The function of human resource management

The function of human resource management that contributes to organizational performance

Efficient allocation of resources in corporate management and their use for necessary tasks will be one of the most important tasks for all companies. In modern society, company employees, or human resources, are considered more important than any other resource. For this reason, companies manage their employees more importantly than in the past. Human resource management is, in short, about the activities of employees within the organization. Human resource management can be said to be an activity conducted by a company to procure the necessary labor force for the company, stabilize the order of labor workers, deploy efficient labor, and satisfy workers’ needs to maximize corporate profits. In this large framework, specific methods vary slightly from company to company and develop or change according to changes in social or economic conditions. As for the concepts that other scholars define as human resource management, D. Yoder suggested that human resource management is a device that induces maximum contribution from workers to their company and allows them to obtain maximum satisfaction. Moreover, P, Pigors and C, A, Myers defined that it is to help workers get the best pleasure in their jobs and be satisfied as members of the organization by maximizing their unique abilities. Human resource management functions include recruiting, selecting, and deploying human resources to secure the right talent by establishing a workforce plan for the organization’s planned project, establishing a training system to maximize corporate human resource capabilities, and also including personnel evaluation or job evaluation to evaluate project performance and achievements. In addition, human resource management functions also include setting wage systems for employees, setting standards for providing incentives for performance, creating an environment where workers can contribute to the organization while demonstrating their abilities, and solving various problems in the job performance process.

Human Resource Management and Personnel Management

What is Personnel Management?

Personnel management refers to managing corporate employees to achieve good results by making the most of their abilities. In other words, it refers to a planned and systematic policy that must be carried out to utilize a company’s human resources efficiently. In addition, various policies on various aspects other than human resources within the company are also dealt with. For example, there are welfare benefits, multiple events within the organization, and human relationships. Specific personnel management activities are related to recruitment, education and training, promotion, wages, working hours, etc., and affect various fields of the overall organization. Recruitment is based on the workforce plan of talent needed for the company’s planned project. There are different recruitment methods, and companies must choose the way according to their recruitment purposes. Manager should make appropriate arrangements in the hiring process. It should be arranged according to the number of employees required and the qualifications of the employees. After hiring employees, it is impossible to determine whether all of them have sufficient qualities to carry out the project, so education or systematic training programs for new employees are needed. Each employee’s work performance is evaluated based on objective and systematic personnel management standards, and promotions or bonuses are based on the results. Since the promotion or bonus system is a great motivation for employees, reasonable promotion and bonus systems are one of the important parts of companies. In addition, there are various contents of personnel management, but as the times change, it is being replaced by human resource management, which is a broader meaning.

What is Human Resource Management? In the past, it was used only as personnel management. However, as time goes by, the importance of human resources grows, and society’s interest in human dignity, autonomy, and responsibility grows, so it has been replaced by the term human resource management. However, not just terms have been replaced. Human resource management has a more comprehensive meaning. Personnel management performs activities such as hiring, deploying, training, evaluating, and compensating in a mechanical and standardized process, while human resource management can be said to be an activity to secure or develop human resources necessary for the realization of corporate projects by predicting the demand for future human resources of a company. It also includes the function of personnel management. The external purpose of human resource management is to hire, educate, and deploy human resources necessary to achieve the organization’s goals effectively. The internal objective is to motivate members to perform and feel satisfied and to grow by forming bonds between employees. In other words, it is to maximize efficiency and increase individual satisfaction with work-life by efficiently securing, developing, and utilizing human resources.

Differences between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management

The biggest difference between them is that personnel management treats employees as tools or machines, but human resource management considers employees as organization assets. In addition, dealing with workforce within the organization is called personnel management. Human resource management is an upgraded version of personnel management and focuses on making the most of the organization’s workforce. Human resource management makes decisions faster than personnel management. In addition, while a division of work is a type of work in personnel management, human resource management mainly collaborates to perform work. Finally, personnel management focuses on general activities such as hiring, training, remuneration, etc., while human resource management sees employees as valuable and useful resources to preserve.

The Roles and Responsibilities of Human Resource Managers

The role and responsibility of human resource managers in companies are very important for successful business operations. The part of human resource managers helps manage various departments within the organization, improve employees’ efficiency, and maintain motivation to operate their businesses. In addition, the roles and responsibilities of human resource managers become wider in line with the rapidly changing corporate work environment.

