Organizational Culture and Employee

Human Resources

The Primary Components of Human Resources

The human resource (HR) is one of the most important functions in an organization. The function is concerned with ensuring the organization always has the right people for the job. It is involved in recruiting, training, developing, and rewarding employees with the aim of helping them deliver their best. Fundamentally, the HR is the function that deals with people side of an organization -- it puts in place measures and policies to ensure effective people (personnel) management. This paper discusses the primary components of HR.

One of the major components of HR relates to staffing. Staffing is essentially concerned with the acquisition (recruitment and selection) of employees. The HR function puts in place policies and procedures for locating talented individuals and integrating them into the organization (Mello, 2015). As the organization grows, it must recruit highly qualified individuals with the capacity to propel it towards success (Truss, Mankin & Kelliher, 2012). The HR function employs rigorous processes to ensure prospective employees fit in the culture of the organization and have the capacity to support the growth of the organization. Staffing also involves ensuring a sufficient quantity of manpower to accomplish the activities of the organization.

The HR is also involved in training and developing employees. Employee training often starts upon the end of recruitment and selection. This takes the form of orientation and socialization, which entails familiarizing the recruited employees with the culture (systems, processes, procedures, values, norms, and practices, and people of the organization), as well as their roles and responsibilities (Truss, Mankin & Kelliher, 2012). Employee training does not end after orientation. It is indeed an ongoing process known as employee development. This is a particularly important aspect of HR. As organizations implement change in response to dynamics in their environment of operation, they must equip their employees with new skills, knowledge, and capabilities. Development encompasses -- continuous improvement of employees' capacity to execute their roles and responsibilities in an increasingly changing and dynamic work environment (Mello, 2015). The development involves activities and processes such as mentoring, coaching, classroom courses, and professional programs. Development activities improve talent and support succession planning efforts, which eventually contribute to employee motivation, empowerment, satisfaction, and retention (Stredwick, 2014).

Another important component of HR relates to compensation, benefits, and performance management. Naturally, employees expect to be rewarded for their input or contribution to the organization. The HR is involved in making compensation decisions. Compensation decisions also include benefits, both mandatory benefits (such as health and safety) and discretionary (not legally mandated) benefits. Examples of discretionary benefits include work flexibility, paid vacation and sick leave, health and fitness facilities, and day care facilities for employees with babies (Mello, 2015). Decisions relating to compensation and benefits have important implications for employee outcomes (Truss, Mankin & Kelliher, 2012). Indeed, progressive thinking organizations use compensation and benefits as a strategy for attracting and retaining talent -- they structure their compensation and benefits packages in a manner that motivates and satisfies employees. Increased employee satisfaction can reduce employee turnover and contribute to employee productivity and performance. Therefore, the HR must make effective compensation decisions.

Closely related to compensation and benefits is the aspect of performance management. Performance management essentially denotes processes aimed at ensuring consistent fulfilment of the organization's goals and objectives (Truss, Mankin & Kelliher, 2012). The HR plays a crucial role in establishing and enforcing these processes. This is achieved by ensuring every employee effectively fulfils their roles and responsibilities and achieves the targets set for them. Every year, the HR conducts performance appraisal to evaluate employees' skills, knowledge, effectiveness, and abilities. The appraisal supports decisions relating to aspects such as compensation, promotion, employee development, and disciplinary action (Stredwick, 2014). For instance, an appraisal may reveal that a certain employee has skill and knowledge gaps that require further development, consequently leading to the placement of the employee in training and development activities. The appraisal may also warrant increase in compensation and benefits or even dismissal on the other extreme. Similar to compensation and benefits, performance management processes can be a source of employee motivation. For instance, employees would be more satisfied with a fair, transparent, and objective process for measuring and communicating performance.