http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_role.

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Question: What Does a Human Resources Manager, Generalist, or Director Do?
Answer:
A Human Resources generalist, manager, or director plays a wide variety of roles in
organizations. Depending on the size of the organization, these HR jobs may have overlapping
responsibilities. In larger organizations, the HR generalist, manager, and director have clearly
defined, separated roles in HR management.
These roles bring progressively more authority and responsibility in the hands of the manager,
then the director, and ultimately, the Vice President who may lead several departments including
administration.
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HR Human Resources

What Is HR

HR Solution

HR System

HR Training
HR directors, and occasionally HR managers, may head up several different departmentsthat are
each led by functional or specialized HR staff such as the training manager, thecompensation
manager, or the recruiting manager.
Human Resources staff members are advocates for both the company and the people who work
in the company. Consequently, a good HR professional performs a constant balancing act to meet
both needs successfully.

The Changing Human Resources Role

The role of the HR professional is changing to fit the needs of today's modern, fast changing
organizations. In the past, because the original HR personnel functions were often provided by
accounting, the HR role was focused on administrative tasks such as paying employees,
administering benefits, and keeping track of sick and personal days off.
But, a more comprehensive approach to the management of people in the organization was
needed. Programs and processes that systematically hired employees, retained employees, and
dealt with all aspects of talent management evolved in the best organizations.
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Then, the role evolved again. Still responsible for the administrative tasks and the programs and
processes related to people, the best HR professionals are now leading the charge.
They are developing systems and processes within the organization that address the strategic
needs of the business. So, what was once the task of hiring employees is now the process of
team-based hiring of the best possible talented employees who are recruited via methods that
range from employee referrals to social media sourcing.
These employees are also congruent with the company's culture. This is quite a different journey,
one that continues to evolve.
New HR Role
The role of the HR manager must parallel the needs of this developing, changing organization.
Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change direction, and
customer-centered. They recognize that organizations will vie for talent in coming years.
This recognition brings about the need for employee oriented workplaces and programs that meet
the needs of employees for meaningful work, growth, challenge, communication, and effective
leadership.
Within this environment, the HR professional, who is respected by line managers and
consequently, whose talents are utilized by managers, is responsible for new roles. In Human
Resource Champions, Dave Ulrich, one of the more popular speakers and writers in the HR
field , and a professor at the University of Michigan, recommends three additional roles for the
HR manager.

a strategic partner,

an employee sponsor or advocate and

a change mentor.
At the same time, especially the HR Generalist, still has responsibility for the day-to-day
employee problems and complaints, employee benefits administration, often payroll, and
employee paperwork, especially in the absence of an HR Assistant.
Responsibilities of the HR Professional
Depending on the size of the organization, the HR manager has responsibility for all of the
functions that deal with the needs and activities of the organization's people including these areas
of responsibility.

Recruiting

Hiring

Training

Organization Development

Communication

Performance Management

Coaching

Policy Recommendation

Salary and Benefits

Team Building

Employee Relations

Leadership
When you ask the question, what does the HR manager, generalist or director do, as you can see,
the answer is a lot. The role bears responsibility for all of the processes and systems related to
people in an organization. The role must support the work of managers who supervise and lead
the work of these people.
The HR professionals must develop the skills of their managers and their organization to do these
activities well. The job of the HR professional is a constant challenge as HR staff balance many
roles and activities in support of their organizations.
Want even more detailed information about the job descriptions and responsibilities of HR
professionals? Take a look at these job descriptions.
Human Resources Job Descriptions

Human Resources Assistant

Human Resources Generalist

Human Resources Manager

Human Resources Director

Human Resources Recruiter

More About a Career in Human Resources

Beginning a Career in Human Resources

Mid-career Change and Mid-career Development

Later Career Change and Later Career Development

Career Success

Some industry commentators call the Human Resources function the last bastion of bureaucracy.
Traditionally, the role of the Human Resourceprofessional in many organizations has been to
serve as the systematizing, policing arm of executive management. Their role was more closely
aligned with personnel and administration functions that were viewed by the organization as
paperwork.
When you consider that the initial HR function, in many companies, comes out of the
administration or finance department because hiring employees, paying employees, and dealing
with benefits were the organization's first HR needs, this is not surprising.
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HR Human Resources

What Is HR

HR Solution

HR System

HR Training
In this role, the HR professional served executive agendas well, but was frequently viewed as a
road block by much of the rest of the organization. Some need for this role remains you
wouldnt want every manager putting his own spin on a sexual harassmentpolicy, for example.
Nor can every manager interpret and implement the employee handbook as she chooses. Payroll
and benefits need administration, even if they are now electronically handled.
In this role, employees regarded HR as the enemy and going to HR was the kiss of death for your
ongoing relationship with your own manager. Employees believed, and were often correct, that
the HR function was in place solely to serve management.
Stories shared on this website by readers for years are hard on HR professionals. They criticize
everything from their education to their professionalism to their support for employees. More
importantly, they accuse HR professionals of misleading employees, failing to keep employee
information confidential, and exhibiting poor practices in areas such as investigations, benefits
options, and hiring employees.
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HR Needs to Transform
If the HR role in your organization is not transforming itself to align with forward thinking
practices, executive leadership must ask HR leaders some tough questions. Todays organizations
cannot afford to have an HR department that fails to contribute to lead modern thinking
and contribute to enhanced company profitability.

