Human Resources Professionals Main Roles

Executive Agendas and Administrative Functions

The HR professional served the executive agenda well in this position but was frequently seen as a roadblock by the rest of the company. There is still a need for this position; for example, you Wouldn’t you want each boss to put their own twist on a sexual harassment policy?

Neither can every manager view and apply the employee handbook in their own unique way. Even if payroll and insurance are now done electronically, they still need administration. The Human Resources department’s administrative tasks continue to include management and execution. These responsibilities aren’t going anywhere any time soon.

Human Resources was seen as the enemy in this role, and going to hr was the kiss of death for your continuing relationship with your own boss. Employees assumed and were often right that the HR role existed solely to satisfy management’s needs. As a result, employee grievances often fall on deaf ears in an HR department that was created to satisfy the needs of managers.

They condemn their education, discipline, and employee support, among other things. They also accuse HR practitioners of deceiving workers, failing to keep employee details private, and engaging in poor practices in areas such as audits, compensation options, and employee recruiting.

Transformation of HR

If the HR role isn’t transforming to comply with forward-thinking practices, executive leadership needs to ask some difficult questions of HR leaders. Today’s businesses cannot afford to have an HR department that does not contribute to the advancement of modern thought and company profitability.

Much of HR’s position is changing in this climate. The HR manager, owner, or executive must be able to adapt to the changing needs of his or her company. Successful businesses are becoming more adaptable, resilient, easy to pivot, and customer-focused.

Three New Roles

In this setting, the HR professional is a strategic partner, an employee supporter or advocate, and a change coach, all of which are deemed necessary by managers and executives.

Dr. Dave Ulrich, a professor at the University of Michigan and one of the best thinkers and authors in the HR area today, recommended and explored these positions in Human Resource Champions.

HR practitioners who understand these positions are in charge of areas like organizational growth; strategic employee uses to achieve business goals, and talent management and development.

Let’s look at each of these positions and how they affect HR functions and activities.

Strategic Partner

HR managers must think of themselves as strategic partners in today’s companies in order to ensure their longevity and willingness to contribute. The HR individual in this role contributes to the advancement and achievement of the organization’s overall business strategy and objectives.

HR business objectives are set to aid in the achievement of the overall strategic business strategy and goals. The tactical HR representative is well-versed in the creation of work processes that enable people to excel and contribute.

HR services such as job creation, recruiting, reward, recognition, and strategic pay, performance enhancement, and evaluation systems, career and succession planning, and workforce development are all impacted by this strategic relationship. As HR practitioners are aligned with the company, the organization’s personnel management aspect is viewed as a strategic contributor to its success.

HR staff members must act like business people, understand finance and accounting, and be accountable and responsible for cost savings and the measurement of all HR activities and processes in order to become effective business partners.

It’s not enough to simply request a seat at the executive table; HR professionals must also show that they possess the necessary business knowledge.

Employee Advocate

The HR manager, as an employee supporter or advocate, plays a critical role in organizational performance through their awareness of and advocacy for people. This advocacy involves knowledge of how to build a workplace where people want to be inspired, contribute, and be happy.

Employee control of the company is increased by encouraging constructive goal-setting, collaboration, and empowerment through responsibility. The HR professional aids in the establishment of organizational culture and environment in which employees are competent, concerned, and committed to providing excellent customer service.

Overall talent retention initiatives, workforce growth opportunities, employee assistance systems, benefit sharing and profit-sharing strategies, company development interventions, due process approaches to employee grievances and problem-solving, and regularly scheduled contact opportunities are all provided by the HR manager in this position.

Change Champion

The constant appraisal of the organization’s efficacy necessitates the HR professional’s constant championing of improvement. HR professionals are highly respected for their experience and willingness to implement effective change strategies. Employee frustration and resistance to change can be reduced by understanding how to connect change to the organization’s strategic needs.

HR professionals face additional obstacles when it comes to organizational growth, which is the overarching discipline for change management techniques. Employee advocacy includes actively assisting in the creation of the right corporate culture, tracking employee satisfaction, and evaluating the outcomes of organizational initiatives.

The HR professional contributes to the company by evaluating the HR function’s efficacy on a regular basis. They also promote reform in other departments and workplace procedures.

They champion the identification of the organization’s mission, vision, principles, objectives, and action plans in order to support the organization’s overall success. Finally, they assist in determining the metrics that will decide how well their company is doing in all of this.