Human resource management’s fundamental goals involve placing appropriate employees in open positions, promoting impartial and legal treatment of all workers and ensuring the company complies with applicable labor laws. The human resources team identifies the elements of each HR function and engages in strategic planning to meet each objective.

Recruiting and Hiring

HR management works with the marketing and public relations team to develop the company’s brand and attract quality employees. It recruits candidates through applicant search strategies, such as colleges and professional organizations, and implements application and interviewing processes. The department interacts with managers and supervisors on an ongoing basis to determine departmental staffing needs and establishes new hire orientation procedures. The overall goal of recruiting and hiring is to meet the company’s short- and long-term staffing needs.

Employee Benefits

Employee benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans, help attract and retain quality workers. To meet this objective, the HR management team researches, analyzes, compares and recommends benefits packages. The department devises effective ways of communicating benefits to employees, retirees and their beneficiaries. It works with key stakeholders and employees to select benefits that respond to the employer’s and the employee’s needs.

Recognition and Reward

The human resource management team creates recognition and reward programs to retain high performers and to motivate employees into doing their best work. Incentive programs may include bonuses, commissions, stock options, merit increases, contests, gifts, commuter passes, achievement awards and annual events, such as picnics and office parties. HR measures the popularity of such programs among employees and their impact on the company budget.

Training and Development

Employees who need more knowledge or skills to capably perform their duties or grow with the company can benefit from professional development. The HR management team meets with managers and supervisors to discuss training for new hires and existing employees. Based on employee performance, strengths and talent, HR recommends, schedules and monitors training and development costs.

Legal Compliance

Interpreting federal, state and local employment laws and ensuring the company adhere them is essential to HR management. These laws may pertain to hiring, performance evaluations, wages and hours, employee classification, termination, attendance, immigration, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, workers’ compensation, record-keeping, unemployment insurance, safety and employee benefits. The objective is to stay current on these laws and apply them properly to avoid audits and penalties by the government.

Goal Setting Standards

Establishing goal setting standards allows HR to monitor whether employees are meeting company standards. Expectations may relate to attendance and punctuality, communication, flexibility and adaptability to change, work knowledge, leadership abilities, diversity tolerance, customer relations, listening skills, management style, teamwork, and problem-solving, organizational and time management abilities.

Metrics and Reports

The human resource management team uses HR metrics and reports to measure the effectiveness of the department. HR software has metrics and reporting tools that simplifies quantifying costs related to each HR function. For example, metrics calculate cost of benefits per employee, benefits as a percentage of operating expenses, absence rates and wages and salaries paid to each full-time employee.