HR Function.

Today, At Humba-HR-Consultants we are excitingly looking at the whole concept of HR. You’ll find here information on HR’s role in building organisational capability, HR leadership, improving the HR function, HR transformation, managing the HR department, HR audits and bench-marking, HR planning, shared services and HR outsourcing, HR competencies, HR managers, HR directors, HR brand and HR consultants.

Human Resources Management is an important asset to any business. It provides expertise in:

• managing change and facilitating training and development
• recruitment, selection and employee relations
• pensions and benefits
• communicating with employees

Tarmac aims to build the capacity and capability of its people to achieve their full potential. This strategy strengthens the business in the long term.

An HR manager's role is to ensure that business managers apply HR policies and procedures consistently through all business units. This helps to develop partnerships across different teams, which supports corporate aims and objectives.

A human resource management system (HRMS) or human resource information system (HRIS), refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible.

The function of human resources (HR) departments is generally administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of "human capital" progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized human resource management systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before the client–server architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of client–server, application service provider, and software as a service (SaaS) or human resource management systems enabled increasingly higher administrative control of such systems. Currently human resource management systems encompass.

Payroll

Time and attendance

Performance appraisal

Benefits administration

HR management information system

Recruiting/Learning management

Performance record

Employee self-service

Scheduling

Absence management

The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems.

The time and attendance module gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions.

The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement.

The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to "read" applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to:

• produce pay checks and payroll reports;
• maintain personnel records;
• pursue talent management.

Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent management systems typically encompass:

analyzing personnel usage within an organization; identifying potential applicants; recruiting through company facing listings; recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants.

The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availability has given rise to the development of a dedicated applicant tracking system, or 'ATS', module.

The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a "learning management system" (LMS) if a standalone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics.

The employee self-service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR department.

Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information systems, which support recruitment; selection; hiring; job placement; performance appraisals; employee benefit analysis; health; safety and security; while others integrate an outsourced applicant tracking system that encompasses a subset of the above.

Assigning Responsibilities Communication between the Employees.

Because more is expected of people today, HR practitioners must be more than an administrative arm of an organization and be increasingly involved in enabling growth, productivity, and profitability. HR practitioners are compelled to assume business and consulting roles, aside from transaction functions such as compensation and benefits administration or routinely recruitment. Companies also have to focus on employee retention in order to maintain their customer base and ultimately deliver quality service and attain a return on investment (ROI). Further, HR practitioners need to reach out to a more diverse and young workforce with a continually changing value system that affects their work ethic.

Other challenges include acquiring new technologies, which calls for new skills, and adapting to changing social values such as better quality of life in less time, less loyalty to the company, or higher pay for less hours of work. Employees’ need for work-life balance has become more pronounced, challenging HR and management to find appropriate motivators for today’s employees.

All of these challenges will only compel HR practitioners to intensify their search for the right people and to take on new roles to be able to retain them. As knowledge capital becomes one of the critical success factors for corporations, the search for the best and the brightest will become a constant and costly battle, and retaining the best people will be increasingly difficult. This increases the pressure on the HR function to create an environment in which employees continue to flourish and propel companies toward the achievement of their objectives.

To fulfil their increasingly strategic role in companies and contribute to building competitive advantage for their organizations, HR practitioners must address strategic questions and implement the most effective approach with caution.

In order for the HR function to move from the backroom to the boardroom, HR issues must be addressed, and the role of line managers must evolve into that which accommodates an increasing involvement in developing solutions to address the concerns of their people. Together, the strategic importance of HR issues and the changing role of line management will be the two key forces of change operating on HR.

Strategic HR issues include:

• Responsibility of the HR function – What is HR really tasked to do?

Can HR really stand as a strategic partner of the CEO?

• Responsibility of line managers with respect to HR issues – Should management of employee concerns fall solely on the HR Department or be shared at all levels, from senior management down to junior management?

• Manner by which HR can help the organization compete in the marketplace – What efficiency can be achieved in the HR Department in its processes, policies, and procedures? What processes can be retained, and what can be outsourced? What best practices can be implemented?

• Technology requirements – What systems will HR need to support its changing and growing requirements?

HR function of the future: new roles and a changing focus

Given all the issues confronting today’s HR function, HR practitioners are being called to assume roles beyond the traditional HR administrative functions.

Outlined are five key roles HR has to play in order to help organizations meet their strategic objectives:

• Strategic business partner – HR must factor in policies on employee welfare and new or changing competency requirements when corporate strategies are being developed. Through partnering with management, HR may take on the role of consultant and assist in strengthening the relationship between employees and senior management.

• Change agent – HR professionals must lead in actively building and maintaining a corporate culture that embraces people development.

• Employee champion – HR must create a productive work environment, ensure effective communication, and manage workforce relations.

• Manager of personnel acquisition and development – HR must define, generate, continuously reinforce, and sustain organizational skills, knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and desired behaviours.

• Manager of processing, compliance, and reporting – HR must align its strategic and tactical plans with those of the corporation, comply with laws, create policies, and execute administrative processes, all in a cost-effective manner.

Several of the roles may help HR respond to the evolving profile of today’s workforce. As change agent, employee champion, and advocate of employee development, HR departments in some organizations have instituted improvements in the workplace, such as upgraded or flexible employee benefits, wellness programs, and the like. HR may also assist in developing more effective training programs that include not only technical courses, but also programs that enhance soft skills and make use of multiple learning modes.

HR management is no longer confined to the social sciences, and requires skills and knowledge in other disciplines such as marketing and communication, management of information systems, operations, economics, and finance. Some organizations may even invest in training programs that can further the business acumen of their existing HR practitioners. As such, HR practitioners will be more comfortable in the role of strategic partner, equipped to be in boardrooms, and perceived as an increasingly important ally by senior management and line managers.

The structure of HR departments in some organizations has already begun to evolve. Instead of being divided according to specialized functions such as compensation and benefits, training, recruitment, and the like, some HR departments have restructured themselves to service “accounts” or business units, requiring HR generalists who are knowledgeable in all functions of HR as “account managers.” These HR generalists can then provide relevant solutions or interventions to appropriately address the specific needs of their respective accounts, or the various units in the organization.

This structure enables more HR practitioners to veer away from being highly transaction-based to more solutions-focused.

Technology is also an important factor in attaining the HR function of the future. By leveraging technology, HR can reduce some of its more routinely tasks and processes and create more time for focusing on strategic

HR concerns. An integrated Human Resource Information System (HRIS) can also serve as a tool for gathering information that will be used to carry out a number of HR functions such as performance appraisals, employee counselling, and recruitment. Outsourcing is also an increasingly viable option for reducing time spent on highly administrative and transaction activities such as payroll, timekeeping, and the like.

All of these changes will then allow HR to become more than a support unit and advance into a quasi-independent business within an organization. In some companies, HR has begun to act as an internal consultant. Other companies may also opt to get external consultants to perform HR functions in lieu of the traditional HR department.

Ultimately, HR practitioners must begin to move from backroom to boardroom.

With the heightened need for knowledge workers, HR is being propelled to the forefront of business strategy. Much is being asked of HR practitioners today — versatility in business functions, propensity for innovation, diagnostic insight, and a broadened knowledge of business processes.

But all these may be worth HR’s efforts if practitioners can say that their broadened competencies have enabled their companies to improve performance and deliver excellent service to their customers.