What is Human Resources (HR)? Will I like it as a job?

Human resource management (HRM) involves recruiting, employing, training, and managing an organization’s employees. It is a term used by an organization that develops, implements, and supervises rules. In other words, it regulates workers and the firm’s interaction with its employees.

HRM focuses on workers as corporate assets. Employees are sometimes referred to as human capital in this sense. For instance, their goal is to make the most use of employees while minimizing risk and maximizing ROI.

Table of Contents

What is HRM?

Human resource management is essential. It manages employees in the organization to fulfill the organization’s goals. Also, they ensure to maintain the ethos. HR managers recruit new employees with the capabilities to advance the company’s goals. In addition, they also assist the new joiners with the training and development to fulfill company objectives.

Here is an example of Human Resource Management.

To keep employees happy, employee satisfaction, safety, and motivation are a must. Humans need more management and a different attitude than other resources. So, having an entire department dedicated to them is beneficial.

Thus, the human resources department gets equipped to handle any situation. They can resolve interpersonal issues or put together a retirement plan. They are like the support system of the company. It is this department that looks after the employee benefits.

Subscribers to r/HumanResources (“A subreddit for Human Resources professionals: come here to seek career advice, ask questions and get feedback from peers within the HR Community around the world”) experienced massive growth in the past 5 years from ~4k subs in 2017 to ~50k subs in 2021. That’s a 1150% increase!! And it speaks a lot about the department.

Source: Reddit

How does HRM work?

Human resources aim to get the most out of a company’s employees. For example, they may be in charge of issues such as:

Benefits and compensation
Employee recruitment and hiring
Onboarding
Management of performance
Organizational development and cultural training

Each of these factors influences employee happiness and performance.

Human resources may assure a high-functioning and productive staff. They take care of such problems and help the company achieve its goals and objectives more.

The human resources department also ensures that the firm follows labor laws. They strive to maintain the workplace free of harassment and other barriers to a productive workforce.

Who handles human resource management?

The human resource manager is in charge of the organization’s human resource management.

The HR Director is a top-level executive who is in charge of all human resource policy and operations. The director manages compensation, benefits, personnel, affirmative action, and employee relations. Also, they look after health and safety, and training/development are all within the director’s control. In addition, they are also in charge of professional human resources personnel.

How does HR support employees?

HR exists to help the company’s employees thrive. Employees are, after all, a company’s single most valuable asset.

Providing opportunities for advancement

Stagnation is terrible for business. Therefore, it’s a good idea to retain your best staff on board. HR may set up career pathways for employees to follow and ensure a bright future with the firm. Besides, they may check in with workers regularly to help them progress in their careers.

Managerial development and assistance

Managers have to build a lot of experience to reach that position. Owing to this, the HR may assist managers with management advice. In this way, it can ensure that departments and teams are as productive and efficient as possible. For instance, this might involve sending managers to formal training and retreats regularly.

Promoting health and well-being

It’s critical to keep in mind that employees are individuals. So, they’ll require assistance dealing with mental illness. Also, they may need help for health problems, debt, pregnancy, adoption, and a variety of other life events. HR can assist employees in dealing with any of these or different situations.

The Role of Human Resource Management

The HR of an organization is responsible for the following things:

Job design

Within a job description, an HR manager may include desired qualities, qualifications. They may look for some prerequisites that a candidate must possess.

Hiring

HR management should source and carefully screen the candidates. But, this should be carried out before the candidate is formally selected.

Training and Development

HR plays a critical role in onboarding and training new workers. That is to say, a good HR department works with workers long after being onboarded. It influences ongoing growth opportunities.

Performance Management

Performance management involves assessing and analyzing individual workers’ and the whole organization’s performance.

Workplace Relationships

Counteracting workplace conflict is a critical human resource role. For example, there might be some inter-employee conflicts. The HR experts should immediately ask workers for information and act as needed.

HRM as a Career Option

Do not hesitate to pursue a profession in human resource management if you have the desire to do so. Indeed it is the appropriate choice. That’s because the specialty provides excellent opportunities for advancement. You can experience improvement in work title and income too.

Previously, HRM was primarily not considered a strong industry. It was just a field that needed practitioners to have strong interpersonal and soft skills. However, as data and technology become more prevalent in many areas, it may need a few technical abilities.

Takeaway

In the field of human resources, there are several opportunities that you can make use of. Every industry in the service and manufacturing sectors has established an HR department. These Human Resource employees help to emphasize employee welfare. So, start your career as an HR and earn a decent career and salary in this profession.

Ok, I like HRM.

**Should I give a sh*t about which industry to work for?**

It’s tough not to, here are 2 reasons why –

It’s what you’ll be living and breathing during your professional life (~160-hours every month – thats like binge watching all 236 episodes of Friends , twice – That long!)
Industry expertise matters – 8/10 professionals agree switching industries is pain in the a*s

Have a sneak peek at these google searches around industry switching –

I hope you are able to get an idea of what I am trying to highlight –

Choosing the right industry will solve 80% of your future career problems while others will still be figuring out why they hate going to work so much.