Weoften hear the term Human Resource Management, and usedin the popular press as well as by Industry experts. Whenever we hearthese terms, we conjure images of efficient managers busily goingabout their work in glitzy offices.

Inthis article, we look at the question "what is HRM ?" bygiving a broad overview of the topic and introducing the readers tothe practice of HRM in contemporary organizations. Though as with allpopular perceptions, the above imagery has some validity, the factremains that there is much more to the field of HRM and despitepopular depictions of the same, the "art and science" of HRM isindeed complex. We have chosen the term "art and science" as HRMis both the art of managing people by recourse to creative andinnovative approaches; it is a science as well because of theprecision and rigorous application of theory that is required.

Asoutlined above, the process of defining HRM leads us to two differentdefinitions. The first definition of HRM is that it is theprocess of managing people in organizations in a structured andthorough manner. This covers the fields of staffing (hiringpeople), retention of people, pay and perks setting and management,performance management, change management and taking care of exitsfrom the company to round off the activities. This is the traditionaldefinition of HRM which leads some experts to define it as a modernversion of the Personnel Management function that was used earlier.

Thesecond definition of HRM encompasses the management of people inorganizations from a macro perspective i.e. managing peoplein the form of a collective relationship between management andemployees. This approach focuses on the objectives and outcomes ofthe HRM function. What this means is that the HR function incontemporary organizations is concerned with the notions of peopleenabling, people development and a focus on making the "employmentrelationship" fulfilling for both the management and employees.

Thesedefinitions emphasize the difference between Personnel Management asdefined in the second paragraph and human resource management asdescribed in the third paragraph. To put it in onesentence, personnel management is essentially "workforce"centered whereas human resource management is "resource"centered. The key difference is HRM in recent times is aboutfulfilling management objectives of providing and deploying peopleand a greater emphasis on planning, monitoring and control.

Whateverthe definition we use the answer to the question as to "what isHRM?" is that it is all about people in organizations. No wonderthat some MNC's (Multinationals) call the HR managers as PeopleManagers, People Enablers and the practice as people management. Inthe 21st century organizations, the HR manager or the people manageris no longer seen as someone who takes care of the activitiesdescribed in the traditional way. In fact, most organizations havedifferent departments dealing with Staffing, Payroll, and Retentionetc. Instead, the HR manager is responsible for managing employeeexpectations vis-à-vis the management objectives and reconcilingboth to ensure employee fulfillment and realization of managementobjectives.

Inconclusion, this article has briefly touched upon the topic of HRMand served as an introduction to HRM. We shall touch upon the othertopics that this field covers in other articles.

Wehave discussed the basic concept of HRM and the ways in which ithelps the organization meet its goals. In this article, we discussthe reasons for organizations to have a HRM strategy as well as thebusiness drivers that make the strategy imperative for organizationalsuccess.

Itis a fact that to thrive in the chaotic and turbulent businessenvironment, firms need to constantly innovate and be "ahead of thecurve" in terms of business practices and strategies. It is fromthis motivation to be at the top of the pack that HRM becomes avaluable tool for management to ensure success.

TheEvolving Business Paradigm

Oneof the factors behind organizations giving a lot of attention totheir people is the nature of the firms in the current businessenvironment. Given the fact that there has been a steady movementtowards an economy based on services, it becomes important for firmsengaged in the service sector to keep their employees motivated andproductive. Even in the manufacturing and the traditional sectors,the need to remain competitive has meant that firms in these sectorsdeploy strategies that make effective use of their resources. Thischanged business landscape has come about as a result of a paradigmshift in the way businesses and firms view their employees as morethan just resources and instead adopt a "people first" approach.

StrategicManagement and HRM

Asdiscussed in the articles on modern day HRM practices, there is aneed to align organizational goals with that of the HR strategy toensure that there is alignment of the people policies with that ofthe management objectives. This means that the HR department can nolonger be viewed as an appendage of the firm but instead is a vitalorgan in ensuring organizational success.

Theaims of areto provide the organization with a sense of direction and a feelingof purpose. The days when the HR manager was concerned withadministrative duties is over and the current HRM practices in manyindustries are taken as seriously as say, the marketing andproduction functions.

