What is human resource management

The term human resources was first coined in the s when the value of labor relations began to garner attention and when notions such as motivation, organizational behavior, and selection assessments began to take shape in all types of work settings. Human resource management is a contemporary, umbrella term used to describe the management and development of employees in an organization. Due to the many areas of human resource management, it is typical for professionals in this field to possess specific expertise in one or more areas.

Just a few of the related career titles for HR professionals include:. Human resource management involves developing and administering programs that are designed to increase the effectiveness of an organization or business.

It includes the entire spectrum of creating, managing, and cultivating the employer-employee relationship. For most organizations, agencies, and businesses, the human resources department is responsible for:.

Addressing current employee concerns : Unlike company managers who oversee the day-to-day work of employees, HR departments deal with employee concerns such as benefits, pay, employee investments, pension plans, and training. Their work may also include settling conflicts between employees or between employees and their managers.

Hr Managers always encourage participation of employees in decision making and their suggestions are most valued. Flexibility in work, welfare and Work life balance to employees is high priority for Hr managers and they show much more concern towards employee issues. Adoption of new policies and optimisation methods by the Hr manager are well encouraged and swift.

The finest difference between Personnel management and Human resource management is integration and augmentation of Information Technologies in the human resources management process and functions for enhanced productivity and time savings as time is money.

All above Artificial intelligence and Roberts are taking over many Hr functions ranging from employees recruitment, Testing, interviewing and many more. Who is responsible for human resource management? Human resource officer or Manager is responsible for human resource management in the organization. The HR Director is a top-level manager responsible for the administration of all human resource activities and policies. They also supervise professional human resources staff. Primary responsibilities of the Human resource manager:.

To develop a thorough knowledge of corporate culture, plans and policies. To act as an internal change agent and consultant. To initiate change and act as an expert and facilitator. To keep communication lines open between the HRD function and individuals and groups both within and outside the organisation. To identify and evolve HRD strategies in consonance with overall business strategy. To facilitate the development of various organisational teams and their working relationship with other teams and individuals.

To try and relate people and work so that the organisation objectives are achieved effectively and efficiently. To diagnose problems and to determine appropriate solution particularly in the human resources areas. To provide co-ordination and support services for the delivery of HRD programmes and services. To evaluate the impact of an HRD intervention or to conduct research so as to identify, develop or test how HRD in general has improved individual or organisational performance.

Planning for staffing needs. Employee Recruitment And Selection. Employee Compensation And Benefits. Employee Training and performance evaluation. What is the role of a Human Resource Officer? The Human Resource Manager is responsible for overseeing human resources activities and policies according to executive level direction.

What is an employee handbook? An employee handbook defines your company culture. Great employee handbooks motivate and engage employees. Conveys useful information about company policies and procedures. The US Supreme Court has made it clear that to protect the company, legal protections should be clearly spelled out to employees.

Employee handbooks are often an essential document in agency investigations and employee claims. Tells the story of your company - Employee Handbooks are an excellent opportunity to educate employees about the organization, its history,and its origin. An employee handbook helps with employee orientation and getting new employees up to speed. Many companies offer multiple employee handbooks based on location, job classification, union membership, etc.

Employee handbooks are required as a risk management essential by Employment Practices Liability insurance carriers. Who works for Human resource management? Supporting staff. Strategic level. Chief Human Resource Officer CHRO is a corporate level officer, responsible for formulating and executing human resource strategy in match with overall organization's plan and strategic direction of the organization, particularly in the areas of succession planning , talent management , change management, executive compensation , organizational performance.

He supervise industrial relations policies, practices and operations of an organization. CHRO may also involve in selection of board members of an organization. Supervision level. HR Director belongs to top-level management, responsible for the administration of all human resource activities and policies. The director supervise employees' compensation, benefits, staffing, affirmative action, employee relations, health and safety , and training and development functions.

They also oversee below mentioned professional human resources staff. Execution level. Recruiter Hiring manager who is responsible filling vacancies by finding right candidates and finally placing them in the job. They are part artists and part scientists. Here are some tips to become best recruiter. Modern recruiters should have an innate instinct for mutual connection.

