensure that all employees comply with the company’s policy. These policies include the company’s ethics, dress code, discipline policies, vacation time, working hours, etc.

4. Negotiating employee salary

The HR personnel is in charge of negotiating the salary of potential employees. They walk employees through the company’s benefits and other attractive packages; these include bonus pay, retirement plans, sick leave, stock options, health plans, etc.

Why Every Organization Needs Human Resources Personnel

With an HR unit or department, it will be easier for organizations to keep track of employee performance, and it will also be easier to control some business operations. Every organization needs HR personnel for the following reasons;

1. Strategic planning

With the understanding of how human capital affects organizational success, HR personnel help organizations to plan how the limited resources will be used for optimal results. Personnel with strategic HR management skills take part in corporate decisions that support current staffing assessments and forecasts for future workforce requirements based on business demand.

2. Analyses of organizational benefits

HR personnel are important for business success because they can negotiate employee group benefit plans while staying within the organization’s budget and considering current economic conditions.

They are also knowledgeable about the advantages offered to employees most likely to keep them. This knowledge can lower the business’s expenditures due to employee attrition, turnover, and replacement hiring.

3. Education and training

Training and retraining workers is beneficial to the optimum performance of any organization. Employees can receive training that supports the business’s fair employment policies. This training helps them prepare for management and supervisory positions within the organization.

4. Smooth employer-employee relationship

An important first step in building a solid employer-employee relationship is new employee orientation, coordinated by HR training and development specialists.

By finding strategies to improve the employer-employee relationship, employee relations specialists in HR assist the firm in achieving high performance, morale, and satisfaction levels among the workforce. They carry out focus groups, administer employee surveys, and ask for feedback on improving working conditions and job satisfaction from the workforce.

5. Onboarding and recruiting new employees

HR recruiters oversee all aspects of the hiring process, including reviewing resumes, setting up interviews, and processing new hires. Typically, they examine which applicant tracking systems are most suited for the firm’s requirements to find the most efficient techniques for recruiting candidates.

6. Fair salary or wages to employees

HR specialists create fair compensation plans that make company wages competitive with those of nearby businesses, businesses in the same sector, or businesses vying for the services of individuals with comparable abilities.

They conduct detailed pay and salary surveys to keep compensation expenditures in accordance with the organization’s existing financial situation and anticipated revenue. With HR personnel, organizations can handle what, how, and when to pay their employees.

7. Training of employees of the HR unit

HR experts make wise hiring selections that meet the demands of the organization’s workforce by training other workers in the organization’s HR department. To ensure that the business extends offers to qualified individuals, they offer coaching to managers unfamiliar with HR or conventional hiring procedures.

8. Guarding organizations against risk

Safe workplace conditions must be provided by employers. Many HR personnel know how to manage risk. They ensure that employers have the knowledge of work in compliance with basic safety rules by keeping accurate work logs and records and creating initiatives to lower the incidence of workplace accidents and fatalities.

9. Reducing liability

The exposure and responsibility of any organization to claims of unfair employment practices is reduced by HR personnel. They recognize and address workplace problems before they get out of hand and land the company in legal trouble for violating local and national anti-discrimination and harassment legislation.

10. They comply with local and national laws

HR professionals understand government laws and ensure that the company follows all applicable federal and state employment rules. They complete the papers required to prove that the company’s personnel are qualified to work in their respective position. Additionally, they keep track of applicant flow logs and write affirmative action plans.

Read Also: Why Business Organizations Need HR Personnel in 2023

What Skills are Necessary for Employment in HR?

The following skills are must-have skills for HR personnel. It is important for organizations to ensure that people hired into the HR unit/department have these skills;

1. Problem-solving skills

Since challenging situations are likely to arise frequently, HR personnel should know how to manage unexpected work-related problems. Additionally, having strong problem-solving abilities help most HR personnel stand out and open up better opportunities.

2. Leadership skills

The HR personnel is a leader judging by the organizational functions. Having leadership qualities demonstrates the capacity to take charge of work, and this is the most sought-after skill for HR.

3. Organizational skills

Organizational skills are important in an HR role. The HR unit must ensure that documents like employment agreements and personal data are properly filed and managed.

On the other hand, the HR unit must also excel at managing its calendars. HR specialists must know about important organizational activities, such as corporate events, staff training and development, and meetings with coworkers and executives. The organizational prowess of the HR department aids the productivity of the company as a whole.

4. Privacy and discretion skills

Giving employees of an organization honest counsel is part of an HR professional’s job description. Therefore, maintaining your privacy is crucial, especially while establishing your credibility.

5. Flexibility skills

Being adaptable is crucial for HR professionals. Unexpected events, like a departing employee, can disrupt an HR professional’s regular schedule. HR team members must be flexible in their thinking to adapt to or anticipate sudden change.

6. Time management skills

The organizational skills necessary for HR workers are greatly influenced by time management. Time management is crucial when fulfilling deadlines because HR duties are time-sensitive.

7. Communication skills

HR is a function that focuses on people. Human resource managers must be skilled communicators because they manage an organization’s employees. To effectively settle the dispute and protect corporate standards, HR professionals must be able to communicate with their coworkers.

8. Teamwork skills

For HR professionals, strong teamwork abilities are crucial, just like most occupations. For the HR department to function effectively, the HR personnel and other coworkers must work well together and support one another. Additionally, effective teamwork raises morale and increases job satisfaction.

The Three P’s of Human Resources

In general, the entire course of the HR unit and HR personnel work can be summed up using the three P’s of HR. These are purpose, people, and process.

1. Purpose

The purpose represents the organization’s overall vision, mission, and goals. This purpose is at every level of the organizational ladder and must be entrenched in the system. Workers or managers who don’t know the purpose of an organization will abuse the system. Therefore, the HR personnel must guide all workers into keying to the organizational purpose.

2. People

The purpose of an organization is set up by the founder based on either

• What they want to achieve (their personal goals)
• What they believe people need or
• The reason they set up the business

However, the organization can only function with people, and the employees are the main connecting point between the organization and the public. Therefore, HR will always need to factor in work apportioned to different employees of the organization and know how to build a more resilient team. The HR personnel need to assess employees and get the feedback necessary for the company’s growth.

3. Process

Process defines the inherent practice of an organization right from its foundation. It is the system of doing things. The purpose of an organization and the kind of people who work in it will give a hint about the process of the organization. The HR personnel is also in charge of managing the organizational performance process and should ensure that employees are closely in touch with the organization’s purpose.

Summarily, the process is when people (the people, in this case, are the employee) work according to the organization’s purpose.

Conclusion

To a large extent, the HR unit of every organization contributes to the organization’s progress. The HR personnel see that employees perform efficiently while also ensuring they have access to the organizational benefits.

Therefore, every organization must have an HR department that tracks good employees and ensures an adequate organizational recruitment process.

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