Human resources & Management

• Human Resources (HR) is the division of a business responsible for finding, recruiting, screening, and training job applicants.
• HR departments also handle employee compensation, benefits, and terminations.
• Human resource management (HRM) strategies focus on actively advancing and improving an organization's workforce with the long-term goal of improving the organization itself.
• HR departments must keep up to date with laws that can affect the company and its employees.
• Many companies have moved traditional HR administrative duties such as payroll and benefits to outside vendors.

The following are the six key, people-related activities that HR must effectively do to add value to a company:

• Managing and using people effectively
• Tying performance appraisal and compensation to competencies
• Developing competencies that enhance individual and organizational performance
• Increasing the innovation, creativity, and flexibility necessary to enhance competitiveness
• Applying new approaches to work process design, succession planning, career development, and inter-organizational mobility
• Managing the implementation and integration of technology through improved staffing, training, and communication with employees

There are numerous important human resources functions carried out by an HR department. Five well-known types of responsibilities are:

• Recruiting, hiring, and onboarding new employees
• Handling employee compensation and benefits
• Offering employee job/career development
• Addressing work-related issues of individual employees
• Developing policies that affect a working environment company-wide

A company’s human resources (HR) department manages the life cycle of each employee—from recruitment and onboarding to training and termination or retirement. HR departments also must monitor industry trends and rules to stay on top of compliance and legal issues.

Increasingly, HR departments focus on human resource management, using strategic investments and initiatives to improve an organization's workforce. The long-term goal of HRM is to create a more positive, loyal, and productive workforce, which ultimately benefits the company.