They should know how to network and navigate skill sets, hiring manager personalities, to make a perfect match and suits to company culture. They should live and die by mantra, 'if you cant measure it, you can't manage it' They should understand importance of numbers and data, will not only help them make better decisions but will also earn the trust of others in the organization.

They should think about jobs the way marketers think about products. Whether through their own profiles or through employer branding promotions, they should know how to tell a great story about company. They should love recruiting innovation. They should know what tools work best, and become masters when it comes to using them.

They should be able to read the candidate and know how to positively influence their emotions, inspire excitement. Trainers who is a person responsible for imparting required skills for performing job and updating new skills and knowledge for perfection and error free.

Safety officer who see and ensures the safety of employees at workplace. The fact that is 1 in 4 workplace injuries are caused by overexertion. According to [section 40B] of The Factories Act, , there must be Safety officer for thousand employees in an organisation wherein manufacturing does.

The fundamental duty of safety officer is to instruct workers about about safety measures and precautions at workplace. The general safety instructions to workers are -. To wear proper protective clothing and use required safety equipment. To read all of the instructions and warnings on chemical labels and never mix chemicals. To be aware of your surroundings and watch for any hazards, if there are hazards, such as wet floors, warn others with the proper signs and barricades.

To have emergency plans in place, and know where all the exits and first-aid kits are located. Welfare officer who sees welfare of employees.

According to[section 49] of The Factories Act, , Welfare officer must be appointed for every employees in the organisation. They usually deal with the task of solving day-to-day experiences of the industrial workers. But this method is not so effective due to the dual responsibilities on the welfare officers were basically appointed to deal with welfare measures and their applications in the industry.

Consequently newly a chapter II-B is added in the Industrial Disputes Act, , by way of amendment with effect from 15th September, , and a new [section 9-C] is added. Conciliation officer who is charged with the duty of mediating in and promoting the settlement of industrial disputes.

Generally small and medium-sized organisations do not appoint consideration officers, they refer settlement issues to separate conciliation officer appointed by the government and the industrial disputes act Counsellor who acts as friend for employees so as to resolve any dispute and issues between employees.

He also acts personal friend in giving suggestions for personal issues which could hamper the efficacy at work place. Medical officer who is qualified doctor responsible for first aid, health care and certification of fitness of employees for working or granting leaves.

Insurance officer who see the employees medical policy for securing from diseases and personal accident policy for securing employees in case of accidents so as avoid burden and risk on company.

HR Generalist is responsible for all human resource activities for an organization. He or She provides advice, assistance and follow-up on organizational policies, procedures, and documentation.

Coordinate the resolutions of specific policy-related and procedural problems and inquiries. The primary objective of HR audit is to annihilate management risk of contravention with the laws, liability exposure, identifying and correcting risk gaps, litigation avoidance, cost avoidance and enhancement of human resource best practices. The findings from the survey revealed that HR Audits are a routine process in a majority of organizations, very few companies employ dedicated resources that support audit procedures.

Further, there is a need for companies to proactively use them for business risk assessment and process improvements. They are either done by external audit firms or internal HR auditor. HR Analyst is a challenging job generally appointed by huge orgnanisations where magnitude of HR issues are high.

He is the one who identifies burning issues and its causes with the help of available data and information and if it unavailable, he is responsible for exploration and collection of data and information could be with the support of Human Resource Information Systems so as to analyze and draw a clear picture of current scenario and help executives to tackle them. HR analyst should have through knowledge of HR metrics for making accurate analysis.

But it is fact that very least percentage of HR managers have the skills to collect necessary data, analyze it, and present insights in a meaningful and influential way to executives.

HR analyst should be able visualize and predict the level of impact of the burning issues on the organisation and find ways to tackle them and make planning for avoiding such issues in future.

The core issues which are dealt by HR analytics are about employee turnover rate and their retention, evaluation of employees, deciding salaries and benefits, designing and improving employee training programmes and measuring work burden on employees by using.

Below diagram represents HR issues which can be dealt and tackled by HR analyst so as to avoid impact on the business and overall performance of the organization. Human Resource analytics is at the intersection of three bodies of knowledge:. Human Resource Management: sets the meaning and purpose of the analytics. Data Warehousing: knowing how to process and store HR data efficiently, automation of collection of data and cleaning data.

