Role of Human Resources in the Workplace

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Role of Human Resources in the Workplace

Human resources are the people who work in an organization. It is also the name of the department that exists to serve the needs of those people.William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources Glossary, defines human resources as, "The people that staff and operate an organization… as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization."Human resources are the people who work for an organization in jobs that produce the products or services of the business or organization.
In the past, these people, also known as employees, staff members, coworkers, colleagues, team members, or workers in organizations and workplaces, were called personnel. In some organizations, they are still called personnel, manpower, operators, or workmen -- names that are generally no longer used in more evolved and modern workplaces.Human resources evolved from these older terms as the functions of the field moved beyond paying employees and managing employee benefits. The evolution of the HR function gave credence to the fact that people are an organization's most important resources.

Evolution of the Term "Human Resources"
Human resources, as a name for employees, was first used in a book published in 1893 according to Wikipedia and was regularly used in the early 1900's.The modern use of the term, human resources, dates from the 1960's. Now, most organizations call employees and the department or office designated to assist the organization and its people, Human Resources.Over the years, calling employees "human resources" has been the subject of much debate.People who do not like the term applied to people believe that identifying people as an asset or resource of an organization -- in the same terminology you'd use to refer to land, building materials, or machines -- is improper, and can lead to poor treatment of employees.
Efforts are underway to modernize the term, human resources. Increasingly, you hear employees referred to as team members, associates, members of the organization, knowledge workers, or talent. The new names imply that all of the employees in the company are essentially peers, and that they're all equally valued as people.This is reflected in statements like, "As employees, no matter your job title or rank, we are all equal as team members.

The Second Meaning for Human Resources
In a second meaning, human resources is also the name of the department or functional area from which the HR employees provide HR services to the rest of the organization.People are an organization's primary asset. You must hire, onboard, pay, satisfy, motivate, engage, manage, develop, and retain your employees.Your HR department is your investment in accomplishing these goals with the people you employ. Whether their customer is management or individual employees, your HR staff is accountable for producing the results you need in each of these areas. This does not mean that the HR department is solely responsible for results in these areas.Foremost in accomplishing these goals with employees are your managers or front line supervisors to whom the employees report. They are the people who interact with employees every day to ensure that you have a motivated, contributing workforce. The HR office supports their front-line efforts.HR provides the framework, processes, programs, procedures, training, and the information they need to succeed.

The Changing Role of the HR Team
Over time, this has changed and enhanced the role of your HR team. Dr. Dave Ulrich of the University of Michigan identified three significant roles for the HR team: strategic partner, employee advocate, and change champion. He believes that everything HR does must add value to the business.The next phase for HR “which is emerging, is using HR practices to respond to and create value based on external business conditions." Says Ulrich, “This direction needs to be connected to the business, both the business context which shapes decision making and specific stakeholders around whom business strategies are created.”If your HR staff remain focused on designing innovative business practices in areas such as sourcing, hiring, compensation, and communication, they are not transforming their role to align with forward-thinking practices.If every action is not focused on creating value, your senior leaders must question HR leaders about their contribution to the overall organization.HR must focus on finding, developing and retaining talent; driving organizational culture, and organizational leadership.It’s time for transformation and asking tough questions about past practices that have outlived their ability to contribute. Annual performance appraisals, outdated hiring practices that include discrimination, a command and control management style, and disempowering micromanagement are examples.Today’s organizations cannot afford to have an HR department that fails to lead modern thinking practices and contribute to enhancing company profitability. See how these new roles of the HR employees have evolved.

The Changing Names of the Human Resources Function
In keeping with the new roles of the HR professional, organizations are rethinking what they want to call the office that deals with the organization’s human resources. They seek names that will more effectively present the office’s primary role and meet the expectations of the employees for what they need from their HR team.Office of People' is cropping up as a term to describe the HR office. So are People Operations, Office of Talent, Talent Management, Employee Success, People Resource Center, Department of People and Culture, Support Services, People and Development, Employee and Management Solution Center, Partner (Human) Resources, and People Management.And, of course, changing the name of the HR service organization results in changes to HR job titles. VP of People and Culture, Chief People Person, Employee Happiness Cultivator, People Operations Manager, VP of People, Chief Happiness Officer, Director of Employee Engagement, Chief People Officer, and Chief of Culture are a few that have cropped up in recent years.

Reference:https://www.thebalancecareers.com/human-resources-4161680