Importanceof HRM for Organizational Success

Thepractice of HRM must be viewed through the prism of overall strategicgoals for the organization instead of a standalone tint that takes aunit based or a micro approach. The idea here is to adopt a holisticperspective towards HRM that ensures that there are no piecemealstrategies and the HRM policy enmeshes itself fully with those of theorganizational goals. For instance, if the training needs of theemployees are simply met with perfunctory trainings on omnibustopics, the firm stands to lose not only from the time that theemployees spend in training but also a loss of direction. Hence, theorganization that takes its HRM policies seriously will ensure thattraining is based on focused and topical methods.

Inconclusion, the practice of HRM needs to be integrated with theoverall strategy to ensure effective use of people and provide betterreturns to the organizations in terms of ROI (Return on Investment)for every rupee or dollar spent on them. Unless the HRM practice isdesigned in this way, the firms stand to lose from not utilizingpeople fully. And this does not bode well for the success of theorganization.

Humanresources are undoubtedly the key resources in an organization, theeasiest and the most difficult to manage! The objectives of the HRMspan right from the manpower needs assessment to management andretention of the same. To this effect Human resource management isresponsible for effective designing and implementation of variouspolicies, procedures and programs. It is all about developing andmanaging knowledge, skills, creativity, aptitude and talent and usingthem optimally.

HumanResource Management is not just limited to manage and optimallyexploit human intellect. It also focuses on managing physical andemotional capital of employees. Considering the intricacies involved,the scope of HRM is widening with every passing day. It covers but isnot limited to HR planning, hiring (recruitment and selection),training and development, payroll management, rewards andrecognitions, Industrial relations, grievance handling, legalprocedures etc. In other words, we can say that it's aboutdeveloping and managing harmonious relationships at workplace andstriking a balance between organizational goals and individual goals.

Thescope of HRM is extensive and far-reaching. Therefore, it is verydifficult to define it concisely. However, we may classify the sameunder following heads:

HRM in Personnel Management: This is typically direct manpower management that involves manpower planning, hiring (recruitment and selection), training and development, induction and orientation, transfer, promotion, compensation, layoff and retrenchment, employee productivity. The overall objective here is to ascertain individual growth, development and effectiveness which indirectly contribute to organizational development.

It also includes performance appraisal, developing new skills, disbursement of wages, incentives, allowances, traveling policies and procedures and other related courses of actions.

HRM in Employee Welfare: This particular aspect of HRM deals with working conditions and amenities at workplace. This includes a wide array of responsibilities and services such as safety services, health services, welfare funds, social security and medical services. It also covers appointment of safety officers, making the environment worth working, eliminating workplace hazards, support by top management, job safety, safeguarding machinery, cleanliness, proper ventilation and lighting, sanitation, medical care, sickness benefits, employment injury benefits, personal injury benefits, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits and family benefits.

It also relates to supervision, employee counseling, establishing harmonious relationships with employees, education and training. Employee welfare is about determining employees' real needs and fulfilling them with active participation of both management and employees. In addition to this, it also takes care of canteen facilities, crèches, rest and lunch rooms, housing, transport, medical assistance, education, health and safety, recreation facilities, etc.

HRM in Industrial Relations: Since it is a highly sensitive area, it needs careful interactions with labor or employee unions, addressing their grievances and settling the disputes effectively in order to maintain peace and harmony in the organization. It is the art and science of understanding the employment (union-management) relations, joint consultation, disciplinary procedures, solving problems with mutual efforts, understanding human behavior and maintaining work relations, collective bargaining and settlement of disputes.

The main aim is to safeguarding the interest of employees by securing the highest level of understanding to the extent that does not leave a negative impact on organization. It is about establishing, growing and promoting industrial democracy to safeguard the interests of both employees and management.

Thescope of HRM is extremely wide, thus, can not be written concisely.However, for the sake of convenience and developing understandingabout the subject, we divide it in three categories mentioned above.

Eachorganization works towards the realization of one vision. The same isachieved by formulation of certain strategies and execution of thesame, which is done by the HR department. At the base of thisstrategy formulation lie various processes and the effectiveness ofthe former lies in the meticulous design of these processes. But whatexactly are and entails these processes? Let's read further andexplore.

Thefollowing are the various HR processes:

Human resource planning (Recruitment, Selecting, Hiring, Training, Induction, Orientation, Evaluation, Promotion and Layoff).

Employee remuneration and Benefits Administration

Performance Management.

Employee Relations.