Statistical Analysis, Presentation and Interpretation : helps in translating the identified HR issues into appropriate analyses and communication of results.

HR Analytics is about metrics and measurement. Good metrics definitions, both narrative and formulaic, and their documentation are key. A professional and good HR Analytics person will have the above bodies of knowledge and know their process and intersection.

Good communication and collaborative skills are essential. The in-depth expertise in your organization is likely to exist in HRM. You will need to collaborate with these groups. The extent of HR Analytics can be vast. Having a defined model or framework can help you navigate towards your future efforts. Patience is key.

While quality preparation of metrics is important, the real value is in the analysis and interpretation. Specialists analytics in high demand for HR roles: Study. Compensation and benefits, talent acquisition, talent development and productivity are the established focus areas for use of analytics in the Asia-Pacific region.

Rights of an employee. Right against discrimination at workplace. It is a right of every citizen of India to be treated without any discrimination. According to article 16 2 of the Indian Constitution, no citizen can be discriminated against, or be ineligible for any employment or office under the state, on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth or residence or any of them.

Adherence to the rule of equality in public employment is a being feature of Indian Constitution and the rule of law is its core, the court cannot disable itself from making an order inconsistent with article 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution. In this regard, employers implement equal employment opportunity policies and prohibit discrimination based on race of a person, colour, sex, religious creed, nationality, age, ancestry, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics of those of a family member , political affiliation, et cetera.

The equality act, of the United Kingdom prohibits discrimination and mandates equal treatment in matters of employment as well as private and public services irrespective of race, age, sex, religion or disability.

Scheduled castes and Tribes prevention of atrocities act, is constituted as a social justice oriented law, which is enacted to prevent atrocities and other form of derogatory behaviour towards member of the scheduled caste and scheduled Tribes.

According to the recent Supreme Court judgment in Section of Indian Penal Code , LGBTQ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender queer shall not be shown discrimination or derogate them in any manner.

Equal pay for equal work. It is an employee right though equal pay for equal work is not expressly declared by the Constitution as a fundamental right that in view of the directive principles of state policy as contained in the article 39 d of the Indian Constitution "equal pay for equal work" has assumed the status of fundamental right.

According to article 39 d of the Indian Constitution, the state has to ensure that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women. Parliament has enacted the Equal Remuneration Act, , to implement article 39 d. The act provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for the same work, or work of a similar nature and for the prevention of discrimination on grounds of sex.

The act also ensures that there will be no discrimination against recruitment of woman and provides for the setting up of a advisory committee to promote employment opportunities for women.

It is the duty of HR department and Hr managers to see that there is no such violation which is unconstitutional, therefore it should be complied by the every organization. Supreme Court - Case law. The doctrine of equal work for equal pay would apply on the premises of similar work but it does not mean that there be complete identity in all respects. If the two classes of persons do some work under the same employer, with similar responsibility, under similar working conditions, the doctrine of equal work equality would apply and it would not be open to the state to discriminate one class with the other in paying salary.

Federation of A. The Supreme Court has emphasized that equality must depend on the nature of work done and not mere volume of work as they may be quantitative differences as regards reliability and responsibility. Functions may be the same but the responsibilities make a difference.

The court further observed:. The problem about equal pay cannot always be translated into a mathematical formula Working hours. It is an employee right to not to work more than 9 hours in any day or 48 hours in any week in the factory. There should be interval or break for rest for at least 30 minutes after five hours continuous work of an employee according to The Factories Act The same right is applicable to the employees working in the shops and establishments like hotels, movie theatres and amusement and entertainment establishments according to the concerned state shops and Establishment act.

Weekly holiday. It is an employee right to have at least one holiday in a week in the factory or shops and establishments according to The Factories Act and shops and establishments act of the concerned state.

Salary or Wage. According to Minimum Wages Act, it is an employee right to claim for salary or wage for the work done to his employer. It is the duty of the employer to pay remuneration according to the work extracted from his employee. Any deductions from the salary or wage of an employee should be made according to the employment laws only. If any employee levied fines or collected or deductions from the salary of an employee, it will be treated as illegal and such employer is liable for legal action.

