10 Roles And Responsibilities Of HR Manager In Organization

Author: Khyati Sagar Updated: August 6, 2025Summarize with AI: ChatGPT Perplexity Claude Google AI Mode

Human Resources is often referred to as the heart of a company, but what does that mean? If you’ve ever wondered who is responsible for ensuring that people are hired and trained, paid on time, and treated fairly while at work, that is the responsibility of HR.

Looking for HR Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best HR Software solutions.

However, HR is not just one person behind their desk. HR is a collaboration of professionals primarily involved in the support of organizational function. 

In this blog, we will explain HR manager roles and responsibilities, and other key aspects of HR. Let’s start.

Quick Overview

HR manager roles and responsibilities go beyond hiring and payroll. They now include strategic planning, employee experience, compliance, and tech adoption.

• Key Responsibilities of HR Managers: Modern HR managers are responsible for recruitment, onboarding, training, performance management, and creating a healthy workplace culture.
• Strategic Involvement: They now play a bigger role in business strategy: aligning workforce planning with company goals, improving retention, and driving employee engagement.
• Technology and Compliance: HR managers must also manage HR tech tools, data privacy, and compliance with evolving labor laws and workplace policies.

What Are The Main Roles Of Human Resources?

Human Resources has a way of influencing the work environment, the employee experience, and the success of the organization long-term.  Let’s explore the five core duties and responsibilities of HR manager, not only explaining what they do, but why it matters in the working world.

1. Human Resources Manager

The Human Resources Manager plays a pivotal role in the HR department. They bring all the moving parts together: hiring, onboarding, training, policies, strategic planning, administrative functions, people care, and development. Here are some of the roles and responsibilities of HR manager: 

Leadership

One of the primary responsibilities of an HR Manager is leadership. An HR manager is not merely a supervisor. They lead the HR team, support managers and leaders in other departments, and make the employees feel value and the workplace better.

Being a leader also includes:

• Establishing trust with teams and departments.
• Advocating for employees, their best interests, and their success.
• Establishing systems to embed fairness, transparency, and respect into day-to-day operations.

Strategy

The key HR manager duties in HRM have shifted from carrying out the administrative tasks of HR professionals to serving as a strategic partner for the business. Today, the duties of HR managers also include collaboration with senior executives to:

• Ensure human resource initiatives align with overall goals.
• Contest estimates of workforce needs against company objectives.
• Create policies and plans to influence company culture and long-term sustainability.

Oversees HR Functions

HR manager job descriptions and responsibilities typically encompass practically every human resource function. They do not have to do everything, but coordinate, lead, manage, and supervise the processes HR specialists are working on. 

Here are some of the things the role of HR manager in HRM will oversee:

• Leading the recruitment process and sourcing the appropriate candidates for the company.
• Directing employee development and training strategies.
• Managing the employee performance reviews and performance improvement plans.
• Developing correct competitive compensation and benefits strategies to retain top talent.
• Ensuring compliance with policy and appropriate updates.
• Managing employee relations and resolving conflicts and issues.
• Influencing and maintaining the health of organizational culture.
• Planning for the future succession and workforce needs.

Also Read: How to Become an HR Manager?

2. Recruiter

The recruiter is a very specific role within the Human Resources function in the area of recruitment and hiring (sometimes referred to as Talent Acquisition). 

While HR managers and HR directors oversee the strategic and organizational side of hiring, recruiters manage the actual day-to-day work of identifying, attracting, and onboarding new employees. Let’s break down the recruiter’s HR roles and responsibilities into three core areas:

Sources Candidates

• Collaborates with internal hiring managers to define staffing needs, forecast timelines for hiring, and allocate the budget for hiring.
• Writes meaningful, impactful job descriptions that define the responsibilities of the job, required skills, and expectations for an open role.
• Disseminates job postings through various outlets, including job boards, career pages, social media, newspaper ads, third-party recruitment agencies, and job fairs.
•  Uses HR software, recruitment tools, and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to record candidates’ information and ultimately target recruiting.
• Proactively sources potential candidates from a variety of platforms, such as LinkedIn, employee-referral programs, or cold calls.
• Contributes to the employer branding efforts to improve how candidates and employees perceive the organization’s values, culture, and employee benefits.
• Supports diversity and inclusion initiatives by developing gender-neutral job descriptions and making efforts to widen their candidate search.

Screens Applicants

• Reviews applications and resumes to determine which candidates possess the qualifications required for the specific role.
• Reads the cover letter and then considers and verifies the qualifications required by the specific role to eliminate candidates who don’t meet minimum requirements.
• Holds preliminary interviews, which might be phone or video calls, to assess the candidate’s communication skills, culture fit, and readiness for the role.
• Coordinates feedback from stakeholders and guides to focus on meaningful evaluation of the candidate’s fit for the role.

