Human resources refers to both the individuals who work for a corporation or organisation and the department in charge of handling all employee-related issues. Employees are one of the most important resources in any company or organisation.
The term “human resources” was introduced in the 1960s, when the importance of labour relations began to be recognised, and concepts like motivation, organisational behaviour, and selection assessments began to take shape in a variety of work environments.
Human resource management is a modern umbrella concept that refers to how a company manages and develops its employees. Human resource management, also known as personnel or talent management (although these words are a little outdated), is responsible for overseeing all aspects of an organization’s human resources management.
Human resource management is therefore focused on a number of major areas, including:
- Recruiting and staffing
- Compensation and benefits
- Training and learning
- Labor and employee relations
- Organization development
Due to the many areas of human resource management, it is typical for professionals in this field to possess specific expertise in one or more areas. Just a few of the related career titles for HR professionals include:
- Training development specialist
- HR manager
- Benefits specialist
- Human resource generalist
- Employment services manager
- Compensation and job analysis specialist
- Training and development manager
- Recruiter
- Benefits counselor
- Personnel analyst