HR For Beginners: All You Need to Know

No matter your company’s size, Human Resources (HR) is one of the most critical areas of any business. HR management is also one of the fastest-growing careers in the US, and employment of HR managers is projected to grow 6% in the next decade. But many professionals don’t truly understand what human resources departments do.

While some areas of business are easy to grasp, this isn’t the case with HR. For example, if you ask someone to explain exactly what HR is, they’ll often say something about hiring or firing. That’s merely scratching the surface.

This human resources guide will help you get to grips with what human resources is, what you need to know about HR, and why you may need to give it more attention. Get a free demo now to learn how BambooHR can simplify your HR needs.

What Is Human Resources?

HR is a field dedicated to managing everything related to a company’s workforce. It must manage employee needs, their relationship with the firm, and all other related business procedures. The human resources department manages your employee lifecycle. The HR basics boil down to employee satisfaction, engagement, and performance—as well as recruitment, hiring, and policy implementation.

Day-to-day operations, managing finances, marketing, and dealing with the workforce are part and parcel of making an organization tick. In SMEs, they’re all often the responsibility of one individual or a small handful of people. In larger companies, each area of business has its own department.

The duties of an HR professional will impact most aspects of an employee’s activities on a near-daily basis. But it’s the breadth and complexity of the HR field that can be hard to grasp.

HR Basics: What Does HR Do?

The term ‘Human Resources’ covers a whole lot of ground and is often a company’s most vital resource. HR exists to support and provide for workers and is a crucial resource for them in their day-to-day work.

Our HR guide goes into eleven of the main duties and responsibilities carried out by an HR pro or department:

Manage Recruitment and Termination

The hiring and firing of team members are essential elements of any company’s existence. When a worker gets fired, HR must deal with the paperwork. They may also need to revoke premise access and ensure equipment is returned.

On the recruitment side, it’s HR’s responsibility to find the right candidates and get them on board. That involves defining the roles that must be filled and identifying criteria on which to judge applicants. They’ll need to evaluate CVs, conduct background checks, and work with managers to carry out the interview process. Elements of onboarding also often get sorted by HR, including paperwork for new hires.

Deal With Performance Reviews and Promotions

The HR team is also involved with performance reviews and promotions. They work closely with managers to determine whether to promote or offer salary increases to high-performing staff. The HR pro must also work with senior management of the company to create review windows and processes for promotions.

Enforce Work Safety and Legal Compliance

HR also needs to take the lead in fostering a safe work environment. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requires employers to provide a safe environment for every employee. HR teams must oversee and conduct training, manage injury logs, and handle any worker’s compensation as required.

HR is also responsible for investigating any harassment concerns and enforcing policies stipulating employee relationships.

Handle Payroll, Compensation, and Benefits

All payroll and worker-related financials are also handled by HR. Exactly what this entails differs from one business to the next, but it can include:

• Tallying worker hours
• Paying salaries
• Calculating taxes
• Reimbursing expenses
• Payment schedules
• Processing raises and bonuses

But it’s not only salaries and expenses that fall under the remit of HR basics. HR professionals also have the responsibility of deciding on which benefits to offer and handling their administration. Offering employees competitive benefits is vital. It can be the sticking point between a candidate joining your firm or not. Great applicants may accept a lower-paid job for better benefits like health insurance or dental.

Create Staffing Plans and Policies

If your business is continuously growing, you’ll need a staffing plan—an exhaustive strategy for acquiring new talent as and when you need it. It’s HR’s responsibility to build and carry out such a plan. HR also has to draft and update company policies continually and ensure they are relevant.

HR professionals also educate employees on company policies, contributing to your business's reputation and corporate image.

Foster Positive Relationships

Human resources is also responsible for the relationships in your organization. That’s both employee-employee interactions and the relationship between employees and the firm.

HR professionals must be trained in conflict resolution and can act as a mediator between employees and senior management. Positive interactions cultivate a happy workforce, and happy workers can be more productive than those who are dissatisfied. What’s more, improper treatment of staff by a firm can rightly lead to legal or financial punishment.

Follow Through with Disciplinary Action

Complaints and reports of difficulties get taken to HR, where they must be handled professionally and appropriately.

Human resources pros have to investigate any claims of wrongdoing, and disciplinary proceedings are a critical function of HR basics. It’s vital to an organization’s cohesion that complaints get managed in an even-handed way. It’s essential that employees feel safe and comfortable at work. But they must also be held accountable for failing to meet company standards.

Track Employee Satisfaction

Aside from handling significant problems, HR is also concerned with general job satisfaction. Successful companies have a happy and engaged workforce. It’s another basic HR duty to keep track of and make recommendations based on employee engagement and satisfaction data.

There are many ways that HR pros can help boost employee satisfaction. Providing clear paths for career development is a prime example. Understanding that there’s room to expand in their role will make many workers much happier. Plus, educational help or vocational training gives workers a stronger feeling of achievement.