Manages Hiring Process

• Organizes and manages follow-up interviews with decision-makers when needed.
• Conducts background checks, references, and administrative duties related to candidate vetting.
• Prepares and sends job offers.
• In some cases, negotiates salary and benefits packages based on internal pay ranges and with considerations given to both the organization’s compensation structures and the interested candidates.
• Ensures ongoing communication with candidates in order to provide a positive hiring experience.
• Prepares new hires for onboarding by giving expectations, schedules, and introductions to internal groups.
• Collaborates with HR managers to manage hiring against workforce planning and compliance with labor standards.

3. HR Generalist

The HR Generalist is often seen as the “jack-of-all-trades” in an HR department. It is among the most versatile roles in HR, and it is a common first step to a career as an HR professional.

Handles Multiple HR Areas

• Covers a wide variety of HR strategies and functions such as recruiting, onboarding, training, employee relations, compensation, compliance, and performance management.
• Learns a wide experience that provides a general knowledge of the operations of HR departments.
• Best entry-level position to develop a strong foundation for a career in HR.
• Prepares an individual for future specialization or advancement into HR management or HR director roles.

Employee Relations

• Acts as an employee’s primary contact for any concerns, questions, or disputes of any kind.
• Assists with the fair and professional resolution of workplace issues.
• Facilitates the positive working relationship between staff employees and management.
• It is crucial for a healthy and respectful culture at work.

Benefits Administration

• Helps employees enroll in and understand their benefits options, such as health insurance and retirement accounts.
• Communicates information about leave policies, paid time off rules, and other benefits available to workers.
• Makes certain that benefit-related procedures operate smoothly and in accordance with company policies.

4. Training and Development Specialist

A Training and Development Specialist must assist employees in developing professionally by developing learning experiences to enhance employees’ skills, knowledge, and performance. Let’s break down their roles and responsibilities:

Design Training Programs

• Adds structured onboarding programs for new employees.
• Evaluates training needs across departments.
• Sets learning objectives and determines training methods.
• Develops training content and materials.
• Selects and coordinates trainers or facilitators.

Facilitates Learning

• Facilitates learning by using several types of training (online, in-person, workshops).
• Ensures employee orientation and leadership development training.
• Provides training on the job, off-site conferences, and educational reimbursements.
• Makes available employee learning portals and HR systems to help provide employee-driven driven self-directed learning.

Employee Skill Enhancement

• Assists employees in developing their skills in line with their current role and/or future role.  
• Facilitates career advancement through formalized development plans.  
• Mainly focuses on upskilling, primarily driven by changes in the market and/or technology.  
• Provides advice and coaching for employees to improve as individuals.   
• Monitors and measures if their training has been effective in improving outcomes.  
• Identifies training budgets and aligns training programs/initiatives with business objectives.

Suggested Read: Training and Development in HRM

5. Compensation and Benefits Analyst

Although the title compensation and benefits analyst may not always be used in writing or speech, the activities and work typically involved in that function are clearly stated in this area of Human Resource Management. Here is how this role fits into an HR structure:

Manages Pay Structures

Compensation and benefits are consistently recognized as a very important area of human resource management. The HR manager or HR director has overall responsibility for managing its pay structures, such as: 

• Analyzing the pay practices of competitors.
• Benchmarking salaries using market data.
• Developing a framework for formal compensation.
• Developing packages of rewards, including bonuses, performance-related pay, and profit-sharing.
• Determining an employee’s value to inform fair compensation.

Administers Benefits

This includes managing employee benefits programs. HR professionals who engaged in this area:

• Develop benefits packages: health insurance, retirement benefits, wellness programs.
• Select and manage third-party vendors.
• Clearly communicate benefits with employees.
• Stay current with trends and offerings to keep packages competitive.

Ensures Compliance

Compensation and benefits management demands legal compliance consideration. Their work includes, but is not limited to:

• Managing a complicated pay structure, including payroll deductions.
• Ensuring reward systems that are equitable and fair.
• Keeping updated on taxation rules, worker rights, and compensation trends.
• Managing complex payroll software, accurate reporting, and compliance records.

Smaller firms probably will combine this with existing HR duties, while larger companies tend to have separate teams or specialists. The report and benefits aspects need analysts whose focus is on the design of reward systems, compliance with wellness initiatives, and optimization of rewards and benefits.

What Are The Key Functions Handled By HR?

