Staffing, employment and recruitment are the most critical functional areas contributing to business success, according to a May, 2008 Society for Human Resource Management study “HR’s Evolving Role in Organizations and Its Impact on Business Strategy.” Staffing was the top area cited, with 52 percent of the respondents indicating this was the most important human resource planning issue for their business.
Recruiting and Developing Talent
Recruiting and developing talent have always been a critical human resource function. Even in tough economic times, human resource and organizational leaders are concerned with having the right people on board in the right roles. While human resource departments search for technical skills and expertise, cultural fit is also an important issue. Once onboard, the development of talent ensures progression within the organization for employees and the ability for companies to retain and grow employees.
Matching Staffing With Business Requirements
Business environments are continually changing. Human resource leaders need to plan for these changes and adjust overall staffing to match business requirements. For instance, as the Internet has become more important to organizations, human resources has needed to either train internal staff to take on roles related to maintaining and growing an Internet presence, or hire talent from outside. .
Training and Retraining
Training is a critical human resource function. New technology, new equipment, new legal and regulatory demands and new expectations from customers all require new information and new skill development for employees. Human resources needs to both train employees to acquire new skills and retrain employees whose current skills are no longer necessary.
Downsizing
Downsizing is an unfortunate fact of life for some organizations. When business declines or certain skills are no longer necessary for the organization, human resource planning efforts need to focus on how to reduce the workforce in ways that are fair and focused on business needs.
