The 8 Key Functional Areas of Human Resources
What is Human Resources- The Human Resources (HR) department is responsible for recruiting and developing the workforce of a company. They also handle payroll benefits, employee relations and training, consult with executives on strategic planning, and link management and employees.
Overall, HR management’s role is to find the best way to increase your organization’s productivity through its employees.
Now that we understand what HR professionals are mainly responsible for in the company let’s look at the HR department’s role in organizational structure.
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HR Roles and Responsibilities
Role of HR- A well-coordinated organizational structure improves the flow of communication and information within your company, ensuring that you stay competitive.
Changes in company regulations, leadership, and mergers may trigger the need to redesign an organization’s structure. An ineffective organizational structure can result in workplace conflict and dissatisfied employees, so make sure to revise and update your company’s structure to maintain its functionality.
This is where the HR department plays a vital role. They can analyze and redesign the organizational structure in accordance with the company’s objectives, mission, and strategic goals.
Here are some important points HR specialists consider when redesigning the organizational structuring:
- Maintaining the effective flow of communication within the organization.
- Complying with the legal formalities.
- Providing a motivating environment for employees.
- Ensuring that the expectations and requirements of clients are met.
Understanding organizational structure and redesign brings us to the next point.
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8 Key Functional Areas of Human Resource Management
What other areas of HR should every organization manage?
Here is a list of the 8 most important Human Resources areas:
- Recruitment and Staffing
- Compensation and Benefits
- Training and Development
- Employee Relations
- Employee Satisfaction
- Labor laws and legal compliance
- Safety and Health
- Human Resources Information System (HRIS) analysts
Recruitment and staffing.
To attract and recruit highly talented employees takes time and planning. The HR department must schedule interviews, screen, and communicate with candidates to ensure they are the right fit for the company.
This can be challenging, but fortunately, many online screening programs are available, making it much more manageable. Implementing pre-employment assessments during the interview process can help identify candidates with desired skills. For example: if you are wanting to hire an electrician or an engineer, conducting a mechanical reasoning test will evaluate the candidate’s skills and determine the best candidate. Vendors can also assist with the application process, including screening and background checks, at very affordable fees.
Compensation and benefits.
Managing and establishing the compensation structure is one of the HR department’s most important responsibilities. A compensation package should include base pay, plus other employee benefits, e.g., disability, health, dental, and life insurance. Employees’ attitudes and motivation are usually determined to what extent they are satisfied with their earnings.
Staying updated on current salary trends is vital if you want to attract and retain top-quality employees. That is why the HR department should be aware of and match what benefits are offered to employees in similar organizations.
Training and development.
HR management is responsible for staff career development needs and training requirements. They must plan and administer training seminars and supervise team building. Training employees effectively is a major benefit for the employee and the company and essential to maintaining high performance levels.
The four main learning and development areas are:
- Organizational orientation.
Welcoming and orienting new employees is an essential HR role. Examples are providing access codes, showing new hires where their work stations are, how to operate the phone system, and reviewing the employee manual. - Job training.
All employees should have a specific job description. They must know their work hours, who they must report to, and what their job responsibilities and tasks are. - Department orientation.
This allows new employees to get used to the area they will be working in, getting to know their co-workers and the department’s culture. - Continuing education.
This is vital because job skills are changing all the time, and employees need to maintain their current skills and develop new ones. Local seminars, industry conferences, and in-house training can be utilized for this.
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Employee relations.
All of us experience difficulties in our personal lives, and companies need to have processes in place to help employees deal with these situations and ease the stress and burden they bring to the workplace. The development and maintenance of healthy employee relations is a vital HR management function.
Employee conflict in the workplace is inevitable, and it happens all the time, so it is important to have proper plans in place to deal with them. Effective conflict resolution is essential for teams to work together successfully.
Remember – Happy employees who feel safe in the workplace will improve your bottom line and lead to increased productivity.
Employee Satisfaction.
Employee satisfaction is the level of contentment and happiness employees feel for their jobs and is an essential aspect of any organization. Happy employees are productive and motivated and put in their best effort to help make the company successful.
Monitoring employee satisfaction – (there is a lot of survey software available) – can tell companies what employees experience and how satisfied they are within the organization. This is a key element that can help determine the overall health of the organization. By asking these questions, managers can learn a lot from their frontline employees and put an improvement plan in place if necessary.
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Labor laws and legal compliance.
Successful and healthy organizations spend money and time developing a strong HR department that supports employees and ensures that the company is compliant. This includes compliance with the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
These organizations are great sources of information for labor laws and keep businesses updated on changes within the law. An effective HR department that makes sure the company is compliant leads to happy and motivated employees, leading to satisfied customers. In the end, this ensures a successful and healthy organization!
Also Read: How To Talk to an Employee About Poor Performance
Safety and health.
One of HR management’s responsibilities is to ensure that the company is compliant with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). According to this act, employers must provide a safe working environment for their employees.
The HR department must develop and maintain safety training and keep logs of any injuries or fatalities that might occur. Managers and supervisors must also be adequately trained to eliminate hazards from the workplace that are likely to cause injuries or death.
Human Resources Information System (HRIS) analysts.
The Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is used to collect and store the data of an organization’s employees. This includes the payroll, employee records, benefits, time off, etc.
HRIS analysts are IT experts who oversee computer systems, software, and databases companies use to manage their human resources. They are in charge of maintaining the system’s security by keeping the data safe, organized, and properly stored, and their duties include analyzing HRIS systems, monitoring performance, and resolving problems.
They may also be required to assist HR managers and must be able to design new HRIS processes. Overall, HRIS analysts help optimize the performance of the HR systems of a company.
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Conclusion
The HR department plays a vital role in a company’s overall success by effectively managing its employees and ensuring that the company is compliant.
Successful and healthy organizations don’t hesitate to spend money and time developing a strong HR department to support employees. This leads to content and happy workers and increases your organization’s productivity and success.
Coggno has a wide range of HR training courses.
You can have a look at our free courses here and our course catalog here.
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