• Human Resource Planning: Human resource managers help the top management of a company set business goals, prepare necessary elements, and implement projects. Through this planning process, human resource managers understand the direction the company pursues and then recruit and distribute appropriate human resources according to the plan. The role of human resource managers also includes analyzing the expected and actual results of the project.
• Job Analysis and Design: When performing human resource planning tasks, human resource managers must conduct job analysis and design to hire appropriate workers unless they find right human resources for the project within the organization. When analyzing and designing jobs, managers should systematically include work content, work schedule, technical skills, data on work experience, and resources for performing work.
• Recruitment of applicants: Finding and hiring the talent needed by a company is very difficult. Human resource managers develop effective strategies to attract talented candidates that the company needs. For example, after uploading job openings to various websites to attract applicants, a detailed examination of the applicants’ histories and interviews are required by managers. Finding specific applicants outside rather than working within an organization is complex.
• Education and Training: After hiring new employees, human resource managers can improve their efficiency through education and training. New employees should embrace the training or policies provided by the company and strive to succeed in the project’s goals.
• Workplace Policy Design: One of the roles of human resource managers is to design employees’ policies within the organization. Its goal is to reduce conflicts between upper and lower relations and increase company’s productivity. Although each company has different policies, the company’s operating procedures, prevention of bullying, annual leave and paid leave, breaks, and employee attendance are issues that all companies include the same.
• Monitor Performance: Another role of a human resource manager is to identify the performance of employees and then promote educational workshops by determining the direction of improvement. Improving employees’ skills is an essential factor because it is a great asset for the company. There are various resources for enhancing employees’ skills. For example, trainers are hired to analyze and train personally, or employees can participate in conferences or online lectures to improve their skills.

In addition to the above descriptions, human resource managers are important positions that play a pivotal role in all areas of the organization, such as maintaining a workplace culture, resolving conflicts between employees, ensuring employees’ security and salaries.

The Stages of Human Resource Planning

Famous conglomerates that everyone knows have a very systematic system for human resource management. When a company recruits new employees, applicants must pass many courses. Employee recruitment is the most important part of the company’s operation. It is because hiring skilled talent is the source of corporate growth. To proceed with this process efficiently, companies establish human resource plans. When a human resource manager makes human resource planning, there are five steps.

1. Analysis of corporate objectives: Managers should be aware of the goals of each of the company’s various fields and prepare what is necessary to achieve the goals.
2. Recognizing the list of human resources: It should be prepared to meet various work requirements based on information on workforce. It is because if you understand human resources within the organization, you can find them from external sources when there are no resources necessary for job requirements within the organization.
3. Prediction of human resource demand and supply: Based on the second stage, the human resources required to carry out the project should be estimated. Human resource estimation includes both internal and external sources.
4. Establishment of action plans: Plans can vary depending on the status of human resources within the organization. To completely establish an action plan, information is collected from other departments to determine the action plan.
5. Monitoring and feedback: Human resources are allocated according to the plan. In implementing the determined human resource plan, the deficiencies are identified and supplemented. The actual implementation results and human resource plans are analyzed to check appropriate responses and factors necessary for various jobs.

Explain Recruitment and Selection Techniques

All companies will agree that talent is the most important resource. Therefore, hiring employees is a very important process. Successful recruitment is to select the right person for the company’s job at the right time. For successful recruitment, the company must have a hiring process.

There is a seven-step process for effective recruitment.

1. Identifying recruitment needs: When new employees are needed, or vacancies are required due to the resignation of existing employees, the company should consider what duties the employees who will fill the vacancy should perform and what effects they should have. In addition, mangers should analyze input and output in new hiring.
2. Job identification: The conditions necessary for the work to be performed by the newly hired employee must be set in advance. It includes the knowledge, qualification requirements, attitudes, career, etc., necessary to complete the task. Since it is essential to hire people who need the company rather than to select good and cool people, effective recruitment is possible only when the job is identified in advance. It is good to organize in detail, but if not, it will be helpful to organize the lists simply.
3. Choosing a hiring method: After specifically determining who is suitable for the job at the company, you should consider where you can get these people. Often, there is personnel inside the company that best suits the required position. It is also necessary to consider this method because it may be more effective and economical to switch the internal workforce and hire the vacancy. And when it is essential to hire workforce from outside, there are various methods. There is a way to post a recruitment advertisement on the recruitment website or the company’s website and visit seminars and conferences directly to recruit. In recent years, social network services have developed a lot so that it can be a way and applicants can gather through a recruitment platform. In addition to these methods, there are various methods, and each technique incurs costs, so it is necessary to choose the most effective way.
4. Applicant Management (document screening): Selecting applicants from document screening is the most difficult part of the recruitment process for human resource managers. This process requires high concentration and attention. Incorrect selection can reduce the effectiveness of recruitment. Therefore, it is better to manage applicants according to the basic principles set by the organization. It is desirable to proceed with document screening based on the minimum qualification requirements set by the company. Finally, it is also important to organize the contents that can be referred to in the next step, the interview.
5. Interviews: Interviews are the most important process of determining recruitment. Applicants need a lot of effort and preparation to pass the interview. Interview methods include one-on-one interviews, pressure interviews, presentation interviews, discussion interviews, etc.
6. Check before confirmation of employment: This is the last check before verification of employment. Check if applicants need a reference check or physical examination. In fact, as the final step in the hiring process, it is the final step to prevent wrong hiring.
7. Employment confirmation: If the applicant accepts the company’s offer, the recruitment will be confirmed. The company must notify the confirmation of employment and prepare to welcome applicants. Company policies and information programs can be designed in the form of orientation. The company should focus on helping new employees adapt quickly to the organization and socialize.