Payment for overtime working. According to The Factories Act Payment of gratuity. The employee on termination of his employment from the specified establishment becomes entitled for payment of gratuity from his employer provided he has rendered continuous service of not less than five years. The gratuity is payable on superannuation or retirement as well as on resignation of the employee.

It is also payable on death or disablement of the employee due to accident or disease. It is an employee right who completes his five years of continuous service in an organisation having 10 or more employees, to claim for payment of gratuity at the rate of 15 days of his current salary for every year of service he or she completed in that organisation, according to The Payment of Gratuity Act, Section 2 e of the Gratuity Act defines the term 'employee' and any person who is employed for wages other than an apprentice is covered by the said definition provided the establishment in which such person is working is covered by the provisions of the said Act.

Payment of bonus. According to the section of Payment of Bonus Act, , it is an employee right drawing salary of Rs. The procedure for payment of bonus to to employees irrespective of profits or losses to an organisation is mentioned under the Payment of Bonus Act, Provident fund. If an employer becomes unemployed for more than two months such employee can with the total amount from the provident fund.

Maternity leave. According to the section 5 of the Maternity benefit Act , it is woman employee right to claim for maternity leave for 26 weeks for 2. Such woman employee can apply maternity leave just eight weeks before the date of are expected delivery. It is the duty of employer to pay full salary for a woman employee during her maternity leave for 26 weeks. In case of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, a woman is entitled to live with wage or salary for a period of six weeks immediately following that they offer miscarriage or her medical termination of pregnancy.

Paternity leave. It is male employee right if he is working for the central government of India, he is having right as employee to claim for paternity leave for 15 days within six months from the date of delivery of his child. The central is also being followed in many reputed private organisations and companies in order to boost employee morale and employee satisfaction.

Compensation in case of accidents, injuries and death of an employee. According to the Employee's Compensation act it is an employee right to claim compensation in case of accidents or injuries occurred during the course of employment especially when worker was not under the influence of alcohol. In case of death of an employee in the course of employment and such employee is not under the influence of alcohol, his or her dependent is having right to claim compensation in accordance with the workers compensation act Workers participation in the management.

The article 43a of the Constitution of India, guarantees participation of workers in management of industries. Protection against sexual harassment at workplace. It is an employee right to be protected against sexual harassment at workplace according to the sexual harassment of women at workplace prevention, Prohibition and redressal act For this purpose the organisation with 10 or more employees should constitute internal complaints committee for helping the victims of sexual harassment.

Such victims are also protected under the section of the Indian penal code, by punishing culprit with imprisonment. An incident of sexual harassment of a female at a place of work, amounts to violation of her fundamental right to gender equality under the article 16 2 of the Indian Constitution.

Such violation of fundamental rights can be filed before High Court of the concern state under article of Constitution of India for seeking justice and for punishing such violators. Note: Any person who is deprived of his rights which are mentioned above, such illegality can be challenged before the court of law and employee whoever commits violation of such rights shall be punishable according to law by the court of law.

Prevention and dealing with sexual harassment: is a crucial duty of Human Resource Management, otherwise it may effect the organisation's culture and employer branding which would consequently lead to collapse of the organization. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, protects women at the workplace from sexual harassment. Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.

It also provides safeguards against false or malicious charges. Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.

Any employer who fails to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee as per the Sexual Harassment Act shall be liable for a penalty of up to Rs. Any woman employee who has faced sexual harassment at the workplace, or any person authorized by the Internal or Local Complaints Committee can file a complaint with the Magistrate.

Repeated non-compliance of this provision can result in the punishment being doubled or even cancellation of the organisation's business license by the concern government or local authority. The Indian Penal Code Section A , B,C, D was newly inserted, especially for the following acts which shall be treated as sexual harassment. Physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures; or. Any man who watches captures images of women engaging in a private act in circumstances where she would usually have the exception are not being observed either by the perpetrator or by any other person.

