1.1 Human Resources Management

Human Resource Management (HRM) or Employee Relations is an integrated set of processes, practices, programs, and systems in an organization that focuses on the effective deployment and development of its employees.  These processes include employing people, training them, compensating them, developing policies relating to them, and developing strategies to retain them. It is, by most accounts, one of the most critical functions of an organization, because for an organization to be efficient, it needs employees and systems that support them.

The Role of HRM in Organizations

HRM is an ‘umbrella’ term for many different and interrelated functions. It is necessary to point out at the very beginning of this text, that every manager has a role relating to Human Resource Management. Just because we do not have the title of HR manager, it does not mean we won’t perform all or at least some of the HRM tasks. For example, most managers deal with the selection, compensation, and motivation of employees—making these aspects not only part of HRM but also part of management in general.

Legislation and the Law

It is very important that Human Resource Managers are aware of all the laws that affect the workplace and they ensure that the processes in place abide by them.

An HR Manager will work under the following legal frameworks:

• Federal Government
• Provincial Government
• Health and Safety Requirements
• Labour Laws
• Employment Standards

The legal environment of HRM is always changing, therefore, HRM must always be aware of changes taking place and then communicate the changes to the entire management team of the organization.

Corporate Policies

In addition to having to comply with the requirements mandated by law, every organization may have their own set of unique policies. These policies can be set to ensure fairness (e.g., vacation policy above and beyond those legally mandated), to enhance effectiveness (e.g., internet usage policy), or simply to reinforce the culture (e.g., dress code). Some of the roles of HRM are to identify issues that can be addressed by implementing a policy; these can range from chronic tardiness of employees to a lack of decorum in meetings. HRM, management and executives are all involved in the process of developing policies. For example, the HRM professional will likely recognize the need for a new policy or a change of policy, they will then seek opinions on the policy, write the policy, and then communicate that policy to employees. The range of policies that can be designed is endless. Some examples of innovative policies include giving time-off to employees to volunteer in community organizations (to promote well-being and group work) and eliminating job titles.

“Human Resource Management: An introduction” in Human Resources Management – 2nd Ontario Edition by Elizabeth Cameron, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.