The Role and Responsibilities of HR

Regent UniversityThe Roles and Responsibilities of Managing a HR Function
The Human Resource Manager has several different roles and responsibilities such as managing various benefits, compensations, policies, and being an advocate for both employees and for the organization. This is a highly skilled position that requires attention to detail, understanding strategic employee placement and a good knowledge of the needs of the company. Hiring the right people with the right skill set has become more important than ever in the workplace. This is an HR function that is being called upon across the organizational and business sector.
The stakes are becoming ever higher as the human-capital-intensive services sector continues to grow; as workers’ mobility increases and moving laterally becomes more attractive to some people than moving up; as baby boomers vacate their corner offices, decreasing the supply of experienced managers; and as the Millennial generation brings new expectations to the workplace. In short, the long-held notion that HR would become a truly strategic function is finally being realized. (Breitfelder and Dowling, 2008, para. 4).
It seems that some of the difficulty of measuring the success of placing someone in a position is how involved or committed they are to the position and the company. Breitfelder and Dowling (2008), stated, “A new kind of HR professional is emerging to manage this transformed function, someone who deeply understands not only talent-management processes but also an organization’s strategy and business model…” (para. 6). The role and responsibility of the HR manager has taken on a new way of thinking of how to become and remain competitive in the marketplace. “How effectively people at all levels contribute to organizational results is part of the challenge. Managing people as human resources is essential in organizations of all sizes and types” (Mathis and Jackson, 2011, p. 4).
Human Resource managers also have the job of continually advertising and seeking qualified people due to the high turnover rate for many organizations. Breitfelder and Dowling (2008), stated, “But such people-dependent businesses are at the cutting of talent management because they face some of the most daunting challenges in that area, including employee turnover rates that require some organizations to replenish virtually their entire ranks every five years” (para. 7).
Although people are leaving or released from an organization for many reasons, there are still hundreds of skilled potential employees waiting for their opportunity to work for the company. Breitfelder & Dowling (2008), stated, “In business school, we