HRM Lesson 1

• Capital


  Cash, valuables, or goods used to generate income for a business
• Every organization, large or small, uses a variety of capital to make the business work
• No matter the industry, all companies have one thing in common: They must have people to make their capital work for them
• Human resource management (HRM)

  The process of employing people, training them, compensating them, developing policies relating to them, and developing strategies to retain them
• In the past, HRM meant processing payroll, sending birthday gifts to employees, arranging company outings, and making sure forms were filled out correctly—in other words, more of an administrative role rather than a strategic role crucial to the success of the organization
• Every manager has some role relating to human resource management. Just because we do not have the title of HR manager doesn't mean we won't perform all or at least some of the HRM tasks
• Main roles of HRM

  • Staffing
  • Development of workplace policies
  • Compensation and benefits administration
  • Retention
  • Training and development
  • Dealing with laws affecting employment
  • Worker protection
• Staffing


  1. Development of a staffing plan

  2. Development of policies to encourage multiculturalism at work

  3. Recruitment

  4. Selection
• Staffing plan


  Allows HRM to see how many people they should hire based on revenue expectations
• Multiculturalism in the workplace


  Becoming more and more important, as we have many more people from a variety of backgrounds in the workforce
• Recruitment


  Finding people to fill the open positions
• Selection


  People will be interviewed and selected, and a proper compensation package will be negotiated. This step is followed by training, retention, and motivation
• Workplace policies


  Ensure fairness and continuity within the organization
• Development of workplace policies


  1. HRM, management, and executives are involved in the process

  2. HRM professional will likely recognize the need for a policy or a change of policy, seek opinions on the policy, write the policy, and then communicate that policy to employees
• Examples of workplace policies

  • Discipline process policy
  • Vacation time policy
  • Dress code
  • Ethics policy
  • Internet usage policy
• Compensation and benefits administration

  HRM professionals need to determine that compensation is fair, meets industry standards, and is high enough to entice people to work for the organization
• Retention


  Keeping and motivating employees to stay with the organization
• Reasons for poor retention

  • The job they are performing
  • Challenges with their manager
  • Poor fit with organizational culture
  • Poor workplace environment
• Training and development


  Ensuring employees not only are trained to do the job but also continue to grow and develop new skills in their job
• Examples of training programs


  • Job skills training, such as how to run a particular computer program
  • Training on communication
  • Team-building activities
  • Policy and legal training, such as sexual harassment training and ethics training
• Laws affecting the workplace that HRM professionals must be aware of

  • Discrimination laws
  • Health-care requirements
  • Compensation requirements such as the minimum wage
  • Worker safety laws
  • Labor laws
• Worker protection


  Safety is a major consideration in all organizations. It is up to the human resource manager to be aware of worker protection requirements and ensure the workplace is meeting both federal and union standards
• Worker protection issues


  • Chemical hazards
  • Heating and ventilation requirements
  • Use of "no fragrance" zones
  • Protection of private employee information