¶ … integrated HRM approach organizational performance Human Resource Management

HRM consists of managing people in a company, it's all about managing the employees. For the sake of simplicity, we can conclude that it's managing humans / people. HRM is purely a managerial operation in which a company tries to meet the company's goal by skill set of its workforce. Human Resource Management addresses the management of employees within a company. It assists the employees in syncing with the company and their work, rewarding their work and resolving issues as well (Naeem, 2011).

Growing Importance of HRM

An organization basically thrives from skill set of the employees; know how, abilities, knowledge and capabilities of its employees. This pool of talented reservoir entails the core competencies of a company (pooled reserve of knowledge an organization possesses which sets it apart from its rivals and gives value to its clientele). HRM plays a pivotal role in sustaining companies and assisting them in functioning properly. The world is in fact an organizational world where organizations are part of daily life. We are connected to them in the form of clients, customers, employees and members. One's life is spent working in an organization which provides us with the necessary services and good to live on. Organization consists of people and in their absence, they would cease to exist (Naeem, 2011).

Factors Contributing to the Growing Importance of HRM

a. Accommodation to workers' needs

The employees are requesting organizations to become more accommodating and induce programs for instance:

Parental leave

Flexible work schedule

Elder care assistance

Child care

Job sharing

Human resource department is tasked with facilitating such policies which avoid a conflict between work life balance and maintain a winning combination of both (Naeem, 2011).

b. Increased complexity of the Manager's job

Management is now quite a different ball game altogether due to multiple reasons such as:

Rapid change

Foreign competition

New technology

Broadening scientific information

Hence organizations need timely advice from human resource managers for help in taking correct business decisions and aligning the company's mission with human resource's strengths.

Sometimes executive need help from human resource department in case of:

Compensation

Performance evaluation

Recruitment

Discipline (Naeem, 2011)

c. Legislation and litigation

The state laws have worked in favor of facilitation and propagation of human resource operations. The laws are stringent in case of reporting and record keeping, hence human resource department works for numerous hours in a row and often make use of more staff to get work done. Legislation has had a deep impact on four areas such as:

Labor relations

Safety

Compensation

Equal employment

In case, the organizations don't comply with the law, it can result in expensive law suits, penalties and back pay awards (Naeem, 2011).

d. Consistency

With the help of human resource policies, consistency and equity are kept in check. Consistency is important in case of promotion and compensation matters. The managers need to consult human resource department first before handling salaries and promotions. HR department needs to remain in contact with managers on such matters (Naeem, 2011).

e. Expertise

These days, special expertise is needed for complex personnel activities. For instance, the researchers have designed intricate methods for employee selection process, mathematical formulas which consists of interviews, test results and application-blank information. They have substituted the conventional interviews which were the basis of selection. Apart from that, most companies have put in place a compensation system consisting of generous benefits which have substituted the hourly pay (Naeem, 2011).

f. Cost of Human Resource

Since personal problem result in huge costs, human resource activities are all the more important. Organizations suffer from labor cost, which is sometimes higher than expected due to tardiness, absenteeism and discrimination (Naeem, 2011).

Why are we concerned with HRM?

1. Helps you get results -- through others.

There are different managerial techniques assisting the managers in procuring maximum performance from their employees in order to meet the demands of an organization. By using others within an organization, managers are able to get tasks done which need human resource management (Naeem, 2011).

2. Helps you avoid common personnel mistakes

Qualified Human Resource mangers make use of organization assets in a manner that assists in avoiding common personnel mistakes such as the following:

Competent HR managers assist in preventing routine human resource errors for instance:

Incorrect hiring for a position

Facing huge turnover

Employees not able to perform

Preventing company from facing court due to unlawful actions

Preventing company being charged with unsafe practices under federal occupational safety laws

Preventing bigoted labor practices

Ensuring that department isn't left incompetent due to lack of training (Naeem, 2011)

3. Helps you...

The reason is that all companies use similar tools and technology, they can have equal monetary resources as well, similar material is used for producing goods and providing services, hence the only difference remains is the workforce of the company. Hence competitive advantage lies within a company in its human resource department. Organizations can drive real competitive advantage by such competent individuals (Naeem, 2011).
a. To Attract People

People are attracted automatically to any company which provides a wonderful working environment, great employment benefits as well as room for growth within the company. Keeping the market in perspective, the first step is to entice competent individuals towards your company (Naeem, 2011).

b. To Develop People

Development is all about providing people with training and development opportunities to meet the job requirements in certain areas. This entails some evaluation for the proper training methods and tools to be employed. After careful selection, rigorous training of the workforce within the company leads in growth of an organization. That's how an organization is nurtured as it blossoms (Naeem, 2011).

C: To motivate

Motivation is all about driving a high performance from employees and ensuring their efforts are channeled in the proper direction. This entails using different tools for motivation in inspiring an organization. It's important to keep the employees inspired so they maintain their high quality performance (Naeem, 2011).

D. To Keep Talented People

It's also called retention of employees in an organization and ensuring that top performers remain within an organization by using various methods (Naeem, 2011).

Functions of HRM department:

A: Staffing

In order to attain its goals, a company must have competent employees working in particular positions at specific times. Hiring such individuals consists of:

Job analysis

Human resource planning

Recruitment

Planning

Selection

Job analysis consists of deciding upon the necessary skills, duties and experience needed for working at particular positions in an organization. HRP stands for human resource planning which is a method of appraising human resource demands which ensures that given number of workers are available for particular skill set. Recruitment is a method of enticing such talented individuals in great number, urging them to apply for job within an organization (Naeem, 2011).

B. Human Resource Development

HRM not only consists of development and training, it also entails:

Individual career planning

Development activities

Performance appraisal

It's all part of training and development. Training is needed to give employees skills and knowledge to work in their present position. Development on the other hand goes a step further as it's focused on long-term.

Human resource development (HRD) assists in making organization a proficient place by making individuals and groups competent. The reason is that companies, job, technology and people are regularly altering. Career planning is a continuous process where a person outlines his goals based on his career and works to attain them in due time. Career development is a method used by companies to make sure that individuals with necessary skill set and knowledge are present when required. Performance appraisal is a method used by companies to determine their team's and employee's competency in completing their necessary tasks (Naeem, 2011).

C. Compensation and Benefits

The idea of compensation comprises all kinds of rewards that individuals acquire on account of their present employment. The actual reward might be either one or an amalgamation of the subsequent

Compensation consists of rewards a person receives while being employed in a company. The reward can be one of the following or a combination of:

Pay: Cash which an individual receives for doing his job

Benefits: Separate financial rewards apart from salary such as sick leave, paid vacations, medical insurance and holidays

Non-financial rewards: They can include rewards not involving money such as peaceful office environment or pleasure in working (Naeem, 2011).

D. Safety and Health

Safety stipulates the employees being protected from office related accidents. Health is related to employees' being in their natural physical and mental state. Such aspects are necessary to take in consideration because only then, high productivity is attained as the organization benefits in the long run (Naeem, 2011).

E. Employee and Labor Relations

After 1983, union membership has taken a severe hit falling at 8% to 13.9% now. Only during the Great Depression, the percentage was this low. Neglecting the government workforce, unions stand for only 9.5% of the private workforce. But in any case, a business firm has to recognize a union in case the employees want to be a part of union. Looking back, this was quite acceptable most companies. These days, organizations detest unions and promote a union free environment (Naeem, 2011).

F. Human Resource Research

It's not included as a proper function, but it has relevance in HRM functional areas where the researcher's lab is his office (Naeem, 2011).

G. Interrelationships…