In this environment, much of the HR role is transforming. The role of the HR manager, director,
or executive must parallel the needs of his or her changing organization. Successful
organizations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and customercentered.
Three New HR Roles
Within this environment, the HR professional, who is considered necessary by managers and
executives, is a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate and a change mentor.
These roles were recommended and discussed in Human Resource Champions, by Dr. Dave
Ulrich, one of the best thinkers and writers in the HR field today, and a professor at the
University of Michigan.
The HR professionals who understand these roles are leading their organizations in areas such as
organization development, strategic utilization of employees to serve business goals, and talent
management and development.
Lets take a look at each of these roles and their impact on HR functions and practices.
Strategic Partner
In todays organizations, to guarantee their viability and ability to contribute, HR managers need
to think of themselves as strategic partners. In this role, the HR person contributes to the
development of and the accomplishment of the organization-wide business plan and objectives.
The HR business objectives are established to support the attainment of the overall strategic
business plan and objectives. The tactical HR representative is deeply knowledgeable about the
design of work systems in which people succeed and contribute.
This strategic partnership impacts HR services such as the design of work positions; hiring;
reward, recognition and strategic pay; performance development and appraisal systems; career
and succession planning; and employee development. When HR professionals are aligned with
the business, the personnel component of the organization is thought about as a strategic
contributor to business success.
To be successful business partners, the HR staff members have to think like business people,
know finance and accounting, and be accountable and responsible for cost reductions and the
measurement of all HR programs and processes. It's not enough to ask for a seat at the executive
table; HR people will have to prove they have the business savvy necessary to sit there.
More Related to the HR Strategic Role

How to Do Human Resources Strategic Planning

Develop a Human Resources Department Business Plan

Create Value With Human Resource Measures

Employee Advocate

As an employee sponsor or advocate, the HR manager plays an integral role in organizational

success via his knowledge about and advocacy of people. This advocacy includes expertise in
how to create a work environment in which people will choose to be motivated, contributing, and
happy.
Fostering effective methods of goal setting, communication and empowerment through
responsibility, builds employee ownership of the organization. The HR professional helps
establish the organizational culture and climate in which people have the competency, concern
and commitment to serve customers well.
In this role, the HR manager provides overall talent management strategies, employee
development opportunities, employee assistance programs, gain sharing and profitsharingstrategies, organization development interventions, due process approaches to employee
complaints and problem solving, and regularly scheduled communication opportunities.
Change Champion
The constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization results in the need for the HR
professional to frequently champion change. Both knowledge about and the ability to execute
successful change strategies make the HR professional exceptionally valued. Knowing how to
link change to the strategic needs of the organization will minimize employee dissatisfaction and
resistance to change.
Organization development, the overarching discipline for change management strategies, gives
the HR professional additional challenges. Consciously helping to create the right organization
culture, monitoring employee satisfaction, and measuring the results of organization initiatives
fall here as well as in the role of employee advocacy.
The HR professional contributes to the organization by constantly assessing the effectiveness of
the HR function. She also sponsors change in other departments and in work practices. To
promote the overall success of her organization, she champions the identification of the
organizational mission, vision, values, goals and action plans. Finally, she helps determine the
measures that will tell her organization how well it is succeeding in all of this.

Primary Responsibilities of a Human Resource Manager

by Ruth Mayhew, Demand Media
Similar to other department managers, a human resource manager has two basic functions:
overseeing department functions and managing employees. For this reason, a human resources
manager must be well-versed in each of the human resources disciplines compensation and

benefits, training and development, employee relations, and recruitment and selection. Core
competencies HR managers have are solid communication skills and decision-making
capabilities based on analytical skills and critical thought processes.
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Overall Responsibilities
Human resource managers have strategic and functional responsibilities for all of the HR
disciplines. A human resource manager has the expertise of an HR generalist combined with
general business and management skills. In large organizations, a human resource manager
reports to the human resource director or a C-level human resource executive. In smaller
companies, some HR managers perform all of the department's functions or work with an HR
assistant or generalist that handles administrative matters. Regardless of the size of department or
the company, a human resource manager should have the skills to perform every HR function, if
necessary.
Compensation and Benefits
Human resource managers provide guidance and direction to compensation and benefits
specialists. Within this discipline, human resources managers develop strategic compensation
plans, align performance management systems with compensation structure and monitor
negotiations for group health care benefits. Examples of human resource manager
responsibilities include monitoring Family and Medical Leave Act compliance and adherence to
confidentiality provisions for employee medical files. Human resource managers for small
companies might also conduct open enrollment for employees' annual elections pertaining to
health care coverage.
Related Reading: The Significance of Human Resource Management Systems
Training and Development
Employee training and development includes new hire orientation, leadership training and
professional development seminars and workshops. Human resource managers oversee needs
assessments to determine when training is necessary and the type of training necessary to
improve performance and productivity. Human resource managers responsible for conducting
needs assessment have a hands-on role in evaluating overall employee performance to decide if
the workforce would benefit from additional training and orientation. They examine employee
performance records to identify areas where employees could improve through job skills training
or employee development, such as seminars or workshops on leadership techniques.They also
play an integral role in implementing employee development strategy and succession planning
based on training and professional development. Human resource managers responsible for
succession planning use their knowledge of employee development, training and future business
needs to devise career tracks for employees who demonstrate the aptitude and desire for upward
mobility.