Following a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such women repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such women. For the above said offences the punishment shall be for a period of one to three years of imprisonment or fine, or both. Function of Human Resource Management.

Planning - HR. Planning is the first and basic function of the management and everything depends upon planning as it is a process of thinking about things before they happen and to make preparations in-advance to deal with them.

Poor planning results in failure and effects overall system. Therefore HR Mangers should be aware of when is right time to do things, when things should be done and when things should not be done in order to achieve goals and objectives of the organization. Establishing goals and objectives to be achieved through the employees so as to achieve the organizational mission set by the top-level management.

Developing rules and procedures which has to be followed by the employees in order to avoid any sort of discrimination among the employees in any of their functions, to enable fair and transparent treatment among employees, to avoid conflict starting from recruitment to the separation of employees, inculcate discipline among the employees, to drive performance of employees and ultimately to avoid conflict and contravenes with statutes and employment laws of the land, ultimately for smooth running of the organization.

Determining plans and forecasting techniques as a part of Human resource planning to avoid any shortfall of workforce so as to avoid impact on the output of the organisation, to draw the estimation of workforce exactly needed for the organisation and to plan for attracting talented candidates. HR outsourcing : as that of make or buy decision in operations management, human resource manager should be able to make decisions with regard to HR activities which are to be executed by the management itself or to be outsourced when there is advantage of expertise to bring in and cost-saving for organization.

The following are the most outsourced HR activities; legal advice and support, employee payroll, pensions, training and development, recruitment, employee assistance, compensation and benefits, outplacement is, human resource information systems, employee relations, policy-making, strategic partnerships, appraisal of employees and resource planning.

Most small to medium-sized business owners know the frustration of spending more time than they want on non-revenue generating activities from payroll to human resource management to benefits and compensation.

The answer for many businesses maybe to outsource part of their HR functions to third party providers so that they can focus on their core business and also has following benefits-.

Save money and reduce operating costs. Allow the company to focus on its core business. Reduce the number of HR staff and related staff expenses. Allow HR staff to focus more on strategy. Avoid the costs of major investment in technology. Organising- HR. HR managers should be well aware of organizing everything related to human resource and organisation as organizing is the process of making and arranging everything in the proper manner in order to avoid any confusion and conflicts.

Giving each member a specific tasks to finish overall objectives of the job given to an employee is the duty of the Human Resource Manager, besides it also to the duty of Human resource manager to define task clearly before entrusting job to an employee. HR managers should keep in mind that task entrusted to employees should be matched with their skill set and abilities and It is also lookout of HR managers to give training to employees in the area or subject which is going to be entrusted to employees, otherwise the task entrusted to employees gets failed and defeated.

Establishing departments and divisions according to the nature of jobs and works in order to improve the efficiency, expertise and speedup the work. Establishment of separate divisions and departments would give easy and effective control over employees by the management which would give better results and improve overall performance of the organisation. Delegating authority to the members for a good cause and to make employees more responsible towards their job and organisation is a part of employee development.

Delegating authority to employees makes them to be more responsible towards organisation as there is a principle called authority equals to responsibility , vice versa when you load an employee with responsibilities, he should be given authority so as to fulfil the responsibilities casted upon employee.

Authority without responsibility and responsibility without authority defeats its purpose. Therefore when employees feels responsible and accepts responsibilities, it is a good sign as it makes employees to be engaged in the job.

Establishing channels of authority and communication is the primary responsibility of any human resource manager which would enable managers to effectively communicate desired goals and objectives of the organisation.

Having effective communication will avoid conflicts, make staff to understand what exactly they are expected to and also enable the manager to get the things done in time. Creating a system to coordinate the works of the members so as to make the employees to work properly and not to cause any conflict in the allocation of the work to the employees. Improper and discriminating allotment of the work we will make one or the other employee feel overburden, burnout and can create conflicts among employees among members which is not good for the organisational health and building teams will create teamwork which creates synergy among team that will bring out the best out of them.

Staffing - HR. Staffing is one of the key functions of human resource management as staffing is the process of employing right people, providing suitable training and placing them in the right job by paying them accordingly and satisfactorily.

