Types of Human Resources

HR includes functions that involve every other department in your business, from onboarding new hires to ensuring everyone in the organization gets paid correctly. HR operates unlike any other department because it’s dealing directly with employees’ satisfaction, development, motivation, and retention—which affects every part of the business. 

So what does a breakdown of responsibilities look like for a department that has such an all-encompassing role as managing people as resources? Types of human resources run the gamut. From dealing with individual issues that arise with employees all the way to working with executives to make policy decisions that define the organization, HR is there every step of the way. And this could be the same person, depending on the size of your organization, or you can outsource HR services.

How many types of human resources are there?

Think of HR as dealing with employees through their entire lifecycle, beginning to end: recruitment, hiring, onboarding, job satisfaction, employee development, and finally termination/departure/retirement. And throughout that lifecycle, your HR team is also dealing with benefits and health care, as well as payroll. That’s a lot to handle, especially as your team increases in number. 

For medium to large sized organizations, there’s a good chance you’ll have to break up the different responsibilities HR handles, depending on how extensive your HR department is. An example of human resources is listed below, categorized in the ways you might organize the various roles.  

• Recruitment, talent acquisition, and hiring employees – A steady stream of talent is imperative for your business to succeed. Your HR team researches potential hires, attends job fairs, meets with potential employees, and is responsible for managing the application process. 

• Payroll, compensation, benefits – While payroll is sometimes delegated to bookkeepers, HR is often responsible for ensuring employees are compensated correctly, and ensuring a position is being compensated competitively. 

• Onboarding – More than signing paperwork is involved with onboarding new employees, including: introduction to the company’s policies, initial training, and administrative document distribution (employee handbooks, etc.). Training alone is a dynamic part of employment and will continue between HR and your employees through their career. 

• Performance management – If one of your managers is having performance issues with an employee, their next step is usually to get HR involved to determine appropriate, legal ways of addressing the issue. HR, while not in direct contact with your day-to-day business practices, plays a role in getting the best performance from your employees. 

• Employee development, organization, and culture – While hiring the right people is part of creating the company culture you want from your business, it also requires employee engagement and development. Beyond training, employees need to feel they’re growing with the company. Organization and employee structure can be included with this, and it’s not uncommon for HR to meet with managers to discuss potential roles for successful employees. 

What are the functions of human resource management?

Your HR management drives the ship to ensure each of these HR responsibilities is fully implemented and accounted for. At a higher level, your HR management oversees all employer-employee relations, acting as the intermediary to ensure both sides are represented. High-level functions of human resource management include:

• Develop and Define Company Culture – Your culture will attract talent, and that requires deliberate brainstorming and planning which will lean heavily on your HR management. 

• Creating HR Programs – From employee recognition events to 401k education, there are many types of HR programs management can create and implement to help company culture. 

• Creating a Safe and Healthy Work Environment for Everyone – You need to be able to trust your HR management to create a safe, welcoming environment for all employees. A certified, trained management team will identify potential weaknesses in policy and culture. 

• Handling Disciplinary Actions and Terminations – Not only does it help to have an outside perspective on situations that might require disciplinary action or termination, but there are legal requirements you need to adhere to. You can’t downplay the importance of human resource management, and they will be able to jump into any disciplinary situation with a deft understanding of the proper steps.

Have you evaluated the types of human resources your business needs and how well you’re equipped to handle those challenges? If not, you might consider outsourcing counsel to determine your needs. 

At Milestone, we know how important it is to get the right outsourced HR help when you need it, whether that’s helping an established team with HR responsibilities or providing temporary HR management until you find permanent members for your team. The types of HR needs change, business to business. We provide HR guidance to fit your business’ specific needs, every step of the way. 

Our team of certified professionals has experience improving businesses by offering HR support—whether with staffing or guidance—to meet your needs. Learn more about Milestone and the work we do today.