ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

1. What is HR ?

The term human resources (HR) describes the people who make up the workforce
of a company or organization.
Human resources professionals are responsible for handling any people-related
concerns and needs that arise within an organization.
They often manage recruiting, hiring and firing, as well as onboarding new hires
and managing the orientation process to get employees set up in their new roles.

2. EVOLUTION OF HR:

The department of HRM is of recent origin. But over the years they have
continued to evolve significantly over the past 150 years. Originally HR was
assigned to handle personnel hiring and payment, but now its functions align
closely with a company’s strategic plan.
During ancient times human resource management mainly focused on over-
looking things like; managing slaves, serfs, and indentured laborers. Then In the
pre-1900s when there were only tough working conditions, the need to treat
workers as people and not expendable resources was felt by companies and
that’s where the concept of Human Resource Discipline (HRM) as a discipline was
born.

Later, during the industrial revolution phase, the realization that workers were
not just commodities, but people with emotional and psychological needs
brought about a change in the way one managed people at work. The idea of
having Personnel Departments, Welfare Officers and Labour Unions to represent
worker interests began to grow during this phase.
Subsequently, with the passage of time and deeper research in the field of
Organisational Management and Industrial Psychology, various needs become
prominent such as matching work with a person’s skills and interests, helping
people advance in their careers, recognizing achievement, etc.
Today the HRM responsibilities reach far beyond administrative and compliance
accountabilities and are actually strongly aligned with business objectives.

3. TECHNICAL AND BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES

Competencies basically help to provide a clearly defined, observable framework

for what a successful HR professional look like. Technical competencies tend to
center on the things you can do while behavioral competencies focus on how you
do them.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SRHM) developed a competency
model to identify what it takes to be a successful HR professional.

3.1. BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCY :

o Business Acumen o Global and cultural
o Communication effectiveness
o Consultation o Leadership and navigation
o Critical Evaluation o Relationship Management
o Ethical practice

3.2. TECHNICAL COMPETENCY :

o Compensation and benefits o Policy and Standards design
administration and development
o Workforce planning
o Organizational analysis and o Employment legislation,
design policies, and procedures
o Performance management

4. EMERGING TRENDS IN HR :

The field of human resources is always changing as it adapts to the various

advances and demands of the workforce. Some of the major trends in HR are :

4.1. Diversity through blind hiring :

To combat concerns about a lack of diversity among employees, some HR
staff are using hiring tools that help them to eliminate any bias toward
race, gender, age, etc. This is also called blind hiring. The whole goal of
blind hiring is to hire candidates based on their qualifications for the
position and nothing else.

4.2. More Online learning :

As e-learning platforms and online learning modules have become more
advanced, it has become easier to train employees and continue their
development.
This makes learning more efficient, because modules can be assigned to
individuals, and assessments can be scored automatically, eliminating the
need for lengthy group training sessions. 

4.3. Streamlining tasks with AI:

The rise of artificial intelligence is bringing with it new opportunities for
efficiency by helping employers to streamline repetitive tasks.  So things
 like employment policies, benefits administration, and other repetitive
tasks can all be handled by an AI system.

4.4. People enablement:

This basically allows people to take more control over their career and
performance instead of telling them exactly where and how they should
use their energy. This kind of freedom is appealing in a competitive job
market where people want to make the most of their skills.

4.5. A focus on mental health:

Companies that offer counseling services and have mental health
awareness events will benefit from a happier, more motivated workforce.
Generally, no one should feel like the only reason that they are valued is
for their contribution and with the right steps should feel safe in their
workplace.

5. FUNCTIONS OF HR:

5.1. Talent Acquisition:

Talent acquisition deals with the strategies, tactics and processes for
identifying, recruiting and retaining the human resources a company
needs. It includes developing, implementing and evaluating programs
for sourcing, recruiting, hiring and orienting.
The recruitment process mainly includes candidate sourcing, screening,
interviewing, onboarding new hires, and so on.
Talent acquisition also requires thorough knowledge and practical
application of a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations.

5.2. Talent management :

 Talent management is a business strategy that allows businesses to
attract, develop, and retain their topmost skilled employees. The
primary objective of talent management is to build a motivated
workforce who will stay with your organization in the long run.
The process involves recognizing talent gaps, sourcing the right
candidates, developing them within the system, improving skills,
training, and finally retaining and motivating them to achieve
organizational goals.

5.3. Talent Development:

The goal of talent development is to create a high-performance,
sustainable organization that meets its strategic and operational goals
and objectives. It helps to recognize the talent gap between the
employee and their goal and provides measures to overcome that gap.

5.4. Manpower planning:

Manpower Planning which is also called Human Resource Planning
consists of putting the right number of people, the right kind of people
at the right place, at the right time, and doing the right things for which
they are suited for the achievement of goals of the organization. The
procedure is as follows:

1. Analysing the current manpower inventory

2. Making future manpower forecasts
3. Developing employment programs
4. Design training programs

5.5. Compensation and benefits :

Compensation and Benefits in HRM refer to the salary, monetary, and
as well as non-monetary privileges provided to the employees at the
workplace by the organization. It is a primary tool of the Human
Resource Managers to bring out the best potential of the employees in
their work. 
 In general Human Resource terms, compensation is the benefit the
employee receives in rewards for exchanging the service he has
provided to the organization.

5.6. Engagement :

Employee engagement is a human resource (HR) concept that describes

the level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels toward their job. 
Employers can encourage employee engagement in many ways,
including communicating expectations clearly, offering rewards
and promotions for excellent work, keeping employees informed about
the company's performance, and providing regular feedback.