Determining the type of people to be hired should be emphasised as they are the fundamental resource and investment for any organisation. Every organisation wants right people with them but they come at a price.

Employee compensation is a key factor in primary motivating factor to attract talented and retain them in the organisation for a long period of time. Compensating the employees is one of the core functions of the human resource management. Among all the motivating factors money is very important and primary motivating factor for any employee. Providing right compensation for the work done by an employee will not only make an employee feel happy, it will also make the organisation in compliance with employment laws of the land, if compensation is unjustified it amounts to exploitation of employees which is against law.

Setting performance standards, measuring and evaluating the employees: A performance appraisal is meant to help employees realise their strengths and shortcomings and receive a compensation accordingly. The very purpose of appraising the performance of employees is to evaluate and compensate accordingly. Unless organisation sets performance standards to its employees, it cannot compare and measure employees actual performance with the standard performance. HR managers take performance gaps of employees for making decisions on employees with regard to rewarding them with bonus, profit-sharing, stock options and payment of incentives or not.

These employee performance gaps will not only be considered for making decisions with regard to compensation but it is also considered for making decisions with regard to initiate corrective actions on said employees, promoting them to higher levels and if any employees performance gaps are high, such employees gets demoted, suspended or sometimes may be discharged from job.

Counselling the employees as a Human Resource manager, for understanding and helping people who have technical, personal and emotional or adjustment problems with an objective to reduce them, so that performance of employees are maintained at expected level or even improved upon. Recruiting prospective employees and selecting the best ones from them is one of the primary functions of human resource management. Recruiting is the process of inviting the people who were willing to join the organisation and selecting best out of them is the crucial process in which various selection tests are conducted.

Having best people in the organisation will make that organisation is best in all the ways which would create employer brand that will help to attract talented people and also make them to retain in the organisation long period of time.

HR Metrics: Application of formulas for measuring and calculating core HR issues so as to draw exact HR results and current scenario of organisation. The very purpose of HR metrics is to indicate current position and performance of the organisation. Absence Rate. Cost per Hire. Health Care Costs per Employee. HR Expense Factor. Human Capital ROI. Human Capital Value Added. Revenue Factor. Time to fill. Training Investment Factor. Turnover Costs. Turnover Rate. Directing - HR. Directing is a knowledge, discipline and formal way of communicating to others that what you are expecting from them to do for you or to an organization.

Getting work done through subordinates so as to meet the organisation's goals and objectives. Indeed getting work done to others is an art which every Human resource manager should possess, for which employee motivation by the Human Resource Management influences and matters a lot. Ensuring effective two-way communication for the exchange of information with the subordinates in order to effectively communicate the goals and objectives of the organisation as it plays key role in understanding what the Human Resource manager or organisation is expecting from employees to perform.

Miscommunication between employees block the progress and even would lead to conflicts which eventually affects the overall performance of the organisation.

Motivating subordinates to strive for better performance by way of providing employee recognition, rewards, intrinsic benefits, paid vacations, increments in salary, gifts, any social security benefits to employees and their family members is one of the functions of Human Resource Management.

Maintaining the group morale by way of fair treatment among employees, being ethical and generous towards employees, management being loyal to its employees and giving priority to employee concerns. It is the responsibility of human Resource Manager to guide always to its employees, otherwise lack of guidance often kills the morale of employees.

It is also the mechanism by which organizations address problems within their work force, through institution of disciplinary measures. Aligning the work force with company goals, stated Gubman, "requires offering workers an employment relationship that motivates them to take ownership of the business plan. Employee development and training is another vital responsibility of HR personnel.

HR is responsible for researching an organization's training needs, and for initiating and evaluating employee development programs designed to address those needs. These training programs can range from orientation programs, which are designed to acclimate new hires to the company, to ambitious education programs intended to familiarize workers with a new software system.

In the realm of performance appraisal, HRM professionals must devise uniform appraisal standards, develop review techniques, train managers to administer the appraisals, and then evaluate and follow up on the effectiveness of performance reviews.

