Human resources departments specialize in tending to the needs of one of their companies’ most valuable assets — their workers. While many associate this department primarily with hiring, there are a number of different tasks that individuals in these departments complete daily. By tending to these worker-related tasks, human resources departments play a pivotal role in keeping the business running smoothly.
Recruit Workers
Particularly in fields where workers are scarce, recruiting workers is a major duty of the human resources department. This department may be tasked with searching out quality candidates and even enticing these candidates to give the companies for which they work a try.
Also Read: Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
Hire Quality Employees
Often the human resources department plays a major part in the employee selection process. Human resources workers may make up all or part of an interview committee. When interviewing employees, they must carefully evaluate each individual’s appropriateness as a candidate to ensure that they select the workers that are right for them.
Train New Employees
When workers initially join a workforce, it is often the human resources department that tackles the task of training. To effectively train workers, human resources departments must first develop high quality training materials and then deliver the training materials to workers, ensuring that they possess the skills necessary for success in the company.
Promote Diversity
Establishing diversity is a major goal in many workplaces. Human resources departments may plan diversity-related training to show employees the benefits of diversity or seek out speakers who can educate employees on diversity-related topics. They also help employers set up diversity-focused hiring processes.
Employee Needs
If an employee needs something, he generally turns directly to the human resources department. For instance, the H.R. department takes the lead in helping employees complete necessary paperwork for insurance and retirement. They also often address any pay-related issues that arise, keeping workers happy.
Identify Improvement Needs
No matter how well structured a business unit may be, there is always room for improvement. The human resources department often seeks out ways in which the business could be improved upon or the working conditions could be enhanced. After identifying these areas for improvement, they may set about creating and implementing improvement plans.
Retain Workers
Human resources workers must not only get employees on board initially, but also keep them happy and on the job. To do this, they must remain attentive to employee upsets and deal with issues whenever they can, keeping workers contented with the company and stopping them from looking elsewhere for employment.
