Roles of the Human Resource Manager

Roles of the Human Resource Manager

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BUS 303: Human Resources Management

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Human Resource Management is more than just administration paperwork and making sure payroll is taken care of. Over the years, Human Resources has taken on many different roles that help organizations as well as their employees function and maintain their functionality. To me, HR is the backbone of any organization. HR leaders help hire new employees, develop training and programs that make the organization safe to work in, provide benefits and compensation to all the organizations employees, and provide a liaison for labor relations to make sure everyone is treated fairly and have their best interest in mind. There are many roles to Human Resource Management, and all of them blend together to make the organization successful and safe to work in.

A couple programs that Human Recourse Leaders help develop and care for is the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) and Affirmative Action programs within an organization. According to chapter 7 in the textbook, it states, “Some types of training may be required for all employees in accordance with legal rules and regulations enforced by agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Examples include safety training and sexual harassment training,” (Youssef, 2015). Doing this mandatory training means that every personnel in the organization is aware of the standards and the processes involved to report something. Let’s take Equal Opportunity for example. In the Army, that is a quarterly training that everyone MUST be trained on. There are so many cases, military wide, that having the proper training can help stop some instances or at least help prevent harassment in the workplace. HR personnel in the civilian workplace is different from the military. We have appointed reps that handle EO violations and SHARP violations, not HR personnel. Civilian sector is run by HR. A government article states, “if you are a federal employee or job applicant, the law protects you from discrimination because of your race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, disability or genetic information. The law also protects you from retaliation if you oppose employment discrimination, file a complaint of discrimination, or participate in the EEO complaint process (even if the complaint is not yours.) (Equal Opportunity Commission, n.d.). Every organization teaches this so that they know, just because you say something, doesn’t mean that you will be punished or retaliated against. This creates safety within the workplace and safety creates a high morale environment for all employees.

Recruitment has changed dramatically over time as well. Before technology, companies HR department would take care of the hiring and actually going around finding people looking for a job, or have a notice outside saying to apply within. Now, even with those still in effect, there is a way that is better suited for today’s society. A lot of companies and organizations are now posting their job online via social media websites. Chapter 4 in the book states, “The general idea behind any social media Web site is that people are invited to join by existing members who think they would be valuable additions to the emerging community; a member can offer to communicate with any other member, but the communication does not occur until the intended recipient approves the contact, and members can then work through friends they establish in the community. Social networking as a recruiting strategy involves using the Web informally for hiring purposes through blogs, technical and specialized online journals, informal communication with similar-minded professionals, and job recruiting websites that reach out to and solicit qualified applicants. The most commonly used social networking Web sites are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. LinkedIn is considered more professionally oriented than other social networking Web sites, which are oriented more toward personal and social communication,” (Youssef, 2015). Human Resource professionals can literally look at a person’s profile and learn a little more about who they are as a person, via their profiles on social media platforms. This allows companies to get a general knowledge of what the person is about and see if they would make a great fit for their organization. This was spoke about in one of the discussions the past couple weeks. People were talking about how social media was a great and bad place to hire people. Some said that they can put up a front and lie about themselves online, while others say that it is good because you can see the person for who they are and not lie to you during interviews to what you want to hear. Technology had really helped advance the way that job opportunities are advertised today. HR professionals have to come up with ways to catch new candidate’s eyes and grab them. With social media, they can reach millions of people all at one time.

The article about Primary Responsibilities of a Human Resources Manager states, “Human resource managers provide guidance and direction to compensation and benefits specialists. Within this discipline, human resources managers develop strategic compensation plans, align performance management systems with compensation structure and monitor negotiations for group health care benefits. Examples of human resource manager responsibilities include monitoring Family and Medical Leave Act compliance and adherence to confidentiality provisions for employee medical files,” (Mayhew, 2017). This is just like the job I am in now. As a HR professional we help Soldier’s with managing their healthcare, making sure they are up to date on all medical appointments and help with their finances when it is needed. It is up to us to make sure every employee is provided for and has the necessary needs to take care of themselves when they ask for it. Having a company that provides great health benefits is what attracts employees. Many have multiple kids and when they have to pay for any medical needs without benefits, it gets very costly, fast. More people would feel the need to stay just for the health benefits alone. While the Army doesn’t supply any compensation bonuses, I think that companies that offer bonuses based on performance will keep morale up. People will strive to do better when they see individuals earning a reward for their work performance. HR manager’s job is to manage the process and make sure all employees are provided for and taken care of. No one is left behind. The text states, “When employees know that they are going to be rewarded for their extra work, this certainty motivates them to try their best and produce more. Furthermore, organizations that offer outcome-based incentives are able to attract high performers and are therefore able to recruit and retain top talent,” (Youssef, 2015). People are always drawn to incentives, bonuses, and benefits when it comes to deciding on taking on certain jobs. This is where an HR professionals job is to make sure all programs and incentives are in order and the ones that are, appeal to the population.

The role of the Human Resources professional has grown tremendously throughout the years. It went from administrative and secretarial work to a full blown assistant in running a company. It seems as if positions have been let go and added work had been given to the HR department. The HR management field is a highly sought after and highly paid field because of all the work, training, planning, coordinating, and so much more that they do for a company. HR management will always be around forever and no one can take their spot. Human Resource Managers will forever be the reason for a successful company, not the CEO.

Reference Page:

Equal Opportunity Commission, (n.d.). Overview Of Federal Sector EEO Complaint Process. (n.d.). Retrieved July 17, 2017, from https://www.eeoc.gov/federal/fed_employees/complaint_overview.cfm

Mayhew, R. (2017). Primary Responsibilities of a Human Resource Manager. Retrieved July 17, 2017, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/primary-responsibilities-human-resource-manager-10957.html

Youssef, C. (2015). Human resource management (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

https://ashford.conent.edu.