Human resources
" With regard to excellence, it is not enough to know,
but we must try to have and use it.”
–Aristotle
Human resources is also the name of the function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources) .Human resources progressively became the more usual name for this function, reflecting the adoption of a more quantitative as well as strategic approach to workforce management, demanded by corporate management and the greater competitiveness for limited and highly skilled workers.
In simple terms, an organization's human resource management strategy should maximize return on investment in the organization's human capital and minimize financial risk. Human Resources seeks to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilled and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with the organization's ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return on investment and secure future survival and success.
Key functions
Human Resources may set strategies and develop policies, standards, systems, and processes that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas. The following are typical of a wide range of organizations:
- Recruitment, selection, and on boarding (resourcing)
- Organizational design and development
- Business transformation and change management
- Performance, conduct and behavior management
- Industrial and employee relations
- Human resources (workforce) analysis and workforce personnel data management
- Compensation, rewards, and benefits management
- Training and development (learning management)
Implementation of such policies, processes or standards may be directly managed by the HR function itself, or the function may indirectly supervise the implementation of such activities by managers, other business functions or via third-party external partner organizations.