Roles and Functions of the HR Office in 21st Century.

Roles and Functions of the HR Office in 21st Century.

Long gone are the days when the HR function used to be handled by one person. The infamous “HR Lady” has now been replaced by a full pack of specialists in diverse HR functions. HR now seems to be the catch all when it comes to any facet of employee relations and company culture. Also, in the current employment environment, what constitutes Human Resources continues to evolve on a daily basis.

Lets take a look at the HR function in a typical large company. It may seem like the world’s most strenuous job sometimes, but there are definite benefits. Once we go through the list, you may realize that a job in HR may be the hotspot for career advancement and even provide semi-security from the unemployment surge.

HR Function and its roles and responsibilities

Ok. First up are those brave and valiant souls we call HR Generalists. The front line of an HR office, they deal most with the company’s employees and are responsible for many of the day to day operations. Their duties include:

- Explaining to a tenured employee why they have no more PTO (Paid time Off) time available.

- Researching and explaining the complex web of employee benefits.

- Assisting with interviews.

- Receiving and processing the fifty million possible types of employee forms.

- Payroll – Generating & Maintaining the effective, errorless payroll every single time.

A tenacious Recruiter is also critical to any HR department. Responsible for attracting and recruiting top talent, this person has their hands full. Also, guess who catches the heat if the employee from Hades makes their way through the screening process? Yep, you guessed right. This keeper of the gate is up to her elbows in:

* Sifting through a thousand and one resumes (some abysmal) and cover letters.

* Conducting phone screenings and scheduling interviews, in addition to listening to about a million voice messages.

* Walking raw recruits through computerized testing. Hey, didn’t her application say she was proficient in all Microsoft applications?

* Wading through qualifications, making offers, counter-offers, and pitching the company’s benefits.

* Maintaining a smile all day long at the local job fair. Someone buy that poor girl a Starbucks.

Trainers are also on the front line of shaping the organization. Critical to individuals at all levels of the organization, a successful training team is invaluable. They often have their finger on the pulse when it comes to the needs and complaints of the employees, and are invaluable in planning new initiatives. Perhaps one of the most undervalued positions, these folks:

* Conduct new-hire orientation and training. Someone has to get those raw recruits into shape.

* Support the functional departments with process training

* Shape the company culture through the use of soft skills and collaborative training modules.

* Provide an ear for frustrated employees.

* Perform the miracle of getting Susie in inventory control to become proficient in Microsoft Excel.

HR Managers are the glue that keeps it all together. Tasked with overseeing Generalists, Recruiters and Trainers, HR managers also have to ensure that the goals and objectives of Senior Leadership are being implemented across the organization. This can be a tightrope to walk, but the successful Manager knows how to maintain the delicate balance. Some critical responsibilities are:

* Ensuring the smooth running of the HR office.

* Gaining buy-in from the operations Managers and Supervisors for new policies.

* Conducting town hall meetings to disseminate new programs and guidelines to employees. Anyone hear crickets?

* Administering assimilation or team building exercises.

* Overseeing recruitment efforts.

* Developing incentive programs.

* Investigating claims of racism, sexism, and every other ism you can think of.

* Listening to the never ending list of employee issues and complaints.

* Everything else under the sun.

All jokes apart, HR is one of the most versatile and hardest working functions of any organization. They impact every aspect of the company and are stewards of its vision. HR engages in leadership and management development, employee counseling, community outreach, and a whole lot more.

By working in Human Resources, you gain a diverse skill set that can be transferred into so many other positions. A company simply could not function without your expertise and dedication. So the next time you feel down about your job, remember that HR runs the show.

HR as an Arbitrator

Human Resources is exactly it says: resources for humans – within the workplace! Its main objective is to meet the organizational needs of the company it represents and the needs of the people hired by that company. In short, it is the hub of the organization serving as a liaison between all concerned. Depending on the size of the company, the HR Department might be called Personnel with a manageable workforce that can be handled by a personnel manager and a small staff. For larger, more complex organizations with hundreds of departments and divisions, the task is much more demanding, taking on a life of its own. Some companies have more than one HR Department - Corporate and Union. For example, a food service industry might have a Corporate HR Department that oversees “white collared” employees and an HR Department that oversees the “blue collar” workforce with an emphasis on labor relations. The organization will, thus, institute these two HR Departments to manage the unique needs of both union and non-union employees.

