What is HR? What does HR mean?
The acronym HR has endless possibilities. HR definitions can include Heart Rate, Human Respect, High Roller, House Rules and of course Human Resources. For Recruiters, HR represents the Human Resources of an organization.
According to Wikipedia, the definition of Human Resources is:
the people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, or economy. “Human capital” is sometimes used synonymously with “human resources”, although human capital typically refers to a narrower effect (i.e., the knowledge the individuals embody and economic growth).
Likewise, other terms sometimes used include manpower, talent, labour, personnel, “associates” or simply people.
A human resource person or a human-resources department (HR department) of an organization performs human resource management which includes overseeing various aspects of employment, such as compliance with labour law and employment standards, administration of employee benefits, organizing of employees files with the required documents for future reference as well as , some aspects of recruitment.
The activities of the Human Resources team can be broken down into staffing, development, compensation, health and safety, and employee and labour relations. Some examples of this are:
- Determining the needs of staff and management
- Recruiting and training the best employees for an organization
- Hiring for permanent staff and management roles
- Hiring temporary staff
- Managing employee relations, unions and collective bargaining
- Preparing and implementing HR policies
- Maintaining employee records
- Managing employee payroll, benefits and compensation
- Managing HR policies to ensure that they align with regulations
- Ensuring equal opportunities
- Managing conflicts with discrimination and employee conflicts
As we approach the end of a decade, we also want to emphasize the need for HR at the leadership level in organizations. People are more than a paycheque, or a project that needs completing. An organization’s essence stems from their team, the culture they breed, and the difference they make in their respective communities.
We are so proud of the impact our Human Resources teams are making, both as internal support systems, and outsourced resources.
Human Resources is essential to maintaining company policies as well as promoting a positive work culture. If you are looking for a career in HR or simply haven’t explored the services of your company’s Human Resources team, we hope this will provide better understanding of the services HR provides.
And feel free to contact us directly with any other Human Resources-related questions you may have.