HRMThere are a number of challenges facing human resource departments today. Key trends such as increasing diversity, skills deficiencies, and an aging workforce each affect the environment in which HRM managers work. Further, HRM consists of many different functions, each governed by its own laws and regulations. Today's human resource manager must work in the context of these different functions to deliver a coherent human resources strategy that meets the needs of the organization. That means not just hiring people, but setting out a full slate of HRM policies that allow those people to be at their most productive, and make the greatest contribution possible to the strategic mission of the organization (SHRM.org, 2016).

Key Functional Areas

There are several key functional areas in which human resource managers work. There are five key functional areas that have been identified.: Staffing, development, total rewards, employee relations, and safety. The following section will take a look at each of these.

Staffing refers to determining the organizations personnel needs and then recruiting the right candidates. This process begins with understanding the needs of the organization, and then writing job descriptions that accurately reflect the candidate who will meet those needs. The process of recruiting the candidate comes next -- creating a job posting, screening, interviewing, skills assessments and in the end finding the right hire. In order to effectively perform this task the human resource manager needs to know the demands of the company well in order to select the right type of employees which will be the best fit for the job description. When HRM finished recruiting employees the next phase is training so the new employees meet the requirements of the job. Human Resource Manager must give equal opportunities to everyone.

Development refers to the training and education of workers, so that they are better able to perform. The first step is to identify the skills gaps that exist within the workforce, and the HRM manager then needs to develop a program to bring those skills and education levels up to where they need to be. This addresses the key trend of skills deficiency...

Development can include training on specific software or tools necessary for the job, and but it can also include things like leadership training as well. By ensuring a structured development plan an HR manager ensures the long-term value of an employee The longer an employee stay with the company they get more loyal and value the company's mission.
The next key function is employee relations. This area is about ensuring that employees are motivated and engaged with the organization -- so it includes things like ensuring morale is high, performance appraisals, complaints and labor relations (if applicable). Employee relations is a key function in terms of reducing turnover, which is important if the organization is going to dedicate the time and energy to finding the right people and developing them. That sort of investment must be protected, which is where both employee relations and total rewards come into play. Having a workforce that is engaged with the organization will help it to grow long-term because it will not bleed talent.

Safety is another key area for human resources management. Safety in the workplace is typically governed by things like the Organizational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Human resources is usually responsible for things like safety audits, handling injuries and claims, safety training and accident reporting.

Legal Framework

The human resources department must work within a legal framework to perform these various tasks. There are several equal employment opportunity laws, for example, that must be followed by human resources departments, governing different forms of job discrimination. The basis of discrimination law is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Other acts have been passed, building on the framework of Title VII. These…