Organizational Development:

To ensure its success, a company must establish a hierarchal reporting system. The funnel of responsibility is critical to the efficiency of a smoothly operating business entity in which there is a clearly defined understanding of who is responsible for what. They provide consultation to a company's management team to identify what the company's core business and culture is about, and proceeds to plan and map the company's organizational infrastructure to support those needs.

Employee Recruitment and Selection Process:

There are many steps to recruiting and selecting qualified employees. First, a department head must inform the HR manager of an opening in their department. Then the HR manager must obtain the job description to formulate a Job Description Sheet for publication either internally, publicly, or both. Then HR must field the (many) responses to that job announcement to weed out the qualified from the unqualified applicants. Once that is completed, the interview process must be coordinated. They prepare the job description, contact the newspaper, run the ad, field the calls, compile a list of potential candidates, submit that list to the department's hiring manager for approval and selection, contact the chosen candidates to set up preliminary interviews, and interview the candidates! Although most interviews are with the hiring manager or their associates, not all applicants get to meet with the department's hiring manager right away. It is not uncommon for a company to filter out those who fail to impress the HR manager first. For those select few who make it through, the HR manager schedules interviews between the department's hiring manager and potential candidates, and follows up with the hiring process to establish the new hire with the company. Employee Training & Development: As a company and the requirements of a position evolve, a company needs to take certain measures to ensure a highly skilled workforce is in place. The Human Resources Department oversees the skills development of company's workforce, acting as an in-house training center to coordinate training programs either on-site, off-site, or in the field. This might include on-going company training, outside training seminars, or even college, in which case an employee will receive tuition reimbursement upon earning a passing grade.

Employee Compensation Benefits:

This covers salaries, bonuses, vacation pay, sick leave pay, Workers' Compensation, and insurance policies such as medical, dental, life, and 401k. The Human Resources Department is responsible for developing and administering a benefits compensation system that serves as an incentive to ensure the recruitment and retention of top talent that will stay on with the company. When an employee is hired, the company's Benefits Coordinator is required to meet with employees one-on-one or in small group settings to explain their benefits package. This often requires an employee to make an informed decision and to provide their signature for processing purposes.

Employee Relations:

With the increased rise in unethical practices and misbehaviors taking place in today's workplace such as age, gender, race, and religion discrimination and sexual harassment, there needs to be mandatory compliance with governing rules and regulations to ensure fair treatment of employees. In short, employees need to know they have a place to turn when a supervisor abuses his or her authority in anyway. Whether corporate or union, the HR Department will get involved to act as arbitrator and liaison between legal entities, regulatory agencies such as Human Rights, supervisors (who might be falsely accused), and employees to properly address and resolve the issue at hand.

Policy Formulation:

Regardless of the organization's size, company policies and procedures must be established to ensure order in the workplace. These policies and procedures are put in place to provide each employee with an understanding of what is expected of them. Similarly, these policies and procedural guidelines will assist hiring managers in evaluating their employee's performance. These policies can be established company-wide or used to define each department's function. It is Human Resource's responsibility to collaborate with department managers on the formulation of these policies and regulations to ensure a cohesive organization. A common practice is the development and implementation of an Employee Procedure Manual or Employee Handbook that is either distributed to each employee at the time of hire or a master copy allocated one to a department.

The Human Resources Information Systems keeps track of the vast amount of data, a human resources department must have a good HRIS in place to automate many functions such as planning and tracking costs, monitoring and evaluating productivity levels, and the storing and processing of employee records such as payroll, benefits, and personnel files. It is very important that you, the job seeker, understand how the HR function works – specifically in the area of candidate recruitment. If you are considering a career in human resources, you can choose to become a Generalist or a Specialist. Whether a job seeker or an HR professional, research a company well before applying for a position.