what does HR Does?

HR performs numerous Human Resources functions in an organization.

Human Resources planning – The systematic and data-driven practice of optimizing the company’s workforce. The goal is to ensure the company is adequately staffed with the right people to avoid surpluses or shortages.?

• Recruitment and selection – Attracting and hiring applicants that are best for the job, which involves many steps: writing job descriptions, screening resumes and shortlisting candidates, conducting job interviews, creating job offers, and onboarding the selected candidate.
• Performance management – The ongoing process of managing the employees’ performance and development in alignment with the company goals. It includes communicating and clarifying job responsibilities, expectations, and priorities.
• Learning and development – Providing opportunities to develop the employees’ skills and knowledge to improve performance, which ultimately leads to both the individual and company’s success.
• Career planning – Also called career pathing, HR provides guidance and ongoing support to help employees progress in their career, whether vertically (promotion) or horizontally (lateral transfers). Internal mobility helps organizations improve employee engagement and retention while reducing hiring costs.?
• Function evaluation – HR staff compares the different teams of the whole HR operation, which includes the quality and the availability of employees, job location, working hours, the economic situation, other job responsibilities, and how much value a job contributes to the organization.
• Rewards – An integral part of Human Resources duties, rewards are an essential motivator for employees. They can sometimes be the primary reason employees choose one company over another. Rewards include salary, perks, and benefits like health insurance, remote work, and performance-based bonuses.?
• Industrial relations – Maintaining good relationships with labor unions and other collectives and their members help in detecting and resolving potential conflicts before it escalates, especially during challenging situations like layoffs.
• Employee participation and communication – HR delivers relevant and timely information to employees. Maintaining open and honest communication fosters an environment of trust and support, which is vital to employee retention.
• Health and safety – A critical part of HR responsibilities is ensuring employees work in an environment compliant with health and safety guidelines to avoid injuries, illnesses, and deaths.?
• Wellbeing – Another key function of HR is looking after their staff’s mental, physical, and financial wellbeing because people work best when they feel best. This may include implementing wellness initiatives to address mental health, for example.?
• Administrative responsibilities – Performing administrative work like maintaining the HRIS where employees’ information is stored.