Human Resources Management

Human Resource Management (HRM)

Organization-wide policies and approaches for managing people across their employment life cycle

HRM vs. “personnel

” Older term “personnel” means the same

HRM emphasizes policy-driven

consistent treatment over case-by-case actions

Scope of HRM

Recruit & hire → train & develop → promote & motivate → offboard/exit

Strategic alignment

HR policies should be designed to help the organization execute its plans/strategy

“War for talent

” Firms compete to attract high-skill/high-motivation candidates

HR planning

Identify needed skills/talent from the org plan → decide how to attract them → assess applicants → create consistent selection processes

Recruitment channels

Advertise roles (incl. job sites) and invite applicants

Selection—situational (behavioral) interview

Ask candidates to describe past situations/actions (“Tell me about a time you…”)

reveals experience-based behavior

Selection—work sampling

Candidate performs a real job task to demonstrate capability

Selection—aptitude testing

Candidate performs related tasks to show underlying skills when the exact job task can’t be sampled

Onboarding

Structured process to integrate new hires into operations

Training & development

Investment in “human capital” (a.k.a. HCM) to build skills for current roles and future promotions

Cost–benefit of development

Balance training costs and time away from work against performance gains

Skills tracking & feedback

Maintain data/controls so managers know employees’ skills

Motivation via job design

Design roles to provide intrinsic motivation (responsibility

Compensation strategy

Competitive yet affordable pay

often layered with bonuses and incentives aligned to performance

Retention balance

Attract/retain talent while keeping labor costs sustainable for competitive pricing

Offboarding

Managed separations: firing

Offboarding considerations

Legal/contracts

Employment-at-will (U.S.)

Either party can end employment at any time (subject to legal limits and any contracts)

Diversity & inclusion

Broader talent brings perspective and innovation but requires policies to integrate and motivate diverse teams

Glass ceiling

Invisible barrier (e.g.

HR must detect

address

HR as staff function

HR provides policy and guidance to line managers

line managers execute hiring

training