What Does an HR Professional Do?

ANATOMY OF A HUMAN RESOURCES PROFESSIONAL

Think HR is just processing paychecks, answering benefit questions or writing offer letters?

Think again! Perhaps fulfilling these typical administrative tasks was the essential role of HR 30-years ago, but that’s all changed!

Today, HR Professionals are called upon to think strategically and make key decisions to help businesses grow and thrive. In fact, depending upon where your interests and talents lie, you could be working in one or both major subsets of HR – “Human Resource Management” (HRM) or, “Human Resource Development” (HRD) – and, while many companies do not separate “HRM” from “HRD” as distinctly different, there are in fact definitive delineations between the two functions.

HRM Defined: HRM is the set of traditional HR activities that manage or, support the employees of the company and, every working organization has to have at least one person responsible for HRM duties including:

• Recruiting and Staffing
• Compensation and Benefits
• Labor and Employee Relations
• Health and Safety (OSHA)

Some of the more common HRM positions include titles such as:

• Compensation Manager
• Labor Relations Specialist
• Senior Recruiter
• Benefits Specialist
• Health and Safety Manager
• HR Generalist
• Employment Lawyer

HRD Defined: HRM is the second (albeit much smaller) part of HR and refers to the activities in an organization that help develop and grow employees. Many companies equate HRD to simply training or learning and development, but in reality it’s much more than that including:

• Organization development such as:
  • Succession planning (determining who is next in line for a CEO or other senior postion)
  • Coaching (helping employees overcome on-the-job problems or challenges)
  • Performance management (employee performance reviews)

Some of the more common HRD positions include titles such as:

• Corporate Trainer
• Executive Coach
• Organization Development Specialist
• Instructional Designer
• Training Manager

Human Resource Management (HRM) or Human Resource Development (HRD)?

In HRM roles, professionals need to keep the HR motor running and wheels turning having the responsibility for preventing any interruption in services expected by employees, keeping the organization running smoothly, reporting HR’s return on investment (ROI) through HR metrics (statistics on how a company’s employees are performing) and demonstrating the value HR brings to the company.

In HRD roles, professionals are responsible for making the HR motor and wheels run faster and better having responsibility for a certain subset of the workforce (such as training the sales force), or serving as internal consultants working on projects as they arise (such as helping to restructure a department), or helping the company deal with change as the result of a new program, technology, merger or acquisition.

While HRM professionals continually evaluate processes and implement new programs and systems to better serve the organization as a whole, HRD professionals provide organization development services way beyond managing the workforce and company processes, but are fully integrated with and support HRM objectives.

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If you are an HRM or HRD professional reading this article or someone interested in entering the HR field, then you should seriously consider becoming a client of StrictlyHR and receive the most comprehensive strategic, HR coaching, education and training available anywhere for less than $100 per month!*

If you are a CEO, CFO or other Senior Executive reading this article and see that your organization may be lacking in any one particular area, then you should seriously consider becoming a client of StrictlyHR because you owe it to yourself and your HR personnel the absolute best for less than $100 per month!*

For detailed information visit: http://www.strictlyhr.com or call 330-575-2029. Our services provide the very best in HRM and HRD tools and ongoing support.

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