Human Resource Management

Anyone thinking about entering the field of Human Resource Management should have an idea of what that entails before starting a program of study. Some people erroneously believe that Human Resource Management means that you’re “the boss.” While that may be true in some companies, Human Resources is much more than that.

The Human Resource Management team at any company is usually the first point of contact an employee has with that company – and the last. That’s because this is the department an employee will have to go through in order to get hired and it is also the department that has the final say when an employee is terminated.

Any Human Resource manager in a large company is going to have meetings a large part of the time with his or her superiors, the benefits coordinator, employee supervisors, employees, etc. This person may or may not have a hand in staff development or training. In a very large company, this would be an entirely separate department, but in a smaller company, it may fall to the Human Resources department.

There are many policies, procedures, and laws that the Human Resource department must follow concerning the workplace and employees. Some of this can be downright boring and some of it can land you and your company in hot water if proper procedures are not followed. This article touches on just a few of the tasks someone in the field of Human Resource Management might encounter, either as a trainee, manager, or higher.

Larger companies have hiring manager(s) as part of the Human Resource Management team whose job it is to screen and interview potential candidates for employment. You would certainly have your turn at this as part of the Human Resource Management team. You would most likely conduct background checks and reference checks as well as process new hire paperwork such as the I-9 and W-4 forms.

Smaller companies tend to conduct a more informal interview asking such questions as “Why did you leave your last job?” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Larger companies, on the other hand, often resort to a more structured interview process whereby they ask each interviewee a series of questions printed on a form and record their answers on the same form. Some of these questions are used to measure listening skills and some are used to measure problem-solving skills. Some of these interview questions seem to make no sense at all. As a member of the Human Resource Management team, you’ll have to follow your company’s policies, but you may find you do better at interviewing when you follow your own natural style.

One interviewing technique that every Human Resource Management team member needs to implement consistently is the observation of body language. As each applicant struggles or sails through putting their best foot forward, you can learn as much from observing their body language as you can from the verbal part of the interview.

Human Resource Management often conducts orientation in companies that engage in this process. This can take anywhere from one day to a week depending upon the industry and the size of the company. This usually involves going over company policies and procedures, a general run-down of the employee handbook, and any other company-specific information the Human Resource Management team deems necessary. Topics such as the company dress code are usually discussed during orientation.

Larger companies usually have a training department that is completely separate from the Human Resource department. However, as this is not always the case, training may become part of your duties when you enter the field of Human Resource Management.

Many companies don’t have an effective training program and these same companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year training employees who either quit after a few months or leave the company through another form of attrition. One of the problems inherent in a large portion of company-led training programs is that often, the trainer has never held the position for which he is training others to do. He or she may have been hired for that position based on a combination of education and experience. When an individual trains people for a job that the individual has never performed and then uses as his instruction manual a manual written by another individual who has never performed the job either, employees tend to begin their new positions not fully grounded in what is expected of them.

The military, for example, doesn’t bring in a PhD to train new recruits because he is intelligent and has a wealth of experience and knowledge. Rather, their drill instructors, sergeants, and “trainers” were once raw recruits themselves, so they know exactly how to train these men and women to do the job for which they have been hired.

An effective training program is the first step after selecting the right candidate in ensuring a mutually satisfying working relationship between the employee and members of the Human Resource Management team.

All new employees look forward to hearing about company benefits for which they qualify and this is usually at least touched on during orientation. Most large companies have a benefits coordinator who is part of the Human Resource Management team and this is the person they can talk to about any of their benefits including health insurance, vacations, tuition assistance, and more. Some large companies unfortunately have started to rely on toll-free numbers and the Internet to interact with the employees, answer questions, and provide input when unique situations arise.

Employees, however, would much rather have a flesh and blood person on staff that will work with them to understand and to coordinate their benefits. One call center, with branches all over the United States, uses the first day of employment for the Human Resource Management team to address the group and explain everything about their benefits. This one measure this particular company has taken has undoubtedly saved them thousands of dollars in attrition expenses over the years.

Think about it from the employee’s point of view. They’re saying, “Wait a minute. You’re telling me about all these things I get and you’re paying me to listen to you?” By the end of the day, the employees of this innovative company were congratulating themselves on making the “right” decision on taking this position. That one day fired up a room full of new employees who were then eager to learn and begin this new chapter in their lives so they could reap all of the truly wonderful benefits they had just heard about.

Another call center with branches all over the United States unfortunately had a different first day with their new employees. Instead of using that first day to fire up the new employees, this Human Resource Management team used the majority of that first day going over all the rules and regulations in the employee handbook. Just as the new employees were about to nod off, this brilliant Human Resource Management team lengthily explained the state’s “At-Will” employment laws and let them know they could be fired any time for any reason and that was that.

Care to guess which company spends more on training and attrition-related costs per year?

Your company may or may not have a separate payroll department and even in companies that outsource their payroll, Human Resource Management staff must be savvy about most payroll issues.

