Functional Roles of Human Resources Essay

Functional Roles of Human Resources One of the most important departments in a company is the human resources department. This department is charged with finding, screening, recruiting, and training job applicants, as well as administering employee-benefit programs. As companies reorganize to gain competitive edge, human resources play a key role in helping companies deal with a fast-changing competitive environment and the greater demand for quality employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the functional roles of human resources. Roles There are many different roles that the human resources department possesses. The major functional areas are: (1) planning, (2) staffing, (3) employee development, and (4) employee maintenance. These four areas and their related functions share the common objective of an adequate number of competent employees with the skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience needed for further organizational goals (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). Planning In the human resource planning function, the number and type of employees needed to accomplish organizational goals are determined. Human resources are able to make transitions as quick as possible by always anticipating a company’s staffing needs. This ensures that companies do not fall behind while searching for the right person to fill an opening. Research is an important part of this function because planning requires the collection and analysis of information in order to forecast human resources supplies and to predict future human resources needs (Scribd, Inc.2011). Staffing This is one of the most fundamental roles of the HR department. Human resources must work to ensure that a company has the right number of employees, placed in the positions that best utilize their talents. This function involves evaluation of ability and competency of potential employees in relation to what the Company needs. If this function is performed well, then the organization will increase va lue consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its organizational and departmental goals and objectives (Hyde, 2004). Employee Development Development programs help prepare employees for higher level responsibilities within the organization and train new employees by giving them information to be valuable assets to the company. This function provides useful means of assuring that employees are capable of performing their jobs at acceptable levels (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). This helps employees feel empowered and motivated, which keeps them from looking into positions at a competing company. Employee Maintenance This function monitors employee performance to ensure that it is at acceptable levels (Scribd, Inc. , 2011). A large part of maintenance is performance appraisal. Besides providing a basis for pay, promotion, and disciplinary action, performance appraisal information is essential for employee development since knowledge of results (feedback) is necessary to motivate and guide performance improvements.