Business function Dave Ulrich lists the function of
human resources as: • Aligning human resource strategy and
human resource metrics with business strategy • Re-engineering organization processes • Listening and responding to employees, and managing transformation and change. At the macro level, HR is in charge of overseeing organizational
leadership and
culture. HR also ensures compliance with
employment and labor laws and often oversees employee health, safety, and security. Labor laws may vary from one jurisdiction to the next. In a workplace administered by the federal government, HR managers may need to be familiar with certain crucial federal laws, in order to protect both their company and its employees. In the United States of America, important federal laws and regulations include: •
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: It establishes a minimum wage and protects the right of certain workers to earn overtime. •
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972: It strengthens the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's authority to prevent and address workplace
discrimination and prohibits employers from making hiring, firing, or employment decisions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age. •
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993: It allows eligible employees to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for family and medical reasons while ensuring they can return to their job afterward. •
Immigration Reform and Control Act: It requires employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all employees, prohibits the hiring of unauthorized workers, and establishes penalties for employers who hire unauthorized
aliens while protecting employees from discrimination based on nationality or citizenship, except for the "right to prefer equally qualified citizens". An important responsibility of HR is to ensure that a company complies with all laws and regulations, thus protecting the company from legal liability. In circumstances where employees exercise their legal authorization to negotiate a
collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with employee representatives (usually a
labor union). Consequently, the HR industry
lobbies governmental agencies (e.g., in the United States, the
United States Department of Labor and the
National Labor Relations Board) to advance its priorities.
Functions of Human resource management •
Staffing: The process of the recruitment and selection of employees through the use of interviews, applications and networking. Staffing involves two main factors. The first is to attract talented recruits who meet the organization's requirements, and doing so by using tools such as mass media; the second is to manage hiring resources. Managers can use hiring resources to exercise different strategies. •
Training and Development: It involves a continuous process of training and developing competent and adapted employees. Here, motivation is seen as key to keeping employees highly productive. This includes employee benefits, performance appraisals, and rewards. Employee benefits, appraisals, and rewards are all encouragements to bring forward the best employees. •
Maintenance: Involves keeping the employees' commitment and loyalty to the organization. Managing for employee retention involves strategic actions to keep employees motivated and focused so they remain employed and fully productive for the benefit of the organization. Some businesses
globalize and form more diverse teams. HR departments have the role of making sure that these teams can function and that people can communicate across cultures and across borders. The discipline may also engage in mobility management, especially for
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.
Other Activities: •
Talent Acquisition: focuses on the long-term strategic planning required to identify, attract, and hire the top talent necessary to meet the organization's needs. •
Talent Recruitment: involves identifying, attracting, and hiring suitable candidates to fulfill specific job openings and meet business needs. •
Talent Management: helps organizations identify key positions vital for long-term success, develop a pool of high-potential employees to fill these roles, and establish a framework for managing performance, developing leaders, retaining talent, and fostering organizational commitment. •
Compensation and Benefits: design competitive compensation and benefits packages to attract and retain talent. •
Employee Relations: manage employee relations issues, such as conflict resolution, employee grievances, and workplace investigations. •
Training and Development: develop and implement training programs and professional development opportunities for their employees. •
Performance Management: a systematic process focused on enhancing organizational effectiveness according to the organization's tactical and strategic goals, using performance management systems and designing
human resource metrics. Performance is considered a function of ability, motivation, and environment; hence, this approach provides employees with clear feedback on their performance outcomes and support areas for improvement, ensuring that active learning and cultural engagement take place in alignment with organizational objectives. •
Legal Compliance: ensure that organizations are compliant with labor laws and regulations, including employment standards, workplace safety, and anti-discrimination policies. In
startup companies, trained professionals may perform HR duties. In larger companies, an entire functional group is typically 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 have established programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations may produce field-specific publications. HR is also a field of research study that is popular within the fields of management and
industrial/organizational psychology. One of the important goals of HRM is establishing with the notion of
unitarism (seeing a company as a cohesive whole, in which both employers and employees should work together for its common good) and securing a long-term partnership of employees and employers with common interests.
Code of ethics Code of ethics provides a framework for ethical behavior and professional conduct in HRM. It ensures integrity, fairness, and responsibility. Its function is to guide HR professionals and departments in upholding the rights, safety, and interests of all stakeholders. They are generally categorized into the following: •
Duties to the Public: HR professionals must act ethically, lawfully, and with integrity. They should address illegal acts, uphold public trust, maintain competence, and engage in continuous professional development. •
Duties to the Profession: HR professionals must uphold the reputation of the profession by avoiding misconduct, adhering to ethical codes, promoting a positive image, and cooperating with investigations or disciplinary processes. •
Duties to Clients and Employers: HR professionals must prioritize the best interests of employers and clients, ensure impartiality, disclose conflicts of interest, maintain accurate records, and safeguard confidentiality. •
Duties to Individuals: HR professionals must advance dignity, equity, and safety for all. They should respect privacy, avoid discrimination or harassment, report imminent risks of harm, and foster an inclusive workplace. •
Overarching Duties: HR professionals must foster trust, respect, and fairness in all relationships. They must act impartially, comply with laws, promote diversity, and resolve disputes ethically and professionally. == Modern HR practices ==