UPDATED - What Is Human Resources?
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Human Resources refers to the department in an organization that is responsible for recruiting, hiring, managing, and exiting talent. Human Resources is composed of the people who help the organization set goals, drive the mission, explain the values and set the tone for the culture, and align talent management with business objectives. Some people also use the phrase Human Resources to refer to all the personnel in a company.
HR, the department dedicated to managing talent, is always evolving. Over the years, it has become a more prominent part of every business because it is principally responsible for recruiting and retaining the talent that allows the organization to achieve goals and flourish.
No longer merely an administrative department, Human Resources professionals align talent management and hiring decisions with business objectives. They are welcome in the C-suite, and their reach continues to expand beyong overseeing hiring, benefits, and company regulations.
- Talent Management
- Recruiting and Talent Acquisition
- Compensation and Benefits
- Employee Engagement and Experience
- Learning and Development
- Succession Planning
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Mental Health and Wellness
- Expansion of Human Resources
Talent Management
Watch this video about a unique approach to HR.
Talent management refers to the strategy of HR. In other words, this role is about recruiting the right talent, getting them onboarded, retaining them, and helping them grow their careers. This is at the core of an HR professional's duties. However, much goes into the process of finding and retaining top talent. It requires aplomb, creative thinking, and relationship building.
Recruiting and Talent Acquisition
The first step in Human Resources is recruiting and talent acquisition. It is the job of HR professionals to find top talent by looking either internally or externally, conducting interviews and tests, and negotiating compensation and benefits. Creating a positive workplace culture and offering compensation and benefits packages, along with perks, that entice job applicants and win over top talent are among the tasks at hand.
Compensation and Benefits
Obviously, a big part of the work that HR professionals conduct is managing compensation and benefits. This task includes determining the value of different people in different roles and seeking benefits like health insurance, retirement savings, loan forgiveness, paid time off (PTO), sick days, mental health days, and more.
Employee Engagement and Experience
Employee engagement and experience cover a vast array of efforts to ensure people are happy enough at work to stay. Getting employees to focus on work, harness their creative powers, and fulfill their obligations to their teams is a major component of HR's role.
This task requires demonstrating gratitude, helping bring out the best in employees, and making job satisfaction a priority. It could include hosting the holiday party, taking feedback from employees and responding with corresponding action, or creating an atmosphere fertile for collaboration.
Watch this video to learn about engaging generations at work.
Learning and Development
HR often oversees all training from onboarding and orientation to learning opportunities designed for career growth or skills development. Learning and development has become paramount as organizations make themselves future ready and try to win the war for talent. Many job applicants and employees are looking for employers to help them gain skills and become fit for promotion or more attractive in the job market. Like everything else, learning and development is changing in the face of artificial intelligence (AI). Many organizations used learning management systems (LMS) to organize their offerings, and now they are seeking learning experience platforms (LXP).
Watch this panel discuss generative AI in learning and development.
Succession Planning
Creating talent pipelines, both internal and external, is the goal of Human Resources. An important role the department plays in organizations is ensuring consistent leadership without gaps. Succession planning, the strategy for replacing leaders as they leave and creating mentorship and preparation for passing the baton, is vital to any organization's success.
READ: Succession Planning in the New Normal: HR's Guide to Evolving the Workforce
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
In the modern workplace, HR professionals must spearhead efforts to build a diverse team and then ensure these different individuals unite and gain a sense of belonging that fosters collegiality. (Read the guide to DEI for more in-depth information.) Included in this role is closing pay and opportunity gaps. The responsibility is great. It may require providing training, communication, and persistence. Keeping the topic front of mind and demonstrating need to leadership are also big parts of DEI efforts.
Learn about DEIB from Nichelle Grant of Siemens.
Mental Health and Wellness
Increasingly employees expect Human Resources to demonstrate empathy and care for individuals by providing access to mental healthcare, helping them relieve stress, and promote better work-life balance through policies and regulations. This task has meant that many HR professionals are educating themselves, considering new benefits for employees, and guiding managers and leaders to connect on a deeper, more personal level with employees.
Watch this discussion about wellness at work.
Expansion of Human Resources Management
Human Resources is no longer an administrative task or an arm of a company's executives. In the modern workplace, HR professionals are builders of community. They connect with employees, nurture relationships with them, and constantly work to improve the employee experience both to recruit and retain top talent. HR leaders are now essential to the C-suite, and align their talent management efforts with those of the business' overarching goals.
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