The 7 Major Functions Of HR Activities - ScoutLogic

1. Recruitment and employee screening

Acquiring new talent is a crucial HR function that every business needs to prioritize if they wish to grow. HR professionals tend to be at the forefront of the recruitment process. They will likely be present at a candidate’s first interview and work with hiring managers in specific departments until hiring.

Finding the right people is a crucial task for HR. After all, people are the most valuable component of a successful company.

When a new job or a position opens up, the hiring managers will pass the job details on to the human resources department and third-party recruiting firms. During this process, HR professionals will use a wide range of tools to identify the right talent.

Some of the tools include:

• Background checks
• Interviews
• Checking references
• Digital assessments

Using these processes helps protect the company culture and reduces the risks of a bad hire. Background checks are vital to avoid any lawsuits or liabilities from hiring an underqualified applicant.

Once they find the right people, HR professionals will also help with the onboarding process to transition them to their new working environment.

2. Company benefits and compensation

A company can attract highly sought-after employees by providing them with appealing benefits and fair compensation. Additionally, providing proper compensation and benefits can be an excellent way to motivate current staff and decrease employee turnover rates, which is why it is considered one of the most crucial HR activities.

Maintaining payroll, benefits, and company culture is an essential function of the HR department. Companies need to create attractive salaries while minding profit margins to sustain growth. As a result, HR monitors employee pay and ensures adherence to all company cultural standards.

Employee compensation comes in two forms:

• Primary Compensation. Money in exchange for work (salary) and performance-based pay ( commissions, meeting quotas, etc.)
• Secondary Compensation. Non-monetary forms of compensation include holidays, paid time off, company vehicles, housing, 401K, etc.

HR professionals craft unique and attractive forms of compensation to motivate current employees and attract top-tier talent for new positions.

3. Performance evaluation

Around 90% of employees would prefer to forgo performance reviews and have management evaluate and correct their mistakes in real-time. A knowledgeable HR department can help to meet employee and management needs.

Assessing performance is one of the essential HR activities of the department. They can implement tools to gather data to analyze and report back to the company executives.

Furthermore, they ensure that performance is always on track to meet company standards. HR professionals may also create training programs for managers on how to evaluate and improve employee performance.

HR departments can improve performance metrics that include:

• Learning how to set/monitor company goals
• Providing feedback to employees
• Recognizing accomplishments
• Developing clearer communication channels among teams