Functions of HRM
HRM ensures the smooth functioning of an organization. The process starts
with formulating the right policies for the job requirements and ends with
ensuring a successful business growth of the company. Therefore, HRM is an
invisible agent that binds all the aspects of the organization to ensure smooth
progress.
In this modern era, organizations have become more people-centric than ever
— especially since this approach pays great dividends in terms of enhanced
employee performance and lower attrition rates. Human Resource
Management or HRM plays a key role in allowing employers and organizations
to reach their objective.
The functions of HRM hold great significance in the growth and overall
development of the organizations. After all, when the employees grow and
develop their skills, the organization will automatically experience growth and
expansion. Some of the primary functions of HRM include job design and job
analysis, recruitment/ hiring and selection, training and development,
compensation and benefits, performance management, managerial relations
and labor relations.
The list of HR functions for performance management includes:
Developing a proper job description
Initiating an appropriate selection process to hire the right candidates
for the job positions
Providing the right training and education needed to enhance the
performance of the employees
Enabling real-time feedback and coaching employees to boost
efficiency among them
Conducting performance reviews monthly or quarterly to discuss the
positives and the improvement areas of employees
Formulating a proper exit interview process to understand why
experienced employees choose to leave the company
Designing a proper appraisal and compensation system that recognises
and rewards the workforce for their effort and hard work
So, let us find out more about each of these seven functions of HRM.
1. Job design and job analysis
One of the foremost functions of HRM is job design and job analysis. Job
design involves the process of describing duties, responsibilities and
operations of the job. To hire the right employees based on rationality and
research, it is imperative to identify the traits of an ideal candidate who would
be suitable for the job. This can be accomplished by describing the skills and
character traits of your top-performing employee. Doing so will help you
determine the kind of candidate you want for the job. You will be able to
identify your key minimum requirements in the candidate to qualify for the job.
Job analysis involves describing the job requirements, such as skills,
qualification and work experience. The vital day-to-day functions need to be
identified and described in detail, as they will decide the future course of
action while recruiting.
2. Employee hiring and selection
Recruitment is one of the primary functions of human resource management.
HRM aims to obtain and retain qualified and efficient employees to achieve
the goals and objectives of the company. All this starts with hiring the right
employees out of the list of applicants and favourable candidates.
An HRM helps to source and identify the ideal candidates for interview and
selection. The candidates are then subjected to a comprehensive screening
process to filter out the most suitable candidates from the pool of applicants.
The screened candidates are then taken through different interview rounds to
test and analyze their skills, knowledge and work experience required for the
job position.
Once the primary functions of HRM in recruitment are completed, and the
candidate gets selected after rounds of interviews, they are then provided with
the job offer in the respective job positions. This process is important
because these selected employees will, after all, help the company realize its
goals and objectives.
3. Employee training & development
Imparting proper training and ensuring the right development of the selected
candidates is a crucial function of HR. After all, the success of the
organisation depends on how well the employees are trained for the job and
what are their growth and development opportunities within the organisation.
The role of HR should be to ensure that the new employees acquire the
company-specific knowledge and skills to perform their task efficiently. It
boosts the overall efficiency and productivity of the workforce, which
ultimately results in better business for the company.
HRM plays a very crucial role in preparing employees for bigger tasks and
responsibilities, which leads to the holistic development of employees at
work. And an organisation which provides ample growth and development
opportunities to its employees is considered to be a healthy organisation.
4. Compensation and Benefits
Benefits and compensation form the major crux of the total cost expenditure
of an organisation. It is a must to plug the expenses, and at the same time, it
is also necessary to pay the employees well. Therefore, the role of human
resource management is to formulate attractive yet efficient benefits and
compensation packages to attract more employees into the workplace
without disturbing the finances of the company.
The primary objective of the benefits and compensation is to establish
equitable and fair remuneration for everyone. Plus, HR can use benefits and
compensation as a leverage to boost employee productivity as well as
establish a good public image of the business.
Therefore, one of the core HR department functions is to lay down clear
policies and guidelines about employee compensation and their available
benefits. One of the functions of HR manager is to ensure the effective
implementation of these policies and guidelines. This creates equality and
builds transparency among the employees and the management within the
organisation. After all, the level of employee satisfaction at work is directly
proportional to the compensation and benefits they receive.
5. Employee performance management
The next activity on HR functions list is effective employee performance
management. Effective performance management ensures that the output of
the employees meets the goals and objective of the organisation.
Performance management doesn’t just focus on the performance of the
employee. It also focuses on the performance of the team, the department,
and the organisation as a whole.
6. Managerial relations
Relationships in employment are normally divided into two parts — managerial
relations and labour relations. While labour relations is mainly about the
relationship between the workforce and the company, managerial relations
deals with the relationship between the various processes in an organization.
Managerial relations determine the amount of work that needs to be done in a
given day and how to mobilize the workforce to accomplish the objective. It is
about giving the appropriate project to the right group of employees to ensure
efficient completion of the project. At the same time, it also entails managing
the work schedules of employees to ensure continued productivity. It is
essential that HR handles such relations effectively to maintain the efficiency
and productivity of the company.
7. Labour relations
Cordial labour relations are essential to maintain harmonious relationships
between employees at the workplace. At the workplace, many employees
work together towards a single objective. However, individually, everyone is
different from the other in characteristics. Hence, it is natural to observe a
communication gap between two employees. If left unattended, such
behaviors can spoil labour relations in the company.