Some companies in the United States still use the ancient time clock system whereby each employee “punches” a clock by inserting their time card in a slot in order for the time clock to record the time the employee reports to work and the time the employee leaves for the day. Of course, salaried personnel don’t have to punch a clock, but for many hourly employees, this is the way in which their time worked is recorded. Newer or larger companies, especially those having anything to do with technology or security, have moved on to the name badge the employees scans, using either a barcode reader or magnetic stripe reader, whichever one corresponds to the technology on the back of the employee’s name badge.

Other newer timekeeping systems have the employees enter their social security numbers into a computer when they report for work and again when they leave. Some call centers have their employees “clock in” using the telephone at their workstations. In this way, they can’t merely clock in when they report for work and then take their time about logging on to the phones and taking calls. In order to clock in, they must begin taking calls immediately.

Direct Deposit has made payroll much easier for hundreds of companies and thousands of employees. In fact, choosing direct deposit usually means the employee will see their paycheck up to a day or two earlier. This fact alone has convinced thousands of employees to choose direct deposit as their preferred method of being paid.

The Human Resource Management team may still need to be aware of laws, policies, and procedures regarding withholding, garnishment, and overtime. There are many Human Resource Management issues that are state specific and while your education will certainly cover that, it will be wise for the Human Resource Management team to be well versed on what kinds of issues are federal and which ones are state specific.

There are several workplace issues that the Human Resource Management team will have to deal with on a fairly consistent basis. For instance, absenteeism is a huge problem in the American workforce today. Whether the employee is sick or the employee’s children are sick, the car breaks down, the babysitter doesn’t show up or the grandmother dies, thousands of employees call in sick every day in the United States costing companies billions of dollars yearly in lost revenue.

Until it becomes a major issue, absenteeism is usually handled by the employee’s direct supervisor, but at the point where the employee may be written up or placed on disciplinary action, the Human Resource Management team is usually notified.

Those who have been part of Human Resource Management for some time know there’s no easy solution to get people to go to work when they would rather stay home. One problem is the vast amount of American workers who truly hate their jobs and dread going to work every day. Most of the time this says more about the employee than it does the employer, but innovative companies are trying to combat the issue with incentives such as extra time off or extra pay for employees with good attendance records.

Sexual Harassment is a major workplace issue, mainly because companies have been sued or fined for not addressing the issue in the past. Today, almost every company in the United States, with more than a handful of employees, has a sexual harassment “class” or manual in which they define what sexual harassment is and is not, and make clear the policies and procedures involving the complaint process regarding sexual harassment. This is an issue that the Human Resource Management team must be trained thoroughly on and be willing to act on when appropriate.

It is not mandatory that you know chapter and verse of all the labor laws and such off the top of your head. However, you’ll need a working understanding of all these workplace legal issues in order to function as part of the Human Resource Management team. Then, of course, when these individual issues do arise, you’ll be able to do further research on the intricate policies and procedures of each.

For example, as part of the Human Resource Management team, you should know right off the top of your head that for any workplace accident, no matter how small, an accident report must be filled out immediately. Once the initial report is filed, it will basically be out of your hands. If the employee is injured, needs medical care, or must be out of work, the insurance company representative will be working directly with the employee to resolve the claim. Your only ongoing concern as Human Resource Management would be to know and document how long the employee will be out of work and if or when he or she will be returning.

There are many other workplace legal issues you’ll need to be well versed on as part of the Human Resource Management team including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Equal Opportunity Employment and Employment Discrimination, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), compliance and many more.

Everyone has a boss to report to and that is no different for members of the Human Resource Management team. Turnover is an issue every company faces and if they’re smart, works to overcome in high numbers. Your boss may make it your business as a member of the Human Resource Management team to find out why the company is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on training. What is the single largest reason for attrition? What are your plans for retention?

In the above example with the two call centers whose Human Resource Management teams handled the first day of new employees quite differently, it is interesting to note that the company that spent the day enthralling the new employees with details of the generous benefits the company offered paid slightly less than the company who spent the first day explaining to the new employees how many ways they could get fired. If that wasn’t enough, they went on to let them know that it was perfectly legal for them to be let go for no good reason.

People wouldn’t work if they didn’t need the money, but money isn’t what keeps employees working at the same company for years and years. Employees reveal over and over that it is the way in which they are treated, not only by the Human Resource Management team, but also by the entire staff, that makes the difference in how long they stay and how good a job they do.

Remember this if you are ever charged with taking employee retention to a higher level. It really is so very simple and we all know it to be true that “You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” Try it sometime just as an experiment and see how full your fly jar gets.

Depending on your company’s disciplinary and termination policies and procedures, this may be something handled by the employee’s supervisor and not involve Human Resource Management at all, except for the paperwork after the fact. Some companies, however, call centers especially, require that a member of Human Resource Management walk an employee out the door when his or her employment has ceased, while the employee is at work or on the premises. This can be daunting, especially if the employee is angry or crying. Remaining professional is the only thing you can do, apart from wishing the employee good luck in future endeavors.

If, after reading this, you still are considering the field of Human Resource Management, study and learn everything you can for an exciting and rewarding career.