Human Resources

Introduction | Sweet - The Pros | N' Sour - The Cons |  
Employment Tips | Corporate Recruiters

Introduction

In the not so distant past, HR professionals were the few unlucky souls whose job profile included miscellaneous administrative jobs and other sundry tasks that no one wanted to do. It was more or less a thankless job where no bouquets or accolades could be expected.
However, in the past two decades, things have changed. Today, HR has emerged as a profession in its own right, with more and more people electing to pursue a career in the field. In fact, this field has evolved to such an extent that today organizations in India actually have the option of either meeting their human resource needs in-house or even outsourcing services if and when they choose to.

But what exactly is the function of an HR professional?

Simply stating, the job of the HR professional is to manage the human resources of the organization. In other words, HR manages an employer’s relations with his/her employees and is charged with ensuring easy transitions into and out of the company and a pleasant stay while there. Dogbert may not be the archetype of most HR managers, unlike what Scott Adams may like us to believe.

Originally called Personnel (short for Personnel Management), the term was extended to Human Resource Management. The way HR is defined today is as an umbrella term that encompasses Personnel Management and Industrial Relations.

Human Resource Management deals with the "soft" aspects of the employer-employee relationship while the Industrial Relations branch handles the "hard" aspects.

HR work is shaped by several conditions in the workplace. People change jobs frequently. Benefit programs attract and keep employees in a competitive job market, so they are sophisticated and complex. Employment policies must take into account court decisions and legislation pertaining to a wide range of issues,age, race, and disability discrimination; health and safety requirements; employment security; confidentiality; and sexual harassment, to name a few.

Expect the Unexpected

This is a field where new legislation, new management panaceas, complex relationships, and impossible timetables present constant intellectual demands. The job involves a lot of firefighting and selling new methods and approaches to top management.

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Introduction | Sweet - The Pros | N' Sour - The Cons |  
Employment Tips | Corporate Recruiters