HR functions are the fundamental roles that keep the workplace structured, productive, and people-oriented. An HR function helps organizations recruit, develop, support, and retain workers, often considered their most invaluable asset. 

Though various sources may categorize these functions in different ways, the components below are universally considered the key pillars of Human Resource Management:

1. Recruitment & Staffing

This function includes everything associated with recruiting, hiring, and onboarding potential new employees. It includes writing job descriptions, advertising job openings, reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and making official offers. 

Collectively, this part of the HR function facilitates a welcoming, well-informed, and successful way for new employees to step into their roles. During this process, the hiring manager generally works closely with a member of HR to find the best candidate for their specific department.

2. Employee Relations

Employee relations, or employee and management relations, is focused on creating a productive environment for employees and management to work together toward a common goal.

 Clearly, implementing an internal communication strategy, being receptive to employee feedback and engagement, and establishing and maintaining trust with employees are critical to the effective functioning of this function of human resource management. 

The employee relations function also includes HR’s role in employee conflict engagement or resolution, as well as the importance of maintaining a productive relationship among internal departments.

3. Compensation & Benefits

The compensation and benefits function aims to ensure that employees are compensated fairly for their work, designing competitive salary structures, benefits, health insurance plans, retirement plans, bonuses, and other benefits. 

Usually, a compensation and benefits analyst is responsible for this function, ensuring the organization meets market standards while remaining compliant with laws and internal policy.

4. Training & Development

Training and development programs, or learning and development, are also devoted to developing employees. In the employee training programs, there is an assessment of skills gap, designing learning plans, hosting workshops, and providing career development opportunities. 

Usually, this is done by a training and development specialist who is responsible for many of the training and development initiatives, ensuring employees continue to be developed and effective in their roles.

5. Performance Management

Performance management encompasses performance reviews, recognition of good performance, and performance improvement plans. 

The goal of performance management is to help staff align their performance with the company’s objectives, improve employee satisfaction, and facilitate opportunities for continuing professional growth.  

6. HR Policy Development

Policies provide a basis for behaviours and expectations in the workplace. Policies are the responsibility of HR to write and update, implement, and enforce. They might include codes of conduct, respect in the workplace, workplace ethics, hours of work and roster changes, and leaves of absence. 

Clear policies ensure favorable conditions for both employees and the organization through awareness, transparency, and consistency related to policies and procedures.

You May Also Read: Essential HR Policies and Procedures

7. Compliance

Compliance encompasses the adherence of the company to the rules and regulations set out by legislation, regulations, and/or industry standards latest policies. Compliance may include adherence to anti-discrimination laws, health and safety regulations, and labour practices.

 HR works with the internal and external legal teams on due diligence and risk management, in order to help maintain ethical and legal work practices. HR Compliance also includes review, revision, and development of internal and external compliance processes, and audits, where applicable.

Additional HR Roles And Responsibilities

In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, modern HR is responsible for:

• Occupational Safety, Health and Wellbeing: HR is responsible for a safe working environment, employee concerns, and people's physical and mental well-being.
• Workforce Planning and Strategy: Modern-day HR must align human resources plans and strategies with anticipated future business plans and anticipate staffing requirements.
• Talent Management and Succession Planning: HR must identify candidates and develop leaders of the future, while still having high-performing employees engaged with the company.
• Positive Company Culture and DEI initiatives: A workplace that reflects DEI and stays true to its values, resulting in a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• HR Administration and HRIS and Analytics: Record keeping and managing data and analytics through HRIS.

What Skills And Knowledge Do HR Professionals Need?

To be effective in Human Resources, a mix of soft skills, technical skills, and strategic thinking is required. While the skills and knowledge needed will differ according to the role and level of responsibility within HR, the objectives and fundamentals will remain the same. 

Here is a breakdown of the most important skills and areas of knowledge that HR professionals should work to develop.

1. Communication

Effective communication drives every single HR role. Explaining policy, addressing employee issues/concerns, discussing hiring needs, and explaining performance development plans are only a few examples of situations HR professionals will find themselves in. HR professionals need to be competent in both written and oral communication.

HR professionals must also understand how to adapt their communication style and tone for the situation. Open and transparent communications support trust and shared understanding across the workplace.

2. Interpersonal Skills

Having good interpersonal skills allows human resources professionals to relate to employees, management, and teams genuinely across the organization. These skills rely on good empathy, emotional intelligence, and active listening to foster positive relationships, enhance the work environment, and support all the employees of an organization. 

The importance of empathy is particularly evident in employee relations and mediating a conflict. When people feel as though they are being heard and understood, they are more likely to have a sense of feeling valued while working.

