Human Resource Basics You Should Know as an HR Professional

Any business organisation has a form of human resource management. Many small companies outsource the task, while large corporations maintain their own HR department. HR is vital to any company, as the department finds and hires the most suitable people that will make up the company’s workforce.  

Defining human resource management

Briefly, human resource management is a people management practice to ensure that they perform their tasks as expected. Human resource management is a combination of academic knowledge, technical knowledge, and people skills. HR’s task is to find people who will match the company culture so they can be productive, become happier, and remain in the company longer.

Human resource management has the enviable task of optimising company performance by ensuring that its human resources, meaning the employees, are managed better.

Human resources

Human resources are the people that contribute to a company’s growth and success. They are the individuals whose work complements each other to ensure that the productivity goals are met. They may be regular employees or contractors, and an efficient human resource department finds the right person to fill each job vacancy.

Elements of effective human resource management 

Managing human resources is a full-time task that requires knowledge, expertise, and people skills. It involves data analysis, paperwork, research, and related tasks to find the right candidate for the job. Many of these tasks get a boost from using an HR system that incorporates most of HR management’s tedious tasks. It’s a tool that helps with HR data and analytics and HR reporting, among other tasks.  

But setting that aside, HR management consists of these primary elements:

1. Selection and recruitment are key responsibilities of HR. Because people are the backbone of any organisation, it is vital to find the best people. Depending on the number of people who apply for a job, the HR department either employs a pre-selection process or uses a set of selection instruments, such as interviews, assessment methods, reference checks, and other tools to ensure that they recruit the most suitable person. 

2. Performance management is executed when employees are already on board. HR will have to ensure that they perform better at their jobs. At this stage, the employee may have formal one-on-one performance reviews. Other systems include 360-degree feedback instruments, where the employee receives evaluation from clients, peers, and others within the company. At this stage, the HR department plays the support role, with the direct manager leading the evaluation.  

3. Learning and development is another task of the HR department since it ensures that employees can improve their performance. Aside from the guidelines on work performance, HR looks for the most effective training opportunities and leadership programs.

4. HR also handles succession planning, ensuring that there will be employees who can immediately fill the gaps due to the sudden departure of key employees. This is to ensure continuity. Succession planning is related to performance management, whereby they create a pool of qualified candidates who can be ready to fill senior positions.

5. Compensation and benefits is another task for the HR department. It’s a critical task to ensure the employees are motivated and compelled to remain in the company. The department has to balance what the company can afford and what will satisfy the employees, using primary and secondary compensation packages.

HR management is complex, and the department has to ensure that it is up to date in employee benefits, training opportunities, productivity methods, and finding talent.