Human Resources Demographics

The demographics of the site chosen for this paper, NH Clinic, consist of a vast group of clinical professionals working at 21 different hospitals across the country. NH Clinic staffs nearly 500 outpatient ambulatory and physician practices as well. The Clinic supports more than 6,600 beds, employs over 15,000 nurses and is affiliated with nearly 14,000 physicians. Its total workforce consists of over 61,000 workers and NH Clinic is the biggest private employer in the state (NH Reports and Facts, 2016).

The staff employed by NH Clinic is as diverse as the state's population itself, with a variety of persons of ethnicities and cultures employed throughout the ranks of the Clinic. It has men and women of a many different races, religions, beliefs and backgrounds in positions of management, throughout the administration, and up and down lower level chains as well. NH Clinic celebrates diversity in its campuses across the country and is an equal-opportunity employer. The Clinic does not reject anyone based on ethnic background, religious affiliation, gender, race or any other type of discriminating characteristic. Its staff and management teams may be eclectic but they are all nurses, doctors and health care professionals who put the practice of quality care before all else. At NH Clinic, employees are united behind the mission of the organization, which is to provide the appropriate quality care to all patients who come to the clinic in need.

Summary of the Interview

The interview with the Director of NH Clinic's HR revealed a considerable amount of information regarding the Director's own view on HR as well as the responsibilities associated with the role. The HR Director described the personal characteristics that make him a good manager as having strong interpersonal skills and leadership skills, along with communication skills and creativity. The Director highlighted the need to communicate effectively, negotiate, and develop warm relationships with many different people. When asked about how he goes about hiring for HR, the Director emphasized the importance of personality (the right type of personality is essential in this line of work) and the ability of the individual to rally behind the department's common vision.

The Director held that employee training is important to an organization because "training familiarizes employees with company policies, work culture, and management" and "strengthens team work and gives a common vision to the organization." Thus, training is essential to the firm's sense of self. A strong motivator for employees, meanwhile, comes by way of training, which allows workers to see and set goals and adhere guidelines as supports.

As HR Director, the interviewee stated that collaboration with other company departments is also a crucial part of the role because in order to give, share and receive information, HR managers have to be effective collaborators and cooperators with other department leaders from everything to salary issues to incentives to budget policies.

The Director also stated that a company's HR needs influence strategic planning by linking "HR management directly to the strategic plan of the organization."...

For instance, the Director heads the department that is tasked with interacting with workers who may have many different concerns, questions and needs -- and HR has to be able to helpfully address each one. At the same time, HR has to be concerned with training workers and promoting a culture in the workplace environment that is supportive of the overall organization's mission and vision.
Moreover, the Director is responsible for communicating with other department managers regarding issues that relate to employees, hiring, staffing, budget, incentives, and much more. The Director has to set plans, guidelines, work with other companies on sharing information, and assist in certain budgetary planning stages by providing information about staff sizes, staff needs, staff turnover rates, future projections regarding staffing, etc.

The Director has to be poised, collected, calm, friendly, firm, and have leadership qualities such as social and emotional intelligence (Sanchez-Nuez, Patti, Holzer, 2015). My impressions of the Director's duties correspond with what research has shown about job satisfaction and the emotional intelligence of managers: the more emotionally and socially intelligent that managers and directors are, the more likely employees are to be happy and satisfied at their jobs (Ealias, George, 2012). The Director gave me the sense that he was very aware of his role in keeping workers happy in their organizational environment. I saw his role in HR as being a supportive one -- supportive of employees and of the overall organization as a whole.

What I Learned from the Interview

What I learned from the interview was that HR is a necessary component of an organization. Just as oil is need to keep an engine from exploding, lubricating the parts of the machinery so that they work together in sync towards the goal, which is to make the car go, the HR department provides the "oil" so to speak between the various parts of the organization: it communicates with employees, trains them to orient themselves to their roles and to the company's vision; it helps other departments know what is taking place with workers, and what is to be expected in various projections.

I learned that the HR director has to be a good and positive manager who shows real concern for the needs of employees but who also solidly represents the organizational vision and mission. As Schyns and Schilling (2013) show, a bad manager will tear a company apart by bringing negative attitudes into the workplace environment and derailing productivity. A good manager like the HR Director will promote positivity and work to support a workplace culture that is bright, inclusive, strategic, disciplined and focused.

Finally, I learned that the HR Director is not there to prevent employees…