Training and Development

Most, if not all, workers need to get trained to fulfill their roles properly. New employees or staff must be taught the correct processes to follow. In the case of new hire training, HR may need to design in-depth courses.

Internal recruiting and promoting from within is a great policy for many businesses. If you do move an employee into a leadership position, you should provide extra training. And don’t forget the importance of continual onboarding, reboarding, and skills development.

Promote Health & Wellbeing

Your HR department must prioritize your staff’s health and wellbeing, as well as making sure workplaces meet safety standards. It also encompasses helping employees who have health concerns.

HR is where workers can go for guidance, questions about accessibility, and help with work accommodations when they experience severe or chronic conditions. That includes both physical and mental health. This is where it’s especially helpful to measure and understand data around employee wellness in your workplace.

Maintain Employee Records

As a department, HR generally isn’t lacking in documentation and paper trail. Another duty of the department at your firm is to keep and maintain all the records this generates.

Things like applications, payrolls, and benefits plans are managed by HR. These records help support the day-to-day activities of your company and can prove your firm complies with industry-specific regulations. Plus, there are some records that you’re legally required to keep.

It’s important to be familiar with the laws, regulations, and best practices around how long to keep certain kinds of files, like payroll or great resumes.

Human Resources Management Advice: When Should You Focus on HR?

HR duties are critical to your business. The when, how, and why of focusing on HR depends on the size of your business and its needs, but HR is still important no matter your niche. For small businesses, leadership may be able to take on the duties themselves. Many businesses, though, will need a dedicated HR professional or department. Below, we explore a few examples of when it’s time to focus on HR:

Your Firm is Scaling

If you started a business from the ground up, HR may not have been on your radar at the beginning. But as you start scaling up your company, you must ensure HR is front and center.

An HR team can help with hiring by identifying your firm’s skill gaps and filling them. What’s more, HR can keep track of performance.

Regulation or Legislation is Changing Rapidly

Laws and regulations evolve. That’s particularly true of employment legislation. Whatever your industry, you have legal responsibilities to your staff. Failing to abide by these regulations can lead to significant (and sometimes expensive) consequences.

When regulations change, you don’t want your firm to get caught short. With all the other demands on your time, keeping up with this legislation may fall through the cracks. An HR manager can give dedicated time and attention to this critical area of business. It’s part of their job to track changes to employment law and keep your business compliant.

Staff Morale is Low

If your workforce is unhappy or unsettled, it could be due to a lack of attention to HR. Human resources, after all, is about supporting your staff and aiding their wellness so they can perform their best.

When you’re not on top of things HR-wise, there are often many more disruptions to daily activities. Discontent workers are less productive and may enter into more disputes, which can impact your company culture. And a bad company culture can mean high employee turnover. That’s not something that any business wants to face.

Current HR Structures Are Overwhelmed

Every firm still has HR duties. So, if you don’t have a dedicated team, the chances are that you either handle them yourself or rely on another of the staff. That means human resource duties eat into their main role.

As a business develops, HR duties and responsibilities multiply and you will need to hire an allocated HR professional. This will boost productivity across the board and make sure that all HR gets dealt with correctly.

What Basic Skills Do You Need to Work In HR?

HR professionals need leadership and management skills, as well as the ability to be empathetic and potentially have some tough conversations. Here are five important soft skills for HR professionals:

• Communication: HR professionals will need to deliver presentations, conduct interviews, and lead conflict resolution.
• Decision-making: The role requires a lot of decision-making, from hiring the right team to downsizing decisions.
• Empathy: HR pros will need to be able to listen and understand the employee’s point of view in any challenging conversations.
• Financial savvy: This role is responsible for employee benefits and compensation, so the team or manager will need to be able to plan and budget effectively and avoid over-expenditure.
• Multitasking: It’s a varied role, so an HR pro needs to be able to remain calm under pressure and prioritize an ever-evolving workload.

Example Job Titles for HR Teams

As we’ve covered, HR teams have a wide range of responsibilities. From managing employee onboarding to dealing with any conflicts, there’s a lot that goes into this department. Depending on the size of your organization, you may not need every position, but here’s an overview of some of the different HR titles you may need:

• HR Assistant / Intern
• HR Specialist
• HR Generalist
• HR Manager
• HR Director
• HR Consultant
• Recruiter
• Senior Recruiter
• Recruiting Manager

Simplify Human Resource Management with BambooHR

Human resources is the most well-known but poorly understood aspect of business. Everyone’s heard of it, but not many people have a genuine understanding of all that it entails. But now that you’ve read our human resources guide, you can buck that trend.

An effective HR department means you can build the best team and keep them satisfied and motivated. It also ensures your firm won’t be caught out by regulations or legislation that could be damaging.

HR may be hard, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. BambooHR provides a seamless HR platform, simplifying everything from hiring to offboarding. We provide HR tools for beginners—all the way to experts in the field. See for yourself just how easy HR can be.