#1
I would like to begin this week’s forum by thanking everyone. This was a wonderful class and I had a very informative discussion in the last 8 weeks. I had the wonderful opportunity to learn more about human resources beyond my work. I wish everyone all the very best for their future classes.
Those days are gone when human resource primary responsibility used to be administrative duties for a company. From handling personnel for recruiting, hiring interviews, exit interviews, attendance records and benefits have been transformed into the more strategic planning process for an organization’s development and success. Human resource management works closely with leadership to ensure workforce efficiency. Today, HRM maintains critical functions of an organization such as Strategic Management, Workforce Planning and Employment (recruitment and selection), Human Resource Development (training & development), Total Rewards (compensation & benefits), Policy Formulation, Employee and Labor Relations, and Risk Management.
Rising competition in labor markets, economic ambiguity and globalization are key issues that will continue to bring a range of challenges in Human Resource Management. I feel one of the biggest challenges today for HR Managers, employees and organizations are retaining talented employees. There are a number of reasons hiring employees is a challenge but retaining them is even a bigger challenge.
First, I would like to share an example of defense contractors; they are contingent workforce which means temporary, part-time or contracted employees. It is challenging for federal contractors to retain their employees for the long term when the service contracts for government goes only for 3-5 years. Employees are less attached to the company; it becomes difficult for human resources management to ensure these employees feel that they are part of the company.
Second, higher demand for SME – Subject Matter Experts, individuals with greater professional expertise and technical knowledge are highly demanded in the job market as such employees have the ability to keep their company ahead in the race. Such employees are an invaluable asset for any company and HRM should focus on maintaining them. It really hard to find good, talented and valuable employees.
Kokemuller, N. (2013). Chron. What Are the Biggest Challenges Facing HR Departments?. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/biggest-challenges-facing-hr-departments-61162.html
#2
The main functions of HRM are planning: hrm personell need to plan how many employees and what type of employees are needed to conduct business as efficiently as possible. Organizing: This is straightforawrd, organizing is needed to put employees were they are needed to accomplish business goals. Directing: essential in helping employees work to accomplish common goals within an organization. Recruitment: HRM employees are responsible for the recruitment of new employees that can benefit the business as a whole. Training: HRM is responsible for the training of all employees to ensure an all inclusive work environment as well a safe working environment for all employees. Salaries: HRM employees determine the pay for each scope of work and they also determine the benefits that may be alloted to employees from the company.
I believe the biggest issue of HRM today is recruitment, for those of us that work in skilled trades especially. In a society were the educational system preaches that college is the only way to make a good living it is pretty tough to find employees that will benefit the company as a whole. The turn around rate in my industry is very high as the scope of work is very demanding and climbing towers isn’t everyone’s go to choice at full-time employment.