3. Problem-Solving

HR professionals frequently face issues that are sensitive or complex. This could consist of disputes between employees, performance issues, or unclear policies. You must have the experience to assess the situation, think critically, and find an appropriate and effective way to solve the problem.

In HR generalist or HR manager types of roles, you often work on multiple projects at once, many of which require you to problem-solve each day. You might need to make decisions that consider the needs of employees while balancing company objectives.

4. Knowledge of Labor Law

There’s really no way around learning about employment laws and regulations. Each HR practitioner must understand national labor laws, occupational health and safety standards, equal opportunity laws, compliance regulations, etc. 

HR personnel are the party responsible for developing organizational policies and ensuring that the way employees are hired, the performance review process, and the separation process are performed legally. When HR is aware of legal standards, both the company and the employee are better protected from risk.

5. Strategic Thinking

HR roles today extend way beyond typical day-to-day functions. Strategic thinking has taken on greater importance than ever, especially for HR managers and directors. They are expected to align their HR practices with long-term business strategies like enhancing employee retention rates, nurturing a growing business, and strategizing about future hires.

Strategic HR leaders understand not only people, but also truly understand the business, and use data, workforce trends, and insights to help the company be more proactive about their planning.

Also Read: What is Strategic Human Resource Management?

 How Do HR Roles And Functions Impact the Organization?

HR has evolved away from simply administrative paperwork. Today, human resources professionals, particularly the HR manager and/or HR director, have a direct impact on an organization’s direction, success, and resilience. They influence hiring, engagement, compliance, leadership, and long-term strategy. Let’s take a look at how each directly impacts organizations.

1. Employee Engagement

Engaged employees work harder, stay longer, and invest more in their work. HR contributes to a positive workplace culture through its policies and practices that promote respect, inclusivity, and growth. 

HR is responsible for onboarding, training, and development programs to promote respect, inclusivity, and growth. Through these various interactions with the employee, HR ensures that the employee feels valued, which is related to satisfaction and turnover. 

Disengaged employees cost organizations in several ways. Thus, to keep people engaged is, beyond a soft skill, a business imperative.

Did You Know? Employee engagement in the US fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged.

2. Talent Acquisition

Hiring a good candidate is not just about filling a vacancy; it is about the future of the company. The role of human resource managers includes drafting recruiting strategies, designing competitive benefits, and deciding on the onboarding process steps.

 A great hire can advance a team’s efforts, while a poor hire can set things back. Human resource managers need to focus on good hiring, onboarding, and retention as part of their roles and responsibilities, which is very relevant today.

3. Workforce Planning

HR leaders think ahead, whether that’s adding to the team to grow the business or preparing the next generation of leaders. Strategic workforce planning involves succession planning, using HR metrics to make good staffing decisions, and aligning people strategies with the needs of the organization. 

HR leaders are also planning potential conflicts, and this allows them to stay present for the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

4. Conflict Resolution

Workplaces experience conflict, naturally. HR has a fair and professional way of managing the risks, they are managing; the policies, adopting; and the situation, resolving when it first appears. 

The HR manager’s responsibilities include providing a safe, respectful workplace that helps people collaborate. With the HR leader having the company’s back, the expectations of the organization don’t remain lost in a disagreement.

Other Key Impacts

In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, modern HR is responsible for:

• Compliance & Risk: The human resources department manages compliance, ensuring the organization is compliant with relevant laws, avoiding costly legal problems.
• Performance & Productivity: Human resources builds team performance and productivity via training and performance-based systems.
• Leadership Development: The Human Resource department helps build up the leaders of the future while aligning and creating teams that meet business needs.
• Operational Efficiency: HR Teams at all levels have access to automation and data tools that help enhance the speed of action and decision making.

Conclusion

Every successful company has a functional human resources department. HR is the department that lays the foundation for company culture, employee experiences, long-term strategy, and organizational success. 

HR works to find the right fit for people, helps people develop and grow, pays them fairly, deals with conflict, and builds a place that employees are proud to be part of. 

Suppose a company wants to attract the best talent, retain great employees, and remain competitive in the future. In that case, it needs to invest in its HR department. If you are confused about how to do it the right way, you can check out the top picks for the best HR software available in the market to streamline every process.

Published : August 5, 2025

Khyati Sagar

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Khyati Sagar is a seasoned HR and payroll expert with over a decade of experience in the field. She has worked with businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large corporations, helping them optimize their HR and payroll processes. As a passionate advocate for technology-driven solutions, she is always on the lookout for the latest advancements in HR and payroll software. When she's not working, you can find her hiking or playing basketball with her friends and family.