The Real Role of Human Resources By HR Covered Inc.
The Real Role of Human Resources By HR Covered Inc.
The role of Human Resources (HR) is multifaceted and encompasses a wide range of responsibilities relating to managing an organization's most valuable asset—its people. Some of the key functions and roles of HR include:
1. Recruitment and staffing: HR is responsible for identifying staffing needs, recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new employees. This involves creating job descriptions, posting job openings, and evaluating candidates.
2. Employee relations: HR helps manage relationships between employees and the organization, handling disputes, grievances, and providing support for employee well-being and work-life balance.
3. Performance management: HR oversees performance appraisals, feedback mechanisms, and the development of performance improvement plans.
4. Training and development: HR is responsible for identifying training needs, organizing training programs, and developing strategies to enhance employee skills and knowledge.
5. Compensation and benefits: HR manages employee compensation, benefits administration, and ensures compliance with labor laws and regulations.
6. Compliance: HR ensures that the organization complies with labor laws, regulations, and industry standards, and helps develop and implement policies and procedures to maintain compliance.
7. Policy development: HR develops and implements HR policies and procedures that guide the behavior and expectations of employees.
8. Organizational development: HR plays a key role in managing change, fostering a positive organizational culture, and promoting employee engagement and retention.
9. Health and safety: HR contributes to creating a safe and healthy work environment, ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety regulations, and managing workplace safety programs.
Overall, the role of HR is to support the organization's goals through effective management of its people, ensuring that the organization has the right talent, in the right place, at the right time.
The role of human resources has evolved over the years as the needs of the business and employees have changed. Most HR professionals have aligned themselves with traditional human resources management activities such as leave management, performance management, recruitment, training and development and forgot about the relevance of other significant HR functions. Let’s take a look at the major roles and responsibilities of HR in the post-pandemic era.
Health & Safety
HR is that division of an organization that focuses on managing “human” resources, and it should ensure a safe and healthy working environment for the employees. Below are some of the Occupational Health and Safety roles that the HR department should play at their workplaces;
- Prepare Health & Safety Policies
- Provide training on policies
- Risk assessment
- Evaluate compliance
- Assist in developing OHS plan
HR Compliance
HR departments aren’t just responsible for recruiting and benefits — they should align workplace policies and procedures with federal and provincial legislation, to ensure that the company and its employees understand and follow these laws. They are also responsible for thoroughly understanding compliance laws, as well as monitoring the compliance landscape for any regulatory changes.
Company Culture
HRs are responsible for monitoring and promoting a culture of ethics in the company that reflects the company’s mission and values. They must ensure that the workplace embraces the idea of DEI. Ensuring unbiased hiring practices, offering equal pay for equal work, and creating equal growth opportunities would all contribute to creating this.
Human Capital
An organization is said to be only as good as its people, so human capital is so important to an organization. Human Capital is defined as the economic value of a worker’s experience and skills. HR typically manages Human Capital through recruiting, planning and strategy, employee training, and performance management.
Employers can improve the quality of Human Capital by investing in employees and thereby increasing productivity and profit.
Recruiting and Retention
The great resignation hit businesses all over the world and while things are looking better now, recruiting and employee retention are still a challenge most employers are struggling with. Why are employers finding it hard? It complicated but aiming for things like an inclusive culture, better benefits and compensation, a safe working environment, and an effective employee lifecycle plan can help organizations recruit and retain employees more efficiently.
The Future of HR
The future of HR is human-centered. It means that HR will continue to focus on people. However, it will also place an increasing emphasis on technology and how to best leverage it to support people and organizations. The best outcomes can be achieved when people and technology work together as partners. To take advantage of the opportunities that this partnership presents, HR will need to be equipped with the right skills and the right tools.
Key Take Away
Human Resources has become a powerful force in small businesses and nonprofits. It’s no longer just about managing the staff. Today, HR plays a crucial role in driving an organization’s success by becoming its protection and profit center. Employers that have embraced this change and strengthened their HR practices see better results and achieve their organizational goals faster.