Human resource management

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Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is the management of an organization's human resources, or workers. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadershipand culture, and ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union). HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work such as payroll andbenefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advancement, and further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversityand inclusion. Whereas in startup companies HR's duties may be performed by a handful of trained professionals or even by non-HR personnel, larger companies typically house an entire functional group dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications.
Contents
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1 History

1.1 Antecedent theoretical developments

1.2 Birth and evolution of the discipline

2 Practice

1.3 In popular media

2.1 Business function 2.2 Careers

3 Education

3.1 Higher education 3.2 Professional associations

4 Publications 5 See also 6 References

[edit]History [edit]Antecedent

theoretical developments

HR spawned from the human relations movement, which began in the early 20th century due to work by Frederick Taylor in lean manufacturing. Taylor explored what he termed "scientific management" (later referred to by others as "Taylorism"), striving to improveeconomic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He eventually keyed in on one of the principal inputs into the manufacturing processlaborsparking inquiry into workforce productivity.[1] The movement was formalized following the research of Elton Mayo, whose Hawthorne studies serendipitously documented how stimuli unrelated to financial compensation and working conditionsattention and engagementyielded more productive workers.[2]Contemporaneous work by Abraham Maslow, Kurt Lewin, Max Weber, Frederick Herzberg, and David McClelland formed the basis for studies in organizational behavior and organizational theory, giving room for an applied discipline.

[edit]Birth

and evolution of the discipline

By the time enough theoretical evidence existed to make a business case for strategic workforce management, changes in the business landscape (a l Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller) and in public policy (a l Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal) had transformed the employeremployee relationship, and the discipline was formalized as "industrial and labor relations". In 1913, one of the oldest known professional HR associationsthe Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developmentwas founded in England as theWelfare Workers' Association, then changed its name a decade later to the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers, and again the next decade to Institute of Labour Management before settling upon its current name.[3] Likewise in the United States, the world's first institution of higher education dedicated to workplace studiesthe School of Industrial and Labor Relationswas formed at Cornell University in 1945.
[4]

During the latter half of the 20th century, union membership declined significantly, while workforce management continued to expand its influence within organizations. "Industrial and labor relations" began

being used to refer specifically to issues concerning collective representation, and many companies began referring to the profession as "personnel administration". In 1948, what would later become the largest professional HR associationthe Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)was founded as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA).[5] Nearing the 21st century, advances in transportation and communications greatly facilitated workforce mobility and collaboration. Corporations began viewing employees as assets rather than as cogs in machine. "Human resources management", consequently, became the dominant term for the functionthe ASPA even changing its name to SHRM in 1998.[5] "Human capital management" is sometimes used synonymously with HR, although human capital typically refers to a more narrow view of human resources; i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization. Likewise, other terms sometimes used to describe the field include "organizational management", "manpower management", "talent management", and simply "people management".

[edit]In

popular media

HR has been portrayed in several instances of popular media. On the U.S. television series of The Office, HR representative Toby Flendersonis sometimes seen as a nag because he constantly reminds coworkers of company policies and government regulations.[6] Long-running American comic strip Dilbert also frequently portrays sadistic HR policies through character Catbert, the "evil director of human resources".[7]An HR manager is also the title character in the 2010 Israeli film The Human Resources Manager.

[edit]Practice [edit]Business

function

HR's overarching mission has been compartmentalized by industry expert Dave Ulrich as four-fold: (1) aligning HR and business strategy (strategic partner), (2) re-engineering organization processes (administration expert), (3) listening and responding to employees (employee champion), and (4) managing transformation and change (change agent).[8] In practice, HR is responsible for employee experience during the entire employment lifecycle. It is first charged with attracting the right employees through employer branding. It then must select the right employees through the recruitment process. HR then onboards new hires and oversees their training and development during their tenure with the organization. HR assesses talent through use of performance appraisals and then rewards them accordingly. In fulfillment of the latter, HR may sometimes administer payroll and employee benefits, although such activities are more and more being outsourced, with HR playing a more strategic role. At the macro-level, HR is in charge of overseeing organizational leadership and culture. HR also ensures compliance with employment and labor laws, which differ by geography, and often oversees health, safety, and security. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining

agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a labor union). Consequently, HR, usually through industry representatives, engages in lobbying efforts with governmental agencies (e.g., in the United States, the United States Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board) to further its priorities. The discipline may also engage in mobility management, especially pertaining to expatriates; and it is frequently involved in the merger and acquisition process. HR is generally viewed as a support function to the business, helping to minimize costs and reduce risk.[9]

[edit]Careers
There are almost half a million HR practitioners in the United States and thousands more worldwide.
[10]

