The significance of human resource management for an organization

When their role was originally conceived, human resource professionals primarily focused on efficiently managing the employment process. From this central role, their responsibilities have since grown far beyond the tasks of recruiting and terminating employees. They now serve as strategic partners to top management, helping in achieving the strategic goals of the organization and helping in complying with government regulations as well as mitigating conflict and risks related to employment.

HR must provide a high return on investment in people!

From just hiring and firing people, HR now is a strategic partner at the table along with other departments that are not centers of profit, such as finance and operations. Its complexity comes from how it must handle not just management issues but human ones as well.

But what is human resources defined as?

According to Michael J Jucius, it is “a whole consisting of inter-related, interdependent and interacting physiological, psychological, sociological and ethical components”

And what of human resource management (HRM)?

According to Flippo, “personnel management, or say, human resource management is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement development compensation integration, maintenance, and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational and social objectives are accomplished”

HRM includes job analyses, personnel needs planning, recruitment of the right people for the job, orientation and training, wage and salary managements, benefits and incentive provision, performance evaluation, dispute resolution, and communication with all employees at all levels. The core qualities of HRM are extensive knowledge of the industry, leadership, and effective negotiation skills, formerly called personnel management.

HRM has several objectives.

The wide-ranging mandate of HRM covers the following objectives:

• Utilizing and motivating employees to accomplish organizational goals
• Creating opportunities and providing facilities and the necessary motivation to individuals and groups for their growth along with the growth of the organization, by the right arrangements for training and development, compensation, and more
• Efficiently employing the skills and ability of the workforce
• Creating a feeling of belongingness and team spirit, and encouraging suggestions from employees
• Helping to maintain ethical policies and behavior within and outside the organization
• Maintaining high moral and good human relations within the organization
• Securing the integration of individuals and groups toward organizational effectiveness
• Managing change to the mutual advantage of individuals, groups, the organization, and society
• Recognizing employee merit and contribution through the right policies an offering stable employment to avoid threats of inequalities and unemployment
• Maximizing job satisfaction and self-actualization of employees, and prompting and stimulating every employee to realize his/her potential

A variety of roles in combination cover these objectives.

Good HRM is essential to put together a great team of working professionals in an organization. To achieve this, the following roles must be performed:

1. Recruitment and training: Plans and strategies to hire the right people, designing suitable criteria for specific job descriptions, formulating objectives of work and scope of tasks, and training as per needs are major responsibilities here.
2. Performance appraisal: Employees must be encouraged to work to their potential and to improve the same. Regular communication lets them know about how they are doing and clarifies their goals, thus motivating them.
3. Workplace atmosphere: A clean, healthy, and safe work environment is imperative to bring out the best in an employee, as well as to create high job satisfaction.
4. Dispute management: HR must consult and mediate on workplace disputes. A fair hearing to grievances, followed up with suitable solutions, is imperative on a timely basis so that matters stay in control.
5. Establishing good PR: Building good relations with other business sectors requires the organizing of business meetings, seminars, and other official gatherings. Additional dimensions could be a role in preparing organizational plans for business and marketing.

The perception of HR often is negative.

Human resource management is often the subject of debate about the workplace. It is often perceived as the department that polices, systematizes, and traumatizes employees on behalf of senior management i.e. gatekeepers with scarce concern about employees. HRM staff tends to be considered as support role players, not regular employees with important roles to play. This typically stems from how HRM must balance the needs of many different stakeholders, which is bound to dissatisfy someone or the other.

The importance of HRM, though, extends across several dimensions.

Managing human resources is significant not just in itself. The effect is seen in the following ways:

Organizational significance

• It helps to retain the best people in the organization
• It helps to develop the right attitudes and the necessary skills
• It secures the willing cooperation of employees
• It ensures the effective utilization of the staff
• It puts in place competent, dedicated employees for the future

Social significance

• It meets the needs of personnel of the organization
• Its effectiveness contributes to the welfare of society, in turn
• It multiplies employment opportunities and puts scarce resources to the best use

Professional significance

• It helps people meet job challenges through continual capability and skill development
• It promotes teamwork and team spirit among employees
• It offers growth opportunities to those with potential
• It incentivizes creativity and provides a conducive environment

How can a HR leader be prepared for the future?

Considering the importance of human resource management, an HR leader needs to ensure (s)he has the right skills to discharge all responsibilities. HRM is a critical aspect of organizational operations, and a leader with the right mix of qualifications, skills, experience, and responsibility can take the organization and its people to the next level.