Employee Relations
Although the employee relations specialist is responsible for investigating and resolving
workplace issues, the human resource manager has ultimate responsibility for preserving the
employer-employee relationship through designing an effective employee relations strategy. An
effective employee relations strategy contains specific steps for ensuring the overall well-being
of employees. It also ensures that employees have a safe working environment, free from
discrimination and harassment. Human resource managers for small businesses conduct
workplace investigations and resolve employee complaints. Human resource managers may also
be the primary contact for legal counsel in risk mitigation activities and litigation pertaining to
employee relations matters. An example of risk mitigation handled by a human resource manager
includes examining current workplace policies and providing training to employees and
managers on those policies to minimize the frequency of employee complaints due to
misinterpretation or misunderstanding of company policies.
Recruitment and Selection
Human resource managers develop strategic solutions to meet workforce demands and labor
force trends. An employment manager actually oversees the recruitment and selection processes;
however, an HR manager is primarily responsible for decisions related to corporate branding as it
relates to recruiting and retaining talented employees. For example, a human resource manager
in a health care firm might use her knowledge about nursing shortages to develop a strategy for
employee retention, or for maintaining the current staffing levels. The strategy might include
developing an incentive program for nurses or providing nurses with cross-training so they can
become certified in different specialties to become more valuable to the organization. Corporate
branding as it relates to recruitment and retention means promoting the company as an employer
of choice. Human resource managers responsible for this usually look at the recruitment and
selection process, as well as compensation and benefits to find ways to appeal to highly qualified
applicants.

Identify the Need for a Policy

You want to have the necessary policies and procedures to ensure a safe, organized, convivial,
empowering, nondiscriminatory work place. Yet, you do not want to write a policy for every
exception to accepted and expected behavior. Policy development is for the many employees not
for the few exceptions.
Consequently, you do not want to create policies for every contingency, thus allowing very little
management latitude in addressing individual employee needs. Conversely, you want to have
needed policies, so that employees never feel as if they reside in a free-for-all environment of
favoritism and unfair treatment.

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HR Human Resources

Employee

HR Training

HR System

HR Policies
These ten steps will take you from determining the need for a policy through distributing and
integrating a policy.
Check Out These Guidelines to See if a Policy Is Needed
For each of the reasons provided about why a policy might be necessary, I have provided
examples of the policies that might fall into that category of need for a policy. A policy is
necessary:

if the actions of employees indicate confusion about the most appropriate way to behave
(dress codes, email and Internet policies, cell phone use),

if guidance is needed about the most suitable way to handle various situations (standards
of conduct, travel expenditures, purchase of company merchandise),

when needed to protect the company legally (consistent investigation of charges

ofharassment, non-discriminatory hiring and promotion),

to keep the company in compliance with governmental policies and laws (FMLA, ADA,
EEOC, minimum wage),

to establish consistent work standards, rules, and regulations (progressive discipline,

safety rules, break rules, smoking rules), and

to provide consistent and fair treatment for employees (benefits eligibility, paid time
off,tuition assistance, bereavement time, jury duty).
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There may be other reasons, additionally, for why you may want to develop a policy. Remember,
though, that one employee's poor behavior should not require a policy that will affect all other
employees.
Articulate the Goal of the Policy
Once you've determined that a policy is necessary, determine the goal you want to accomplish in
writing the particular policy. When possible, you will want to tell employees why the policy is
being implemented.
You need enough details in the policy to make the company's position clear, yet you can never
hope to cover every potential situation addressed by the policy.
Consequently, my goal with a policy is short and simple. I recognize this may not be possible
with policies about areas such as the company's approach to the Family Medical and Leave Act,
discrimination or complaint investigation, or the progressive discipline system.

But, how much can you really say about driving while talking on a cell phone? So, use common
sense as you determine the outcome you want from your policy.

Change Management, Organization Development, Culture

The development of your organization and, particularly, how you manage change impacts the
success of your business. Organization development activities intervene in the interactions of
your people systems such as formal and informal groups, work culture and climate, and
organization design to increase their effectiveness using a variety of applied behavioral sciences.