They must also tie the appraisal process into compensation and incentive strategies, and work to ensure that federal regulations are observed. Responsibilities associated with training and development activities, meanwhile, include the determination, design, execution, and analysis of educational programs. The HRM professional should be aware of the fundamentals of learning and motivation, and must carefully design and monitor training and development programs that benefit the overall organization as well as the individual.

The importance of this aspect of a business's operation can hardly be overstated. Research has shown specific benefits that a small business receives from training and developing its workers, including: increased productivity; reduced employee turnover; increased efficiency resulting in financial gains; [and] decreased need for supervision. Meaningful contributions to business processes are increasingly recognized as within the purview of active human resource management practices.

Of course, human resource managers have always contributed to overall business processes in certain respects--by disseminating guidelines for and monitoring employee behavior, for instance, or ensuring that the organization is obeying worker-related regulatory guidelines. Now, increasing numbers of businesses are incorporating human resource managers into other business processes as well.

But as Johnston noted, the changing character of business structures and the marketplace are making it increasingly necessary for business owners and executives to pay greater attention to the human resource aspects of operation: "Tasks that were once neatly slotted into well-defined and narrow job descriptions have given way to broad job descriptions or role definitions.

In some cases, completely new work relationships have developed; telecommuting, permanent part-time roles and outsourcing major non-strategic functions are becoming more frequent. In recent years, several business trends have had a significant impact on the broad field of HRM. Chief among them was new technologies. These new technologies, particularly in the areas of electronic communication and information dissemination and retrieval, have dramatically altered the business landscape.

Satellite communications, computers and networking systems, fax machines, and other devices have all facilitated change in the ways in which businesses interact with each other and their workers. Telecommuting, for instance, has become a very popular option for many workers, and HRM professionals have had to develop new guidelines for this emerging subset of employees.

Changes in organizational structure have also influenced the changing face of human resource management. Continued erosion in manufacturing industries in the United States and other nations, coupled with the rise in service industries in those countries, have changed the workplace, as has the decline in union representation in many industries these two trends, in fact, are commonly viewed as interrelated.

In addition, organizational philosophies have undergone change. Many companies have scrapped or adjusted their traditional, hierarchical organizational structures in favor of flatter management structures.

HRM experts note that this shift in responsibility brought with it a need to reassess job descriptions, appraisal systems, and other elements of personnel management. A third change factor has been accelerating market globalization. This phenomenon has served to increase competition for both customers and jobs. The latter development enabled some businesses to demand higher performances from their employees while holding the line on compensation.

Other factors that have changed the nature of HRM in recent years include new management and operational theories like Total Quality Management TQM , rapidly changing demographics, and changes in health insurance and federal and state employment legislation. A small business's human resource management needs are not of the same size or complexity of those of a large firm.

Nonetheless, even a business that carries only two or three employees faces important personnel management issues. Indeed, the stakes are very high in the world of small business when it comes to employee recruitment and management. No business wants an employee who is lazy or incompetent or dishonest. But a small business with a work force of half a dozen people will be hurt far more by such an employee than will a company with a work force that numbers in the hundreds or thousands.

Nonetheless, "most small business employers have no formal training in how to make hiring decisions," noted Jill A. All they know is that they need help in the form of a 'good' sales manager, a 'good' secretary, a 'good' welder, and so on. And they know they need someone they can work with, who is willing to put in the time to learn the business and do the job. It sounds simple, but it isn't.

Before hiring a new employee, the small business owner should weigh several considerations. The first step the small business owner should take when pondering an expansion of employee payroll is to honestly assess the status of the organization itself.

Are current employees being utilized appropriately? Are current production methods effective? Can the needs of the business be met through an arrangement with an outside contractor or some other means? Are you, as the owner, spending your time appropriately? As Rossiter noted, "any personnel change should be considered an opportunity for rethinking your organizational structure.

Small businesses also need to match the talents of prospective employees with the company's needs. Efforts to manage this can be accomplished in a much more effective fashion if the small business owner devotes energy to defining the job and actively taking part in the recruitment process. But the human resource management task does not end with the creation of a detailed job description and the selection of a suitable employee.

Indeed, the hiring process marks the beginning of HRM for the small business owner. Small business consultants strongly urge even the most modest of business enterprises to implement and document policies regarding human resource issues.