FUNCTIONS OF HRM

These are carried out by HR managers to fulfil the goals and objectives of the organisation. They are classified into two broad categories, managerial and operative functions.

Managerial functions:

•  Planning
• Organising
• Staffing
• Directing
• Controlling

Operative functions:

•  Induction and Orientation
• Placement
• Selection
• Recruitment
• Human Resources Planning
• Job Analysis
• Employment

MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS:

Planning:

It involves the process of pre-determining the personnel programmes that are necessary to attain the organisational goals. Accurate forecasting is vital to the success of any plan. The steps involved in the planning are:

·        Establishing goals and objectives to be achieved

·        Developing rules and procedures

·        Determining plans and forecasting techniques

Organising:

It’s a process through which the firm establishes its structure and determines the authority, responsibility and accountability of each member in relation to the job. Organising involves:

·        Giving each member a specific task

·        Establishing departments and divisions

·        Delegating authority to the members

·        Establishing channel of authority and communication

·        Creating a system to coordinate the works of the members

Staffing:

This deals with the creation and maintenance of human resources through employment, compensation, benefits, training and development and industrial relations measures. The steps are:

·        Determining the type of people to be hired

·        Recruiting prospective employees and selecting the best ones from them

·        Compensating the employees

·        Training and developing the employees

·        Setting performance standards and evaluating the employees performance

·        Counselling the employees

Directing:

It’s the sum of several activities like communication, leadership and motivation. Directing as a function, aims at securing willing cooperation from the individuals and groups to achieve the predetermined goals. It includes the following activities:

·        Getting works done through subordinates

·        Motivating subordinates to strive for better performance

·        Maintaining the group morale

Controlling :

Is the process of checking the efficiency of the individuals and the groups in fulfilling the plans and goals through follow-up measures? The processes involved are:

·        Establishment of standard performance

·        Measurement of actual performance

·        Comparison of actual performance with the standard one to find the deviation

·        Initiation of corrective action

OPERATIVE FUNCTION

The operative functions of personnel management are related to specific activities of personnel management viz., employment, development, compensation and relations. All these functions are interacted by managerial functions. Further these functions are to be performed in conjunction with management functions.

Employment

It is the first operative function of HRM. Employment is concerned with securing and employing the people possessing required kind and level of human resources necessary to achieve the organizational objectives. It covers the functions such as job analysis, human resources planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and internal mobility.

Job Analysis:

 It is the process of study and collection of information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It includes:

• Collection of data, information, facts and ideas relating to various aspects of jobs including men, machines and materials.
• Preparation of job description, job specification, job requirements and employee specification which help in identifying the nature, levels and quantum of human resources.
• Providing the guides, plans and basis for job design and for all operative functions of HRM.

Human Resources Planning:

It is a process for determination and assuring that the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which would meet the needs of the organization and which would provide satisfaction for the individuals involved. It involves

·        Estimation of present and future requirement and supply of human resources basing on objectives and long range plans of the organization.

·        Calculation of net human resources requirement based on present inventory of human resources.

·        Taking steps to mould, change, and develop the strength of existing employees in the organization so as to meet the future human resources requirements.

·        Preparation of action programs to get the rest of human resources from outside the organization and to develop the human resources of existing employees.

Recruitment:

It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization. It deals with:

·        Identification of existing sources of applicants and developing them.

·        Creation / Identification of new sources of applicants.

·        Stimulating the candidates to apply for jobs in the organization.

·        Striking a balance between internal and external sources.

Selection:

It is the process of ascertaining the qualifications, experience, skill, knowledge etc., of an applicant with a view to appraising his / her suitability to a job appraising.

This function includes:

·        Framing and developing application blanks.

·        Creating and developing valid and reliable testing techniques.

·        Formulating interviewing techniques.

·        Checking of references.

·        Setting up medical examination policy and procedure.

·        Line manager’s decision.

·        Sending letters of appointment and rejection.

·        Employing the selected candidates who report for duty.

Placement:

 It is the process of assigning the selected candidate with the most suitable job in terms of job requirements. It is matching of employees specifications with job requirements. This function includes:

·  Counselling

·        Conducting follow-up study, appraising employee performance in order to determine employee’s adjustment with the job.

·        Correcting misplacements, if any.

Induction and Orientation:

 Induction and orientation are the techniques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in the changed surroundings and introduced to the practices, policies, purposes and people etc., of the organization.

·        Acquaint the employee with the company philosophy, objectives, policies, career planning and development, opportunities, product, market share, social and community standing, company history, culture etc.

·        Introduce the employee to the people with whom he has to work such as peers, supervisors and subordinates.

·        Mould the employee attitude by orienting him to the new working and social environment.

CHALLENGES OF HRM IN MODERN MANAGEMENT

The following are the challenges faced by Organizations in HRM due to changes in the business environment.

Globalization: Growing internationalization of business has its impact on HRM in terms of problems of unfamiliar laws, languages, practices, competitions, attitudes, management styles, work ethics etc. HR managers have a challenge to deal with more functions, more heterogeneous functions and more involvement in employee’s personal life.

Corporate Reorganizations: Reorganization relates to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, take over, internal restructuring of Organizations. In these situations, it is difficult to imagine circumstances that pose a greater challenge for HRM than reorganizations itself. It is a challenge to manage employees’ anxiety, uncertainties, insecurities and fears during these dynamic trends.

New Organizational Forms: The basic challenge to HRM comes from the changing character of competitions. The competition is not between individual firms but between constellations of a firm. Major companies are operating through a complex web of strategic alliances, forgings with local suppliers, etc. These relationships give birth to completely new forms of Organizational structure, which highly depend upon a regular exchange of people and information. The challenge for HRM is to cope with the implications of these newly networked relations, in place of more comfortable hierarchical relationships that existed within the Organizations for ages in the past.

Changing Demographics of Workforce: Changes in workforce are largely reflected by dual career couples, large chunk of young blood between age and old superannuating employees, working mothers, more educated and aware workers etc. These dynamic work forces have their own implications for HR managers and from HRM point of view is a true challenge to handle.

Changed Employee Expectations: With the changes in workforce demographics, employee expectations and attitudes have also transformed. Traditional allurements like job security, house, and remunerations are not much attractive today; rather employees are demanding empowerment and equality with management. Hence, it is a challenge for HRM to redesign the profile of workers, and discover new methods of hiring, training, remunerating and motivating employees.

Weaker Society Interests: Another challenge for HRM is to protect the interest of weaker sections of society. The dramatic increase of women workers, minorities and other backward communities in the workforce has resulted in the need for Organizations to re-examine their policies, practices and values. In the name of global competition, productivity and quality the interests of the society around should not be sacrificed. It is a challenge of today’s HR managers to see that these weaker sections are neither denied their rightful jobs nor are discriminated against while in service.

Contribution to the Success of Organizations: The biggest challenge to an HR manager is to make all employees contribute to the success of the Organization in an ethical and socially responsible way because the well being of the society’s to a large extent depends on its Organizations