Human resource management (HRM)

Human resource management (HRM)

Figure 1: Human resource management (https://www.managementstudyguide.com/human-resource-management.htm) 

The practice of recruiting, hiring, assigning, and managing personnel is known as human resource management (HRM). Human resources (HR) is a general term for HRM. The HR department of a business or organization is often in charge of developing, implementing, and monitoring the organization's policies regarding employees and their interaction with them. The phrase "human resources" was initially used to refer to all the employees of an organization in the early 1900s, and it became more popular in the 1960s.

What is human resource management?

Businesses are progressively using new HRM strategies that place an emphasis on teamwork, more individual participation, and power redistribution in order to be more responsive. According to observations, an organization's people are the sole source of sustained competitive advantage in the environment of today.

The importance of Human resource management?

The purpose of HRM procedures is to manage the workforce so that the organization can fulfill its objective and uphold its culture. HR managers can, when done successfully, assist in the hiring of new employees with the qualifications needed to advance business objectives as well as assist in the training and development of current staff members to achieve goals. 

A firm is only as good as its employees, hence HRM is essential to preserving or enhancing the viability of the organization. HR directors can also keep an eye on the labor market to keep their company competitive. This can entail ensuring equal pay and benefits, organizing events to prevent employee burnout, and changing job roles to reflect the market. As per Rothwell et al., (2012, p. 221) Human Resource Management has a direct influence on an organization at all stages of the business. From the strategic planning stage, the skill capacity of its workforce in order to adhere to new process changes.

How does HRM work?

Quality, teamwork, and reengineering are driven by the way organizations conduct business and how they treat their workers in order to attain this excellence through a focus on learning. We examine human resources' work in order to reach this perfection.

 HR can support organizational excellence by helping line managers and seniors move planning from the conference room to the marketplace, by developing expertise in the way work is organized and executed, by becoming a representative for the employees, and finally by assisting the organization in strengthening its capacity for change.

HR can do this by designing an entirely new role and agenda that results in enriching the organization's value to customers, investors, and employees.

Objectives of HRM?

Figure 2 – four categories of HRM objectives (https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/human-resource-management-HRM) 

Four main categories can be used to categorize HRM objectives?

Personal objectives- support employees achieve their own goals, at least to the extent that doing so will improve their contribution to the company. Employees need to be inspired, retained, and maintained in their personal goals. 

Functional objectives - According to (Chai, 2020) In order to maintain appropriate department contributions, organizations should meet needs. Resources are wasted when HRM is either more or less sophisticated to fulfill the expectations of the organization. 

Organizational objectives - Recognizing HRM's contribution to organizational efficiency requires understanding that it serves as a tool to help the organization achieve its main goals and not as an aim in and of itself.

Social objectives - While minimizing the negative effects of such demands upon the organization to use its resources for society's benefits in ethical ways may lead to the restriction, it is important to be socially and ethically responsible for the needs and challenges of society.

Other objectives – 

• To uphold and improve the varied circumstances and amenities in order to maintain strong employee morale and positive interpersonal relationships.

• By offering training and development programs, to continuously improve and value human resources.

• To give room for controlling voice and expression.

• To exercise leadership that is just, respectable, and effective.

Figure 2- HRM functions (https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-functions-hrm-functions-human-resource-management-image97295146) 

The two categories below can be used to group human resource management tasks.

1. Managerial functions

2. Operative functions

Managerial functions are as follows:

1. Planning- The type and number of employees required to achieve organizational goals are identified in this HRM function. An essential component of this role is research; data is gathered and analyzed to determine the organization's present and future demands for human resources as well as to forecast how changing employee attitudes, behaviors, and values will affect the business.

2. Organizing- An organization's members are assigned duties, relationships are established, and activities are coordinated toward a common goal. The employees build relationships with one another so that they can work together to achieve the organization's goal.

3. Directing- Members of an organization are given responsibilities, connections are made, and efforts are coordinated toward a common objective. To cooperate in achieving the organization's aim, the workers establish relationships with one another.

4. Controlling- Employees' actual performance is examined, validated, and contrasted with the plans after planning, organizing, and directing. Control measures must be implemented if it is discovered that the actual performance differs from the plan.

Operative functions are as follows:

1. Recruitment and selection- Recruiting candidates is the process that comes before selection. It creates a pool of potential employees for the company so that management can choose the best applicant from this group.

2. Job analysis and design- The act of describing a job's nature and identifying the human requirements, such as the necessary education, training, and work experience, is known as a "job analysis."

3. Performance appraisal- This task must be completed by human resource specialists in order to guarantee that employee performance is at an acceptable level.

4. Training and development- Both new hires and current staff can participate in training and development programs. Through training and development, employees are prepared for higher-level responsibilities.

5. Wage and salary- The management of human resources decides how much should be compensated for certain jobs. Employee pay is decided by human resource management and covers things like wage administration, salary administration, incentives, bonuses, and fringe benefits.

6. Welfare- The many services, benefits, and facilities that are offered to employees for their well-being are referred to by this function.

7. Maintenance - The organization's human resources are viewed as a valuable resource. Employee churn is seldom viewed favorably by organizations. The goal of human resource management is to retain the organization's top performers.

8. Labor - The connection between human resource management and workers who are unionized is referred to as this function.

9. Personal research- Human resource management conducts personnel research to learn what employees think about things like pay and benefits, leadership, promotions, and working conditions.

10. Personal record- Application forms, job histories, working hours, earnings, employee absences and presence, turnover rates, and other employee-related data are all recorded, maintained, and retrieved as part of this function.

Conclusion

human resources can hasten the creation of a productive workforce and serve as a driving force behind it. Where this is done, people are motivated and committed, and they end up being the most important and competitive corporate resource of all.

References

• Rothwell, W.J., Prescott, R.K., Lindholm, J., Yarrish, K.K., Zaballero, A.G. and Benscoter, G.M. (2012). The Encyclopedia of human resource management. Vol. 2.

• Chai, W. (2020). What is Human Resource Management (HRM)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] TechTarget. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/human-resource-management-HRM.

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