Human

Resources in the
Organization
PRESENTED BY: ARIS RENZ SANGALANG
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the discussion the participants shall have been able to:
State the importance of Human Resources Departmnet;
discuss how the HR department Structured;
explain the Human Resouces span of control;
consider the Advantages and Disadvantages of Large and
small spans of control
What is an HR department?
A human resources (HR) department is a
company division that manages employees,
ensures their satisfaction and that they have
what they need to perform their job. HR
departments work to give a company a
defined structure and improve a company's
productivity and workplace culture. In a
business environment that's constantly
changing, HR departments can make it easier
for companies to find qualified employees.
What does an HR
department do?
An HR department handles
activities related to an
organization's personnel. HR
departments are often
responsible for finding,
screening, interviewing,
onboarding, and training job
candidates. HR departments
also oversee employee
compensation and benefits
programs.
What does an HR
department do?
Another responsibility of an
HR department involves
managing employee
relations and mediating
areas of conflict to keep the
work environment running
efficiently. HR departments
often encourage employees
to bring their concerns
directly to them.
How is an HR
department structured?
Centralized structure
Most larger organizations
have a centralized HR
structure, where a
corporate office makes
decisions on behalf of the
entire organization and
supports activities for the
whole company.
Decentralized structure
With a decentralized structure,
the company distributes HR
functions across different units
of the business, such as
geographical areas, product
lines, or departments. The HR
team often operates
independently of other units and
there are multiple points of
authority that make decisions.
Matrix structure
A matrix structure combines the
centralized and decentralized
structure, with a central
department but independent HR
functions that are specific to
different business units. In this
structure, personnel can report
to the designated HR manager
but also report to separate
departments in the company.
Outsourced structure
With an outsourced structure, a
company often hires an outside
agency or third party that
becomes solely responsible for
the primary HR functions in the
company. This structure is
common in smaller
organizations that typically
don't have the resources or
budget to hire in-house HR
staff.
How to structure an
HR department?
1. Understand key functions and
company needs
Understanding and identifying
the functions of an HR
department and how it
strengthens organizational goals
is an important first step in
structuring a department. Most
companies have a consistent
need for recruitment, training
and development, conflict
resolution, and compensation
and benefit administration.
2. Choose a structure that meets your
goals Thinking about the distinct
divisions in your company,
the size of your company,
and your company's
operational plan can help you
decide on a structure that
best meets the needs of the
organization. It's important
to consider the size of your
team in deciding on an HR
structure.
3. Identify your HR team competencies
Competencies are
knowledge, skills, abilities,
and characteristics that
contribute to individual
performance. In building an
HR team, you may look for
certain core competencies
to better ensure your HR
department can effectively
manage employees in the
company.
 Communication
Competencies
often required Leadership
of an effective
human Business acumen
resources
professional: Relationship management
4. Consider the department's size
The size of an HR
department will
vary depending on
the size of the
organization and
the scope of the HR
department.
5. Define measures of success
Once you have your HR
department, defining
measures of success can
help you ensure the
company is operating at
the right level. HR metrics
use a variety of data to
measure the efficiency of
a company's HR program.
Tips for
structuring
an HR
department
 Tips for structuring an HR
department
2
Use
1 benchmarking 3
Choose the right Consider diversity
provider
Choose the right provider

When outsourcing an HR
department, it's important
to carefully select a
provider that can best
meet the needs and
strategic vision of your
organization.
Use benchmarking

With benchmarking, you

can compare your HR
department with the
industry or with similar
organizations.
Consider diversity

A diverse HR department
can better understand the
individual perspectives
and needs of employees.
Human Resources Span
of Control
Most organizations want to know what the ideal span
of control is. Evaluating the span of control is a good
health check for your organization. When you go
through the exercise of visualizing spans and layers
of managers versus direct reports, your company can
quickly see where there might be opportunities for
improvement or even where the problems reside.
HR Span of Control
Human Resources (HR) Span
of Control, or Management
Span, is one of the foundations
of management theory. Span
of control simply measures the
number of direct reports that a
manager can manage to an
efficient level.
Types of Span of Control
There are typically two types of span of control when
measuring the ratio of employees to managers:

1. Narrow (Tall): This is the

traditional view with a
manager only having a
couple of direct reports,
who additionally have a
couple of direct reports.
The org structure is tall
rather than flat.
Types of Span of Control
1. Wide (Flat): This is the more
modern approach that gives
a manager a broader
knowledge of the workforce
and gives direct reports a
single contact person to go
to for information and
leadership. The org
structure is flat rather than
tall.
 Further, each manager will fulfill two
dimensions for the team they manage:

Horizontal: refers to the number of employees a

manager has directly reporting to them.

Vertical: refers to the number of employees that

are indirectly managed by the manager, also
known as depth of control.
 Measuring Span of Control

Measuring the span of control is simple – count

how many direct reports a manager has. These
employees are not just under the manager’s
control but also have a working relationship with
the manager who makes executive decisions.
Factors That
Influence the
Average Span of
Control
Ability and capacity of the
manager and the direct reports.

This refers to the manager’s

ability to take on many or
fewer direct reports.
Availability of time for team
leadership

If managers have less time

for supervision, they would
not be able to control a
large number of direct
reports.
Type of work your company
offers
In each type of project,
service, or product your
company offers, some
tasks require more
micromanagement and
resources while others
are simple and routine in
nature.
Plans for your organization.

If your company has clear

and stable plans, then
managers typically feel it
is easy to control the
activities of their direct
reports.
 Advantages and
Disadvantages of Large vs.
Small Span of Control
LARGE SPAN
OF CONTROL
SMALL SPAN
OF CONTROL
 SUMMARY
The presence of a human resources department is important in any
company, regardless of the size of an organization. The organizational
structure of an HR department can have a big impact on business
functions, productivity and efficiency.
 HR Department Structures: A
Definitive Guide | Indeed.com

REFERENCES: Human Resources Span of

Control: Definition, Types &
Measurement
(employeecycle.com)