Theefficient designing of these processes apart from other thingsdepends upon the degree of correspondence of each of these. Thismeans that each process is subservient to other. You start from Humanresource Planning and there is a continual value addition at eachstep. To exemplify, the PMS (performance Management System) of anorganization like Infosys would different from an organization likeWalmart. Lets study each process separately.

HumanResource Planning: Generally, we consider Human ResourcePlanning as the process of people forecasting. Right but incomplete!It also involves the processes of Evaluation, Promotion and Layoff. Recruitment: It aims at attracting applicants that match a certain Job criteria. Selection: The next level of filtration. Aims at short listing candidates who are the nearest match in terms qualifications, expertise and potential for a certain job. Hiring: Deciding upon the final candidate who gets the job. Training and Development: Those processes that work on an employee onboard for his skills and abilities upgradation.EmployeeRemuneration and Benefits Administration: The processinvolves deciding upon salaries and wages, Incentives, FringeBenefits and Perquisites etc. Money is the prime motivator in any joband therefore the importance of this process. Performing employeesseek raises, better salaries and bonuses.PerformanceManagement: It is meant to help the organization train,motivate and reward workers. It is also meant to ensure that theorganizational goals are met with efficiency. The process not onlyincludes the employees but can also be for a department, product,service or customer process; all towards enhancing or adding value tothem.Nowadaysthere is an automated performance management system (PMS) thatcarries all the information to help managers evaluate the performanceof the employees and assess them accordingly on their training anddevelopment needs.EmployeeRelations: Employee retention is a nuisance withorganizations especially in industries that are hugely competitive innature. Though there are myriad factors that motivate an individualto stick to or leave an organization, but certainly few are under ourcontrol.Employeerelations include Labor Law and Relations, Working Environment,Employee heath and safety, Employee- Employee conflict management,Employee- Employee Conflict Management, Quality of Work Life, WorkersCompensation, Employee Wellness and assistance programs, Counselingfor occupational stress. All these are critical to employee retentionapart from the money which is only a hygiene factor.

Allprocesses are integral to the survival and success of HR strategiesand no single process can work in isolation; there has to be a highlevel of conformity and cohesiveness between the same.

HumanResource Planning (HRP) is the process of forecasting the futurehuman resource requirements of the organization and determining as tohow the existing human resource capacity of the organization can beutilized to fulfill these requirements. It, thus, focuses on thebasic economic concept of demand and supply in context to the humanresource capacity of the organization.

Itis the HRP process which helps the management of the organization inmeeting the future demand of human resource in the organization withthe supply of the appropriate people in appropriate numbers at theappropriate time and place. Further, it is only after proper analysisof the HR requirements can the process of recruitment and selectionbe initiated by the management. Also, HRP is essential insuccessfully achieving the strategies and objectives of organization.In fact, with the element of strategies and long term objectives ofthe organization being widely associated with human resource planningthese days, HR Planning has now became Strategic HR Planning.

Though,HR Planning may sound quite simple a process of managing the numbersin terms of human resource requirement of the organization, yet, theactual activity may involve the HR manager to face many roadblocksowing to the effect of the current workforce in the organization,pressure to meet the business objectives and prevailing workforcemarket condition. HR Planning, thus, help the organization in manyways as follows:

HR managers are in a stage of anticipating the workforce requirements rather than getting surprised by the change of events

Prevent the business from falling into the trap of shifting workforce market, a common concern among all industries and sectors

Work proactively as the expansion in the workforce market is not always in conjunction with the workforce requirement of the organization in terms of professional experience, talent needs, skills, etc.

Organizations in growth phase may face the challenge of meeting the need for critical set of skills, competencies and talent to meet their strategic objectives so they can stand well-prepared to meet the HR needs

Considering the organizational goals, HR Planning allows the identification, selection and development of required talent or competency within the organization.

Itis, therefore, suitable on the part of the organization to opt for HRPlanning to prevent any unnecessary hurdles in its workforce needs.An HR Consulting Firm can provide the organization with acomprehensive HR assessment and planning to meet its futurerequirements in the most cost-effective and timely manner.

AnHR Planning process simply involves the following four broad steps:

Current HR Supply: Assessment of the current human resource availability in the organization is the foremost step in HR Planning. It includes a comprehensive study of the human resource strength of the organization in terms of numbers, skills, talents, competencies, qualifications, experience, age, tenures, performance ratings, designations, grades, compensations, benefits, etc. At this stage, the consultants may conduct extensive interviews with the managers to understand the critical HR issues they face and workforce capabilities they consider basic or crucial for various business processes.