The Chief HR Officer is the highest ranking HR executive in most companies and typically reports directly to

the Chief Executive Officer and works with the Board of Directors onCEO succession.[11][12] Within companies, HR positions generally fall into one of two categories: generalist and specialist. Generalists support employees directly with their questions, grievances, and projects. They "may handle all aspects of human resources work, and thus require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human resources generalists can vary widely, depending on their employer's needs."[13] Specialists, conversely, work in a specific HR function. Some practitioners will spend an entire career as either a generalist or a specialist while others will obtain experiences from each and choose a path later. Being an HR manager consistently ranks as one of the best jobs, with a #4 ranking by CNN Money in 2006 and a #20 ranking by the same organization in 2009, due to its pay, personal satisfaction, job security, future growth, and benefit to society.[14][15] Human resource consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as advisers to companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies. In 2007, there were 950 HR consultancies globally, constituting a USD $18.4 billion market. The top five revenue generating firms were Mercer, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Watson Wyatt (now part of Towers Watson), Aon (now merged with Hewitt), and PwC consulting.[16] For 2010, HR consulting was ranked the #43 best job in America by CNN Money.[17]

[edit]Education [edit]Higher

education

Further information: List of human resource management graduate degree programs

The School of Industrial and Labor Relations atCornell University was the world's first school for college-level study in HR.

Several universities offer programs of study pertaining to HR and related fields. The School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University was the world's first school for college-level study in HR.[18] It continues to offer education at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels; and it operates a joint degree program with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, which HR Patriot termed the "crown jewel for aspiring HR professionals".[19] Other universities with entire colleges dedicated to the study of HR include Michigan State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Renmin University of China. Dozens of other universities house departments and institutes related to the field, either within a business school or in another college.

[edit]Professional

associations

Main article: List of human resource management associations HR education also comes by way of professional associations, which offer training and certification. The Society for Human Resource Management, which is based in the United States, is the largest professional association dedicated to HR,[10] with over 250,000 members in 140 countries.[20] It offers a suite of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certifications through its HR Certification Institute. TheChartered Institute of Personnel and Development, based in England, is the oldest professional HR association, with its predecessor institution being founded in 1919. Several associations also serve niches within HR. WorldatWork focuses on "total rewards" (i.e., compensation, benefits, work life, performance, recognition, and career development), offering several certifications and training programs dealing with remuneration and work-life balance. Other niche associations include the American Society for Training & Development and Recognition Professionals International.

[edit]Publications

Start Page Careers & Industries

Careers Human Resources

Human Resources
Overview
Is the information technology department avoiding your phone calls? Do you have a cool idea to increase office productivity? You can't tell the difference between your IRA and 401(k) plan? It might be time to talk to someone in your human resources department. What You'll Do Human resources (HR) is a general term meant to cover a wide range of activities. Some of the work that falls to HR professionals includes hiring and firing employees, creating organizational charts and shaping corporate culture after a merger or acquisition, managing employee communications, settling employee disputes, creating benefits programs, navigating government regulations, dealing with legal issues such as sexual harassment and occupational safety, and setting up policy and programs for measuring performance, compensating, recognizing, and training employees. In other words, HR doesn't consist of a single activity or function but a huge network of them; basically, HR refers to everything related to the employer/employee relationship. Both specialists and generalists can find a home here, with specialist tracks ranging from training to pension plan administration to legal compliance. In HR, there's something for just about everyone. Long considered a support role, in recent years HR has taken on an increasingly strategic dimension in the world of business as managers have recognized employees as a source of competitive advantage. Companies like Southwest Airlines, Nokia, Intel, The Container Store, Edward Jones, and others have shown that HR practices that create supportive environments for employees and strong corporate cultures can lead to superior returns for shareholders by being more innovative, efficient, and productive than their peers. Meanwhile, globalization has complicated the HR role, creating new challenges, such as managing employees and overseeing employee regulations in different countries and cultures, while technology has created a new array of opportunities for streamlining HR administration and practice-everything from putting benefits programs online to e-learning to automating payroll and other administrative HR tasks. Of course, the responsibilities and activities of HR practitioners vary depending on the size of company. At a small company, the HR pro will usually wear many hats, whereas at bigger companies you'll find both generalist and specialist HR roles. Large Fortune 500 companies, for instance, divide HR into corporate and field operations, with those on the corporate side setting policy and those in the field working with divisions to implement programs and handle day-to-day issues. Many smaller and midsized businesses, or those of less than 1,000 employees, are increasingly outsourcing some or even all of the HR functions. A few responsibilities that fall to HR in both small and large organizations, such as staffing and executive recruitment, compensation and benefits consulting, and HR systems, have grown into multibillion-dollar service sectors designed to support in-house HR functions. Who Does Well

Human resources acts as the mediator between an organization's management and its workers. This requires wearing many hats: It's an HR administrator's job to make sure that employees are working in a safe environment, that disputes are settled, and that benefits are understood and functioning properly. At the same time, HR is charged with recruiting new employees who will both fit in well and help the company achieve profitability. They also represent management when negotiating for benefits with companies administering these benefits and when implementing companywide policies that will ultimately lower costs or boost profits. The needs of HR cover a wide range of tasks and, therefore, require someone who is not only good with people, but also organized, analytical, business-minded, and able to juggle many projects at once.