Recruitment Strategies

With the development of the times, the diversity of media and various communities has emerged, and recruitment strategies have also become widespread.

They are examples of typical recruitment strategies.

• Referral Programs: The internal recommendation system is one of the most efficient recruitment and selection techniques. Since it was recommended by an internal employee, trust in the candidate arises. Another advantage is that hiring costs are lower than other strategies.
• Corporate Website: A company also provides bulletin boards for applicants to post their careers on the website. If the vacancy needs to be filled or additional recruitment is required, this method will be useful. The larger the company’s size, the more applications can be received online on various portal sites.
• Recruitment events: Companies also hold conferences such as seminars and workshops to create opportunities to meet potential candidates. Seminars or workshops on a specific field are a great opportunity to meet competent experts in that field in one place.
• Hiring a headhunter: A headhunter refers to a company or expert introducing human resources to a company or institution that needs workforce. Headhunters find, select, and connect candidates related to the company’s job. This strategy costs money, but it is convenient because it replaces what a company needs to do.
• Interviews: Interviews are one of the most traditional recruitment methods, but they are still the most effective. It is because there is no better way to determine whether a candidate is suitable for the company’s job than to meet in person. Therefore, the last step of the recruitment strategies mentioned above is often a direct interview.

The Effectiveness of Reward Management Strategies

What is Reward Management?

Reward management refers to a strategy or policy that helps compensation to all company employees in a fair manner. Providing rewards for employees’ good performance helps companies’ productivity and successful businesses because employees feel rewarded and motivated. Compensation exists in various forms. Not only financial compensation but also vacation, position, honor, etc., are all types of compensation. How a company manages these different rewards is directly related to employees’ satisfaction with the company. In addition, to create an effective working environment, working hours and rest should be in proper harmony. Companies should create a system by considering it from employees’ perspective when setting up reward management. Whether the corporate compensation system is financially beneficial to employees, improves welfare, or has a good effect on the employee’s lifestyle is important. In addition, modern employees consider compensation for self-development and lifestyle as important as financial compensation. Therefore, companies can maximize corporate profits by improving employees’ welfare and motivation through appropriate and systematic reward management.

The effects of the reward management strategy

Fair and systematic reward management greatly contributes to maintaining the existing and excellent employees of the company and hiring new employees. In the process of hiring new employees, Managers can show candidates that the values they can gain from this company by explaining the company’s reward management system along with the job details. And maintaining existing excellent employees is essential for a successful business. You have to express your gratitude to them with a perfect reward management system. In addition, reward management contributes to the company culture and employee welfare. It is no exaggeration to say that healthy company culture is based on the company’s reward management. Moreover, if employees neglect their efforts, they lose their work motivation. They should continue to be motivated by the company’s compensation system. If employees’ motivation is maintained under the compensation system, the company’s productivity will improve, and corporate profits can increase. Effective reward management also has a good effect on building a good reputation externally and increases employees’ loyalty to the company. In addition to the above description, the effectiveness of reward management affects the overall activities of employees within the organization. Thus, all companies need to create a working environment so that their employees can lead the growth for sustainable corporate development.

The Methods Companies Use to Monitor Employee Performance

Employee performance appraisal is very important to improve the work performance and productivity of employees of a company. It is the process of evaluating the work performance and productivity of employees by comparing them with their targets. Employee performance appraisal is an important factor in evaluating to employees’ salary increases and promotions. In addition, this evaluation is an important part of the corporate operation because it is possible to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each employee. Based on this, human resource managers can relocate employees to departments that can highlight the strengths of their employees. Appropriate and effective performance appraisal methods can help improve employee performance. There are six methods of evaluating employee performance.

