Human Resources Management, what is it?

Human Resources management: a function with many dimensions

Human Resources Management has many dimensions since it concerns the life and work of employees in the company: recruitment, payroll, regulations, but also internal communication, social dialogue and development strategy.

The administrative aspect

The objective of HR management is to efficiently administer the company's personnel resources. This requires a decentralized organization of the HR function: some employee managers have HR management tasks in their job description. Because of their hierarchical position and level of responsibility, they are responsible for recruiting their team, organizing it, etc.

The development of employee motivation and involvement

HR management aims at performance, which is why it focuses its attention on the motivation and involvement of personnel, who are the real drivers of the company.

Motivation, i.e. the intense commitment of the employee to fulfill his or her mission, is manifested by various elements such as enthusiasm, assiduity and perseverance, which are the basis of team productivity.

HR management must enable the employee :

To correctly apprehend, understand and adapt to their work environment and to the different situations they are or will be confronted with, in order to feel in full possession of their means, confident and capable,
to have the freedom to adjust the intensity of their work according to the tasks they perform and their own judgment,
to carry out its action or mission until its completion.

To achieve these objectives, the manager has many means of action :

Vary the tasks,
Share the power,
Propose promotions,
Increase compensation,
Offer participation,
Enable employee training, etc.

Fostering change:

This means encouraging new, effective behaviors through training and certain engagement programs such as new work arrangements or compensation. The digitalization of companies affects all departments, including HR. Whether it involves business tools or support function tools, HR management has the task of successfully implementing them. Change management can also involve other aspects: changes in management, strategy, location, etc.

The missions and tasks of Human Resources management:

The management of Human Resources within the HR department has many dimensions, all of which aim at the smooth running of the company through the quality of the exchange between the employees and the company. The different tasks and missions assigned to the Human Resources management are :

The management of the human resources policy
Design of action plans
HR management
Steering operations related to employment and skills management
The organization of consultation and social dialogue with employee representatives
The formulation of proposals for improvement
Monitoring the application of legal and regulatory obligations
Administrative management of personnel
The design of monitoring and management supports
The design of personnel management procedures
Monitoring and updating of professional and regulatory documentation.

Required skills in Human Resources management

The HR manager must be able to link the different dimensions of the HR management mission in order to have a global strategic vision that allows him/her to orient his/her actions. Thus, he/she must have mandatory skills such as :

Knowledge of law; labor law and social legislation
Regulatory watch
Management, Training engineering
Social dialogue and prevention of psychosocial risks, Management of social relations
Internal Audit
Human Resources Management, Human Resources Indicators, Interview techniques
International Human Resources Management
Office and digital tools

As well as, in France, the Job and Competency Planning method (Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences).

The forward-looking management of jobs and skills (GPEC) is a method for adapting - in the short and medium term - jobs, staffing and skills to the requirements arising from the strategy of companies and changes in their economic, technological, social and legal environments.

The GPEC is a forward-looking human resources management approach that allows us to support change.

It must allow for a collective understanding of employment and skills issues and the construction of cross-cutting solutions that simultaneously meet the challenges of all the players involved: companies, territories and the workforce. (source: French Ministry of Labor)

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