An organization is deeply rooted in the kind of culture it creates and the people who are part of it. While one might argue that the business results, market conditions, industry trends, economic cycles, competitors and so on are the reasons that drive an organization. However, at the heart of the organization lies its workforce and the biggest resource that drives it – human. Given the criticality of the role and function, if you aspire to become part of this people-driven function, a great hr certification is your first step.
How human resources drive an organization?
-
Defines culture
How many times have we heard employees talking about how great their organization’s work climate is? Or on the other hand, how bad it is. The first thing that engages and motivates a person to stay with a firm is the culture. HR has a central role in defining the culture, based on the overall vision and purpose of the organization. It ensures that the culture is a reflection of what the organization stands for and how it intends to move ahead. The employer brand itself is linked to culture.
-
Determines best policies
HR has the role of scouring the market to figure out existing and upcoming trends and policies that are most employee-friendly. They then define the business case for it and implement it within the organization. Hence they ensure that the best and market-competitive policies exist within the organization.
-
Provides key insights to leaders
The HR function is instrumental in providing data and people analytics to the leaders at all times. This data is very useful in decision making and ensures that the leaders are aware of the employee aspirations, as well as attributes. The insights that are compiled from the data could range from snippets about traits, to general views of the individual. It also covers performance data as well as past employment insights.
-
Forms the face of the organization
Usually the first person a potential employee meets is an HR representative. This individual is the first impression and interaction that the latter has, of the organization. So in essence, he/she forms the face of the organization and can actually make or break the way it is perceived in the external market. Employer brand is a very strong market reality and in today’s world, the younger workforce is very cognizant of what an organization stands for. The first interaction, therefore, becomes more crucial.
-
Drives all key processes
If you actually review the processes that an organization hinges on, it will be performance management, pay and rewards, staffing and workforce planning, to name a few. These are all processes where accountability lies with human resources. They do not just own the process, but also design and redesign it to suit the needs of a changing organization and market trends. E.g. performance management and rewards ensure that the employees are assessed fairly and recognized for the work they put into the success of the organization. When these are done well, the employee is happy and motivated, which in turn contributes to revenue.
-
Percolates the business objectives to the people
Leadership teams make the Corporate Scorecard. They share the details with their Functional heads. The biggest role and challenge is for the Human Resources function to break it down into comprehensible milestones. Business heads are more quantitatively aligned and that makes the definition of objectives easier. For people or behavioural goals and attributes, this is far more challenging.
-
Finds the right talent
When an organization decides to expand geographically or receives a key client project, staffing it with the right talent within a short time-frame is what will determine its success eventually. Human Resources has to step in immediately, to use data analytics as well as all its sourcing channels, understand the exact requirement and then find the right people for those roles. One wrong person can mean a billion-dollar client mistake. That can mean loss of revenue not only for the present but also for the future, as well as a dip in the organization’s reputation. With such huge implications in-store, the role of HR becomes crucial and the actual driver of the whole process.
-
Forms the link between leadership and the employees
HR forms the key connection between the leadership or management teams and the overall employee base. It ensures that the communication between these two critical segments of the organization remains seamless. It also provides feedback to leadership and gives them frank opinions on what actions are received in which manner, by the employees. Similarly, it explains and interprets the leadership actions and shares it with the employees by way of simple communication, so that they can assimilate it.
These are the ways in which Human Resources drives an organization and makes sure that it achieves its purpose as well as vision. The organization might depend on the functions like Sales and Marketing for its revenues, but the roots or backbone are formed by HR.
For any organization, its most valuable resource is employees. Human resources department takes care of employees and manages them so that the company can run smoothly and efficiently. Amongst all the responsibilities that the HR department shoulders, the most important ones are hiring employees, their training, implementing legal issues regarding employees and nurturing healthy relationships.
If you think that you have great people skills and possess empathy, then an HR career is certainly for you. In case you are considering HR certification online, you should know about the following functions to make an informed choice:
Recruitment
One of the most important duties that HR performs is the recruitment of new employees. The drive might start from searching for the scope of new positions within the organization to advertising, searching, interviewing and recruiting the right candidates who fulfil the criteria well and fit within the organization’s budget frame. In order to make the environment open for the new entrants, they develop employee handbooks to introduce company policies and conduct assessments to screen them for the level of training required. In fact, the success of HR persons is often determined by a number of recruitments completed and time taken for the process.
According to the India Skills Report 2018, the outlook for hiring is positive this year. It is expected that hiring will grow by 10-15% in 2018. Even globally, 61% of HR recruiters expect the hiring to increase this year. Given that more businesses are launching and expanding their reach, recruitment is going to be a very important function and can give a boost to your HR career.
Training and Developing Employees
Not just stopping at hiring, the HR department also takes care of training programs. They can conduct training for new as well as existing employees. Training new employees help them with smoother transitions into the new work culture. As an HR professional, you can coordinate with other department managers to understand where training is needed. You would also be building training plans with external trainers who are mostly professionals in their own sectors. You can even work on professional development supporting employees who want to pursue higher education or certifications, for example, leadership certification for promoted managers.
Engagement and Retention
It is very common for employees to put up their resignation because they have found a job which offers them better prospects and salary. Losing an employee means that you have to start the recruitment process all over. It is not only a loss of productivity for the organization but also has huge cost implications. As an HR professional, you would design activities that will keep the employees engaged and motivated so that you can retain them.
Benefits for Employees
The onus of employee welfare sits completely with HR. Thus, you have to work on employee benefits like medical insurance, disability care and compensation, maternity and paternity benefits, work from home options and long-term leaves. HR also functions to inform employees about the benefits that they can or cannot avail.
Administration and Payroll
Right from handling payrolls to timely payments and compensations, the HR department fulfils responsibilities regarding various financial matters related to employees. There are various kinds of compensations that the employees need to be aware of. Various companies provide pension benefits, while many others have options for loans, disability benefits etc. The HR department also works out competitive pay and compensation structures to make their companies employee-friendly.
Enacting in Accordance with Labour Laws
Keeping employee welfare in mind, the HR personnel also takes charge of understanding and enforcing labour laws to promote fair and equal work opportunities to the company’s employees. Some of the aspects include working hour guidelines, safety, workstation and office infrastructure standards, wages and other benefits and handling sensitive issues like harassment, discrimination and malpractices. Efficient labour law enactment can improve an organization’s reputation and productivity to a great extent. This is a very important HR function because it helps the organization to meet the stipulated labour laws set by the country in which the business is running operations.
Interpersonal Relations with Employees
In order to develop a cordial working environment, the human resources department takes care to build strong relationships with their employees. Various kinds of activities are conducted and employee participation is encouraged. The HR works as a channel between the management and employees. Thus, one of its main functions is to promote effective communication and transparency between the two. As a part of their duties, HR managers settle disputes within the company or with labour unions and vendors.
Depending on the individual company’s policy, the HR department controls some or all of these functions while other administrative tasks like payrolls may be outsourced too. It is quite satisfying as well as a challenging job, but HR positions are excellently paid in the industry. If you are interested in an HR job, you can consider HR certification online and learn about its functions in depth. You can complete it while doing your current job and go for higher career moves with a new certification.
More Information:
Lucrative Job Options In The Financial Sector
Why is it Important to Study Human Resource Management?
Jobs You Can Land and Careers You Can Pursue After an Online HR Certification Course
IIM KASHIPUR Executive Development Programme In Strategic Marketing Management