• Management by Objectives (MBO): MBO is a management method that explains work goals to employees and allows employees to create their achievement processes. In this management method, employees’ independent decisions are very important, and employees’ abilities and performance can be evaluated through the results. Employees with successful results can be compensated by incentives or salary increases. In contrast, employees with poor results may have to participate in education and training programs or be assigned to other departments.
• 360-degree feedback: It refers to the evaluation of employees’ abilities or performance in a company by various people around them, such as bosses, subordinates, colleagues, etc. Evaluators even include their evaluations. The advantage of this performance appraisal method is that it has improved fairness and objectivity by transforming the unilateral and vertical evaluation system by the supervisors into a diversified system that reflects the evaluation of everyone around. In addition, since it is an evaluation received from all aspects, it can provide a clear evaluation of the performance of the person being evaluated.
• Assessment Center: It is a method in which evaluators evaluate employees’ capabilities by giving them various tasks. This technique is mainly used when companies select employees or review personnel. Since it is a method of assessing multiple tasks, it is possible to assess the capabilities of employees widely. However, it has the disadvantage of consuming time and being expensive.
• Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS): It is a method of evaluating employees’ behaviors by comparing them with standards by standardizing important behaviors that may appear in a company’s job. To establish these evaluation criteria, it is necessary to understand the jobs of the employees to be evaluated clearly. The accuracy and efficiency of this evaluation method are good, but the disadvantage is that all positions must set appropriate evaluation criteria.
• The Psychological Appraisal: This method is mainly used to evaluate employees’ potential. In addition, this method focuses on future potential competency evaluation rather than past work performance. Psychologists hired by companies for evaluation mainly prepare psychological tests. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to expect objective evaluation results because it is not an objective evaluation conducted by various people but a subjective evaluation by an expert.
• Human Resource Accounting Method: This method evaluates an employee’s performance with profits earned by an employee for a company. The company evaluates by comparing the cost of maintaining an employee (salary, education, training, etc.) with the financial benefits obtained from the employee’s work.

Explain The Process of Job Evaluation and Other Factors Determining Pay

The process of job evaluation

Job evaluation refers to determining the relative value of jobs in each field of a company. In other words, job evaluation can also be said to be evidence that explains the basis for the rating and employee salary structure method by comparing different jobs. When conducting job evaluations, all positions of a company are investigated, compared to each other to evaluate the relative importance of the job, and classified based on the skills, abilities, and knowledge necessary for job performance. When evaluating jobs, the evaluator needs to go through several steps, including job analysis.

First, the company’s executives must explain the purpose of this evaluation to their employees before conducting the job evaluation. As a way of explaining, you can simply present a presentation. Then, since one person cannot perform all job evaluations, a committee must be established and proceeded. And it is necessary to select a job to evaluate among the positions within the company. Evaluating all jobs is expensive and can be burdensome even if a committee is formed. After finding a job which decides to assess, a job description related to the job should be prepared and analyzed. After that, the evaluation method must be selected. In selecting an evaluation method, it is recommended to identify and use the most widely used job evaluation method based on job-related factors and company demands. Finally, job classification is conducted based on the values evaluated. The value of the company’s various jobs is relative and can be classified into technical requirements, resources necessary for the job, job performance experience, etc. These job evaluations and analyses can be summarized in job descriptions and used to introduce new job plans or reorganization of job systems.

The other factors determining pay

Most people may think that the biggest factor affecting employees’ salaries is individual competence. Of course, personal competence is an important factor, but there are several factors affect salary.

