Human Resources
What does HR mean? What does Human Resources mean?
HR is the abbreviation for Human Resources. Human resources stands for the collective knowledge, skills and motivation of a company’s employees. Alternatively, it is also referred to as the intangible – spiritual – capital of a company. Alternative German terms are human resources, personnel administration or personnel management.
The terms Human Resources or HR department have become very widespread in recent years. They refer to all employees who look after the people in a company. This includes the recruitment, administration, development and offboarding of a company’s employees.
Why is the word “human resources” being discussed critically?
Human resources can literally be translated as human resources or human capital. This translation, i.e. viewing people as purely economic consumer goods, has been viewed increasingly critically in recent years. The human dignity and rights of each individual are undermined by such a formulation. In view of this, the word human resources is becoming less and less important. The corresponding organizational areas are being renamed personnel departments or people departments or people management. The focus is supposed to be on people.
What are the tasks of Human Resources?
Human resources is directly related to employees. The focus here is on the performance potential that employees bring to their company. HR is assigned to Human Resources Management, whose tasks are generally the procurement, retention and planning of employees. HR managers work in this area.
In addition to these organizational tasks, it is also important to create a balanced and productive corporate culture for employees. It is also important in human resources management to accurately assess the personal resources of colleagues in order to deploy them in a targeted manner. This increases the productivity and effectiveness of the company in the long term.
Into which areas can Human Resources be divided?
In general, HR deals with two main functions. These are personnel administration and personnel development. These two areas can be broken down even further, but this breakdown varies from company to company.
Personnel administration
Human resources management is concerned with the search for suitable employees. Among other things, new jobs are advertised. This is usually done with the help of job advertisements and a subsequent selection process.
With the help of digital technology, companies often already have an applicant database or a talent pool. Job portals and social networks are used to search for suitable candidates. The use of these portals is known as active sourcing.
Furthermore, it is the task of personnel administration to draw up employee contracts. To this end, labor law requirements must be observed. Controlling and strategic personnel planning also fall within the remit of HR administration.
The usual tasks of personnel administration are
- Drafting of employment contracts
- Processing absences such as vacation requests or sick notes
- Planning further and advanced training
- Create payroll accounting
- Personnel statistics
- Operational personnel deployment planning
- Personnel appraisal
- Keeping track of personnel files
- Management of registration certificates
- and much more.
Personnel development
In the area of personnel management, the aim is to formulate global corporate goals together with managers. These must then be communicated to employees accordingly. Corporate culture, management styles, management tools and management models are important in this area.
HR development also assumes responsibility for the latest results of leadership research. In addition, employee development is also part of this.
The usual tasks of personnel development are
- Strategic personnel planning
- Applicant management and recruitment
- Onboarding planning and support
- Employer branding, i.e. further developing the employer brand
- Personnel appraisals and target agreement systems
- Strengthening employee loyalty
- and much more.
What is the importance of human resources? Why do companies need good human resources?
The importance of HR management is greater today than ever before. Companies are made up of employees. Finding the best employees on the market, recruiting them, i.e. attracting them and then retaining and motivating them within the company, is a core competence of successful companies. After all, people are ultimately the source of every service provided, every product created and the continued existence of the company.
Just like in a partnership. It is therefore particularly important to maintain and develop the relationship between employer and employee. Clear and honest communication, a healthy corporate culture of cooperation, positive and motivating working environments, opportunities for further development and fair remuneration ensure that the bond is maintained and further strengthened.
If a company fails to retain its employees, it will incur high costs to make up for this loss. If companies do not invest in their employees, they run the risk of no longer being competitive in the long term, as they lack the most important source of survival for tomorrow.
Worldwide, but particularly in Europe, there is already a noticeable shortage of skilled workers. Employees with special qualifications can make the choice for a new company quickly and at any time. They usually take their experience and acquired knowledge with them to their new company. This is why human resources and personnel management have become particularly important in recent years. Companies are required to invest even more in people and the relationship with their employer.