Requirements
You'll need at least a bachelor's degree for most entry-level jobs, although it may be possible to find a few HR assistant positions with an associate's degree in hand. Most BA-level jobs in HR start at the assistant level. To become an HR manager in a large corporation or an analyst in a specialty area, you will need an MBA, an MHRM (master of human resources management), an MS, or some type of certification. Degrees in human resources, personnel administration, industrial relations, labor relations, and industrial engineering are typical. Given the interdisciplinary nature of HR, other relevant coursework might include business administration, public administration, psychology, sociology, political science, economics, and statistics. One HR manager at a smaller firm suggests that interested candidates take classes in organizational behavior-after all, you'll be dealing with how people behave in groups. Of course, if you know you're planning to specialize, you'll want to consider taking courses in such subjects as finance, labor relations, education, and instructional technology. Some positions, including compensation specialists, labor relations workers, and benefits managers, require legal expertise-coursework in labor law, collective bargaining, labor economics, labor history, and industrial psychology would be appropriate for those specializations. In addition, all human resources professionals tend to share the following traits: Ability to think critically and analytically Strong oral and written communication skills Business focus Ability to work with people of various cultural and educational backgrounds Computer savvy Ability to quickly switch gears, for example, from administrator to counselor to negotiator

Job Outlook
Prospects for HR jobs are better than for the economy overall. Some sectors will likely see greater growth and, with it, a greater demand for HR professionals. Computer and data processing services represent the area of fastest growth, followed by residential care and home health care. This reflects a general truism within HR: Changes in lifestyle and population trends are reflected in HR opportunities. One such example, related to the aging U.S. population, is the need for more human resources workers in hospitals and in health allied services. Hospitals ranked eighth in overall projected HR employment for 2010, and allied health ranked eighth in percentage change from 2000 to 2010. Another area of expected growth isn't an industry per se, but rather the area of specialized HR business services. The staffing industry is rated fourth by the BLS as an area of expected growth by the end of the decade. Both BLS

statistics and SHRM studies indicate that specialized third-party firms dealing in compensation, legal services, and benefits will also grow.

Career Tracks
Specific HR tasks depend on the size and unique characteristics of an organization. The majority of HR practitioners are in-house staff members who serve other diverse departments in a company. However, it's becoming more common to outsource certain HR functions, particularly recruitment. HR Generalists Small organizations usually hire an HR generalist to handle all aspects of personnel management, including attracting and retaining employees, arranging and overseeing training, designing compensation plans, selecting and managing benefit programs, and advising management on employment law. HR generalists must have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the HR field. HR Management At the top of a large organization's HR department is the director of human resources. This individual is an accomplished manager who is responsible for developing and implementing personnel decisions throughout a company. He or she works with employment managers and placement managers who oversee departments or deal with specific issues within an organization such as compensation, benefits, or outsourcing. Compensation Manager The compensation manager (CM) sets the pay rates and performance pay plans within an organization. Surveys are conducted to compare current pay rates to others in the industry. The CM makes sure pay plans comply with changing laws and regulations. A keen understanding of financial planning and forecasting is required. Employee Benefits Manager Businesses rely heavily on benefit packages-insurance plans and pension plans-to attract and retain employees. Unfortunately, the cost of such benefits can eat into a company's bottom line. The employee benefits manager needs to understand changing laws and regulations regarding benefit options. He or she must also be able to analyze benefit packages and select the one that best meets the needs of an organization and its employees. Recruiters Recruiters can be found both in-house and with outside organizations. Many in-house recruiters specialize in one area, such as on-campus interviews. Recruiters who work outside a company may also have areas of specialization, such as technical or executive recruiting. They work with hiring managers to define managers' employment needs and must therefore be very familiar with every organization they work for. Recruiters need to know what the best ways are to attract potential employees, such as running ads, searching the Internet, attending job fairs, and interviewing at schools. Recruiters communicate with prospective employees about personnel policies, wages, benefit packages, working conditions, and promotional opportunities. Recruiters also screen, interview, test, and check the references of applicants. Trainers Many larger organizations hire people to supervise their employee-training programs. Responsibilities may include orienting new employees, providing on-the-job training, updating professional skills, and preparing lower-level workers for management positions. Some trainers also work at developing supervisors' interpersonal skills. HR Consultants HR consultants are contractors who provide advice on compensation, benefit administration, employee relations, training, and HR information systems. Professional entry-level positions, usually involving analysis or report

generation, are quite competitive and exist in all categories except employee relations. Outplacement Specialist Outplacement specialists work with employees whose employment has been terminated. They provide companysponsored assistance in identifying career directions, marketing, and rsum preparation. These positions can be either in-house or outsourced.