You might wonder why it’s important for anyone to be familiar with some of the concepts and terms involved in human resources management. One of the big reasons is that onsite HR management is such an important asset and such an important department in any given company, that it can have a huge impact on the company’s bottom line, and how successful it is.
Because human resources handle a wide diversity of tasks for the company, it has a direct hand in most of the business processes, and the influence of the department is felt far beyond its own cubicles and doors. For instance, HR personnel is directly involved with handling employee benefits, training, disciplinary actions, orientation, and onboarding, and usually with payroll and tax deductions as well.
Any person who wants to be an HR manager or to be involved with onsite HR management will need to have a number of useful skills in their arsenal in order to create and operate an efficient and well-organized HR department. Some of the skills called for in a good HR manager include being well-organized, having the ability to multi-task, having a strong knowledge of professional development, and also being able to demonstrate strong leadership skills.
In order to have an understanding of some of the processes, a good HR department has to undergo, and how all those processes bring value to the company, it’s worthwhile to know some of the key concepts and terms which are typically associated with human resources management.
Competency Assessment
A competency assessment is a direct measurement of one or more organizational employees, and this measurement is based on set criteria. These criteria are established as a kind of baseline for the standard performance of company employees in specific positions. Therefore it becomes a fairly simple matter to measure the employee’s level of performance against the standard level, in order to determine their level of competency.
Employee Retention
This is one of the most important single aspects which any human resources department is involved with. It comprises all those policies and procedures which are used in an attempt to retain good employees with the company so that it’s not necessary to constantly hire new ones. There is a tremendous expense associated with recruiting, polling, searching for new employees, interviewing them, conducting background checks, training them, and bringing them up to snuff within the organization.
It is far less expensive to do whatever is possible in order to motivate employees to stay with the company, for instance increasing their pay level or providing extra benefits. This is especially true with extremely skilled employees who have great value to the company because replacing such valued individuals is twice as difficult as replacing ordinary employees.
Employment Law
This is actually a group of laws that are related to fair practices and conduct within the workplace, and these are often formalized in the Employee Handbook or some other company document. Some kinds of laws that are in place for employee protection and benefits are programs such as affirmative action, employee benefits, diversity programs, and laws against discrimination. All of these are intended to help the workforce employees interact well together, so that company goals and objectives can be accomplished more easily by everyone.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is one very important way that management can help prepare the company for the natural turnover of individuals which always takes place in any given organization. For instance, valued employees are routinely promoted to higher positions, managers might make upward or lateral moves out of their current positions, and a number of other individuals in the organization vacate their current roles for various reasons.
When any events like this occur, it becomes necessary to have an individual ready to move into that spot and assume those responsibilities so there is no loss of productivity. This means there has to be a program of succession planning in place so that there are backups for each position, and so this backup personnel can move into a primary role when the situation calls for it.
Onsite HR management will generally spearhead the drive for succession planning, so as to alleviate any stress which might occur if a key individual were to suddenly leave the company, and leave an unfilled position. Succession planning also allows employees to demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses, so that these can be worked on and improved so as to be ready for succession into a new role. While this kind of succession planning normally takes place mostly among upper management personnel, it can also be used at lower levels where there are key roles in the company which has to be filled at all times.
Performance Review
Performance reviews are one of the primary vehicles for evaluating employee performance over a given timeframe, usually six months or one year. It consists of a written assessment of an employee’s skills and their level of success during the past period. It details how successful that particular employee was in fulfilling the responsibilities of his/her job.
At the end of an assessment time frame, the employee is given this performance review, and it is meant to be used as a learning tool so the employee can improve performance in those areas which were less than proficient. In many companies, performance reviews are used as the basis for handing out salary increases, and also for promoting individuals who have demonstrated they deserve it.
Employee Development
This is another of the key areas in any human resources department, and it’s essential for every company to have some program in place for employee development. For some organizations, employee development means providing the tools and educational opportunities that are necessary for employees to augment their professional skills and knowledge.
Sometimes this kind of training occurs in-house, and sometimes it’s necessary to attend formal classroom sessions to obtain the required training. In its broadest sense, employee development refers to whatever kinds of training or education is provided to valued employees, in order to make them better professionals and to increase their value to the company.