Human Resource Management (HRM) is an operation in companies designed to maximize employee performance in order to meet the employer’s strategic goals and objectives. More precisely, HRM focuses on management of people within companies, emphasizing on policies and systems.
In short, HRM is the process of recruiting, selecting employees, providing proper orientation and induction, imparting proper training and developing skills.
HRM also includes employee assessment like performance appraisal, facilitating proper compensation and benefits, encouragement, maintaining proper relations with labor and with trade unions, and taking care of employee safety, welfare and health by complying with labor laws of the state or country concerned.
The Scope of HRM
The scope of HRM is very wide. It consists of all the functions that come under the banner of human resource management. The different functions are as follows −
Human Resources Planning
It is the process by which a company identifies how many positions are vacant and whether the company has excess staff or shortage of staff and subsequently deals with this need of excess or shortage.
Job Analysis Design
Job analysis can be defined as the process of noticing and regulating in detail the particular job duties and requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job.
Job analysis design is a process of designing jobs where evaluations are made regarding the data collected on a job. It gives an elaborate description about each and every job in the company.
Recruitment and Selection
With respect to the information collected from job analysis, the company prepares advertisements and publishes them on various social media platforms. This is known as recruitment.
A number of applications are received after the advertisement is presented, interviews are conducted and the deserving employees are selected. Thus, recruitment and selection is yet another essential area of HRM.
Orientation and Induction
After the employees are selected, an induction or orientation program is organized. The employees are updated about the background of the company as well as culture, values, and work ethics of the company and they are also introduced to the other employees.
Training and Development
Employees have to undergo a training program, which assists them to put up a better performance on the job. Sometimes, training is also conducted for currently working experienced staff so as to help them improve their skills further. This is known as refresher training.
Performance Appraisal
After the employees have put in around 1 year of service, performance appraisal is organized in order to check their performance. On the basis of these appraisals, future promotions, incentives, and increments in salary are decided.
Compensation Planning and Remuneration
Under compensation planning and remuneration, various rules and regulations regarding compensation and related aspects are taken care of. It is the duty of the HR department to look into remuneration and compensation planning.
Features of HRM
Human Resource Management as a discipline includes the following features −
- It is pervasive in nature, as it is present in all industries.
- It focuses on outcomes and not on rules.
- It helps employees develop and groom their potential completely.
- It motivates employees to give their best to the company.
- It is all about people at work, as individuals as well as in groups.
- It tries to put people on assigned tasks in order to have good production or results.
- It helps a company achieve its goals in the future by facilitating work for competent and well-motivated employees.
- It approaches to build and maintain cordial relationship among people working at various levels in the company.
Basically, we can say that HRM is a multi-disciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from psychology, economics, etc.