Future HR Demand: Analysis of the future workforce requirements of the business is the second step in HR Planning. All the known HR variables like attrition, lay-offs, foreseeable vacancies, retirements, promotions, pre-set transfers, etc. are taken into consideration while determining future HR demand. Further, certain unknown workforce variables like competitive factors, resignations, abrupt transfers or dismissals are also included in the scope of analysis.

Demand Forecast: Next step is to match the current supply with the future demand of HR, and create a demand forecast. Here, it is also essential to understand the business strategy and objectives in the long run so that the workforce demand forecast is such that it is aligned to the organizational goals.

HR Sourcing Strategy and Implementation: After reviewing the gaps in the HR supply and demand, the HR Consulting Firm develops plans to meet these gaps as per the demand forecast created by them. This may include conducting communication programs with employees, relocation, talent acquisition, recruitment and outsourcing, talent management, training and coaching, and revision of policies. The plans are, then, implemented taking into confidence the mangers so as to make the process of execution smooth and efficient. Here, it is important to note that all the regulatory and legal compliances are being followed by the consultants to prevent any untoward situation coming from the employees.

Hence,a properly conducted process of HR Planning by an HR Consulting Firmhelps the organization in meeting its goals and objectives in timelymanner with the right HR strength in action.

Introduction:The Typical Functions of a HR Manager

Untilnow, we have discussed how the HRM function in organizations worksand the role of the function in organizational processes. We havealso discussed the changing nature of the HRM function in recentyears and how with the introduction of enterprise software, anentirely new dimension has been added to these functions.

Thisarticle discusses the typical functions of a HR manager and analyzeshow he or she can make a positive contribution to the organizationand add value to the process. First, the HR manager has to jugglebetween hiring, training, appraisals, and payroll among other things.This means that a typical function of the HR manager would encompassthe end to end management of the employee people lifecycle whichmeans that the HR manager would have to take care of everything thatis concerned with the people aspect right from the time the employeeenters the organization till the time the employee quits or retiresfrom the organization. Hence, the lifecycle of an employee's timein an organization has to be managed and this means that the HRmanager is responsible for the hiring, training, appraisals, payroll,and exit interviews.

Entryto Exit: Managing the Employee Lifecycle

Ifwe take each of these activities in turn, we find that hiring is donein conjunction with the line managers who put out their requirementsperiodically on the kind of recruits they want and the number ofrecruits they want. Once the request reaches the HR manager, he orshe has to scour the market for potential recruits. Usually, the HRmanager does not personally do this and outsources this function to aplacement consultancy. The next step is the interview stage after theshortlists are done and this is an activity where the HR managereither delegates the task of assessing the potential recruits to thestaffing team or does the job personally.

Inlarge organizations like Fidelity and Microsoft, there are dedicatedteams for each of these activities and this is something we would bediscussing in detail in subsequent articles. After the interviewstage is over, the important task of fixing the salary and benefitsof the successful candidates has to be done. This is usually the timewhen the HR manager plays a critical role as he or she has todetermine the fit between the role and the candidate and decide onthe quantum of salary and benefits that is appropriate to the roleand after examining the budgets for the same.

TheAppraisal Process and the Exit Interviews

Afterthese activities, the HR manager is also involved in conducting thelast stage of appraisals or evaluating the appraisals. In recentyears, the trend is more towards the latter where the HR manager incharge of the business unit evaluates the appraisals instead ofparticipating in the process directly. This is done in a manner todetermine the quantum of pay hike or bonuses keeping in mind the sameprinciples that were discussed in the hiring activity. What thismeans is that the HR manager has to work closely with the linemanagers to get this done.

Inmany organizations, employees can take their grievances to the HRmanagers in case they are not satisfied with their pay hikes or thequantum of benefits. They can also complain against their managers ina confidential and private manner.

Thelast activity that the HR manager is involved in is conducting theexit interviews when employees leave the organizations. This isusually done on the last day of the employee's stay in theorganization and this process consist of a free and frank discussionon what the employee feels about the organization and why he or sheis leaving the organization. The exit interviews offer valuablesources of insights into organizational behavior as the employees canvent their feelings on what works and what does not work inorganizations.