Human resources otherwise known as HR is a segment of a company that has the responsibility of finding, screening, recruiting, and training job applicants as well as administering employee benefit programs.A human resource can also be a single person or employee within an organization, it refers to all of the people employed by an organization.
A human resources primary role is to help companies deal with the fast-changing environment and the greater demand for quality employees. They are also responsible for advising senior staff about the impact on people (the human resources) of their financial, planning, and performance decisions.
How Human Resources Work
The importance of a human resource in any organization cannot be overemphasized regardless of the organization’s size. Human resource primary function is to focus on maximizing employee productivity and protecting the company from any issues that arises from the workforce. An HR, is also saddled with the responsibility of planning out compensation and benefits, recruitment, firing, as well as keeping up to date with any laws that may affect the company and its employees.
Duties of Human Resource
- An HR must be able to manage and use people effectively.
- Must be able to match performance appraisal and compensation to competencies.
- Should develop competencies that will enhance individual and organizational performance.
- To increase the innovation, creativity, and flexibility needed to enhance competitiveness.
- Gathering and applying new approaches to work process design, succession planning, career development, and inter-organizational mobility.
- To manage the implementation and integration of technology via improved staffing, training, and communication with employees.
Outsourcing Human Resources
Most businesses prefer to outsource the HR function by transferring the responsibility to an outside agency in a bid to find, hire, manage, and pay qualified workers, so that the company can better focus on developing its core competencies.
Here are the different types of organizations that will handle your HR responsibilities if you decide to outsource it:
- Professional employer organization (PEO) – PEOs take over the complete responsibility for all aspects of your HR function. This includes finding and recruiting workers and determining their pay rate. Here, employees work for both the PEO and your company.
- Human resource outsourcer (HRO) – This organization, takes care of all HR activities but does not actually employ workers.
- E-services – This is using an online HR platform that enables small businesses to maintain control of their HR activities while leveraging information technology to do it more efficiently.
An HR department that is functioning well, will ensure that a business has all of the right employees it needs, at the right time, at an affordable cost, and will also help to support the continued development of those workers, offering the company with an appreciating human set.
Thus for any organization to succeed and effectively manage its workforce, there’s need to have a well-grounded human resource structure in place.
Organizations can also benefit from human resource functions if there is an impending lawsuit that is looming over the organization. Thus making common the duties of a human resource or not having at all can spell doom for any organization who wants to stay afloat in the ever-changing economy.