1. Company’s ability to pay: If the company’s finances turn into losses, it can also affect the salaries of executives and employees. In other words, if a company suffers continuous losses every year, it can affect its employees’ wages and make it more difficult to recover. On the other hand, companies with large returns can provide more wages to attract talent or provide incentives or salary increases to existing employees.
2. The demand and supply of labor by companies: Labor demand is derivative demand because labor demand results in goods or work performance produced. When a company needs to determine the demand for labor, it compares the wage rate with the income from labor. Usually, when the amount of labor demand decreases, the wage rate rises, and when the amount of labor demand increases, the wage rate decreases.
3. General market wage rate: Any industry has a general wage rate in the industrial market. During the booming period of the industry, this average market wage rate will increase. Conversely, if the industrial economy is on a downward trend, the average wage rate will also be lowered. If you want to continue to retain good talent in the company, you will have to pay at least more than the industry average wage rate.
4. Living expenses: Wage rates are directly related to employees’ living expenses. In other words, wages can also vary according to price fluctuations. If prices rise but wages remain the same, employees may find it difficult to live, so the wage rate should also vary flexibly according to price fluctuations.
5. Negotiations with trade unions: Trade unions are organizations created by workers to protect their rights. They can negotiate with the company about their wages.
6. Productivity: Often, wage increases are associated with increased productivity of a company. If there is an incentive system in the company’s compensation system, the effect will be more pronounced.
7. Government regulation: In many countries, the government has passed a minimum wage law that guarantees the livelihood of workers. In underdeveloped countries, the law has not yet been revised, and labor exploitation frequently occurs at low wages. To prevent this situation, legislation must be prepared. The government’s bill on the structure of the wage rate should try to be a reasonable system for employers and employees by reflecting the environment of the times.

Explain modern issues affecting human resource management

The business market in the modern era is changing rapidly. Accordingly, the management method of the human resources department is also changing and expanding. There are various factors are affecting human resource management. Regulatory changes in the job market and the government are typical examples. The following are several factors that affect human resource management.

• Gig Economy: Today, many talented employees prefer to work as freelancers in their specialties, not in the traditional way of joining the company. In this way, hiring freelancers or contract workers as needed rather than hiring regular workers in companies is called the gig economy. This change is a good system for talented employees, but it can be tricky for personnel managers to operate the company’s labor force.
• Changing government regulations: As explained above, human resource managers play a pivotal role in the company because of their wide range of activities. In other words, the role of human resource managers affects all aspects of the company. For this reason, if government regulations change in either aspect, human resource managers would have to move quickly. For instance, if the law on medical benefits changes, human resource managers should reconsider the medical benefits of employees provided by the company. Unless the company reviews and changes, the company will receive penalties such as fines and business suspension.
• Recruitment and retaining of talented employees: This problem stands out in SMEs. In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises that do not provide many benefits to their employees compared to large enterprises, it is difficult to hire and retain exceptional human resources. To solve this problem, human resource managers of SMEs should work harder to find excellent talent.

Laws or regulations related to human resource management

As the times developed, as human resources were considered the most important resources in business, the government revised the HR Act to prevent monopoly and various problems. The human resource management department of a company must work in compliance with these personnel laws. The following are several key HR laws.

• Act on Commuting Records: One of the roles of the human resource management department is to ensure that it complies with legal matters in managing employees’ working hours. The commuting record should record the time employees go to work and leave work every day. Employees’ time tracking bills will vary slightly from country to country. Human resource managers must comply with the bill and create commuting records for the company.
• Privacy: The human resource management department has the right to access employees’ personal information. Such personal information must be protected in compliance with the data protection law. The human resource management department should also protect the company’s confidential information. It, like employee personal information, must be done in accordance with local laws. They must always maintain transparency and confidentiality and proceed with this task.
• Act on Employee Welfare: Human resource managers also perform important tasks in installing benefits and compensation systems that all employees can receive. Even when establishing or modifying such a system, the relevant legislation must be observed. For example, employees’ salaries, vacations, sick leave, and incentives may be included.
• Discrimination: All employees in the workplace have equal rights. For example, there should be no discrimination in the hiring process, employment conditions, salaries and welfare, and promotion standards. In addition, discrimination can occur depending on gender, race, and religion. Thus, employers must stipulate rules in compliance with anti-discrimination laws to give equal rights to employees. Employees can file a discrimination suit if they feel unreasonable at the company.
• Workplace harassment: One of the problems that the human resources department should deal with is to prevent bullying in the company. The company should create anti-bullying rules to create a working environment in which employees respect each other and seek mutual consideration. The human resource department can provide employees with education to eradicate workplace harassment.
• Safety of employees: Human resource managers should create an environment where all employees can work safely in their workplaces. Managers can provide regular safety training to employees to avoid accidents in the workplace. In addition, managers need to conduct regular inspections and repeatedly check if there are additional preventive measures to prevent accidents.
• Employees’ labor rights: Human resource managers should be aware of policies and bills on labor rights and check whether the company is operating in compliance with these policies and bills. Representative examples of labor rights include salary requirements such as overtime allowance system, minimum wage system, parental leave benefit, dismissal notice period, etc.

In addition to those described above, laws and regulations affecting human resource management exist in various ways according to the policy of the competent local authority. Human resource managers must flexibly perform their duties in compliance with laws and regulations in their jurisdiction.

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