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Human Resource ManagementLeap, Terry. "Human Resource Management."

Human resource (HR) management (also known aspersonnel management) focuses

on the management of an organizations employees. HR management is especially

critical to the core competencies of health care organizations, which rely hea!ily onattracting an retaining #uality personnel.

THE ROLE OF HR MANAGEMENT

HR management is astaff function$ecause it pro!ies support to a health care

organizations managers. %nlike some organizational functions such as purchasing or

legal that are almost entirely self&containe, many of the HR functions are thejoint

responsi$ility of the HR epartment an managerial or super!isory personnel. 'hen a

nurse is hire, for eample, the hospital HR epartment typically pro!ies support

acti!ities such as processing the written application, scheuling an inter!iew, anensuring that the necessary ta an $enefit paperwork ha!e $een complete. The

actual hiring ecision, howe!er, is usually left up to the nursing super!isor who will

$e working irectly with the new hire. The HR epartment also formulates an

implements a !ariety of HR policies (for eample, the hospitals affirmati!e action

plan).

The HR function has four essential functions

*. To help the health care institution to ac#uire the $est employees (through +o$

analysis, +o$ esign, recruitment, an selection)

. To maimize employee contri$utions to the health care organizations missionan strategies (through performance appraisal, training, an e!elopment)

-. To ena$le the health care organization to ientify an retain competent

employees an get ri of incompetent or counterproucti!e employees

(through performance appraisal, compensation management, employee

iscipline, an control)

. To ensure that the health care organization complies with rele!ant legislation

(e#ual employment opportunity, health an safety, compensation an $enefit,

an other laws)

THE HR MAJOR FUNCTIONSHR management typically entails the following highly interrelate functions

Job analysis and designin!ol!es systematically gathering information on the

+o$ (+o$ escription), etermining the knowlege, skills, an a$ilities neee

to perform the +o$ competently (+o$ specification), an esigning a +o$ that

can $e performe efficiently an competently $y a #ualifie employee.

HR planningis the process of $alancing a health care organizations HR

supply an eman so that shortages or ecesses of certain personnel are

a!oie. HR planning, for eample, might in!ol!e etermining how many

aitional physicians, nurses, therapists, an support technical personnel will

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$e neee to staff an epane sports meicine center in a large su$ur$an

hospital.

Employee recruitmentin!ol!es assem$ling a pool of +o$ applicants from

which the health care organization can raw. Recruitment in!ol!es ientifying

an using !arious recruitment sources (for eample, a pri!ate employment

agency, temporary help agency, uni!ersity placement office). HR managersrecognize that recruitment sources !ary with respect to the type an #uality of

applicant that they yiel an the epense that they in!ol!e.

Employee selectionin!ol!es ientifying an hiring the $est applicants from

the recruitment pool. The selection process in!ol!es the intelligent use of

selection preictors (e!ices use to gather information to /preict0 whether

an employee will perform competently) such as application $lanks, inter!iews,

$ackgroun checks, personality an integrity tests, an knowlege tests,

among others. 1ne selection preictor that has $ecome increasingly important

is a $ackgroun check to !erify pre!ious employment an to check an

applicants criminal, ri!ing, an creit history. The use of selection preictors

often re#uires consulting with a #ualifie inustrial psychologist. Training and developmentis use to pro!ie employees with the knowlege,

skills, an a$ilities neee to perform their +o$s, stay a$reast of the latest

e!elopments in their fiel, an enhance their careers. This HR function may

$e performe in&house using HR staff or eternally using consultants an

eperts. Training an e!elopment acti!ities inclue ientifying training

nees, esta$lishing training program goals, selecting employees for training,

esigning training programs, conucting the programs, an e!aluating the

effecti!eness of the programs.

Performance appraisalis the process of etermining how well an employee is

oing the +o$. Typically, the HR epartment esigns the performance appraisalinstrument, an the super!isor or manager aministers the instrument on a

perioic $asis. The performance appraisal process shoul inclue a

postappraisal inter!iew for employee fee$ack.

Compensation and benefit managemententails aministering salary sur!eys,

performing +o$ e!aluation, esigning pay structures an $enefit packages, an

ensuring the proper aministration of the compensation an $enefit program.

2ompensation an $enefit management is pro$a$ly the most comple HR

function $ecause of the myria of laws affecting pay an $enefits as well as

the economic, social, an psychological factors that affect employee

perceptions of pay.

Health and safetyis a critical issue in many health care institutions. 3lthoughsuper!isors are clearly responsi$le for workplace safety, the HR epartment

usually monitors compliance with feeral (1ccupational 4afety an Health

3ministration, or 14H3) an state health an safety laws.

THE PROFESSIONALISM OF HR MANAGERS

Historically, HR managers ha!e ranke $elow accounting, financial, marketing, an

other managers in terms of pay an prestige. 5n recent years, howe!er, the importance

an recognition of HR managers has grown as organizations ha!e $ecome cognizant

of the critical importance that human resources play in the success of an organization.The ma+or professional organization for HR managers is the 4ociety for Human

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Resource Management (4HRM). 5t pro!ies a !ariety of eucational an certification

opportunities for HR managers. The organization also keeps HR managers up to ate

on e!elopments in the fiel.

The two professional tracks for HR managers are the HR generalist an the HR

specialist. HR generalists, such as a meical center HR irector, are in charge of anentire HR function. They o!ersee a staff that performs the HR functions escri$e

earlier. 3 generalist may ha!e a $usiness egree such as an M.6.3. or masters egree

in human resource management. 3n HR specialist focuses on a specific aspect of HR

management such as iscrimination law, health an safety, or $enefit programs an

may work as a consultant or at the hea#uarters of a large organization. HR specialists

may ha!e masters, octoral, or law egrees, an they may ha!e spent a consiera$le

amount of time $ecoming eperts in a relati!ely well&efine HR area.

7Terry Leap

Entry Citation:

Leap, Terry. "Human Resource Management."Encyclopedia of Health Care

Management. 88-. 439: ;u$lications. *< 3pr. 8*8. =http>>www.sage&

ereference.com>healthcaremanagement>3rticle?n-@A.htmlB.