What Is the Role of the Human Resources Department?
The human resources department of a company is responsible for hiring employees, maintaining employee well-being and dismissing employees when necessary. The human resources department handles many tasks related directly to employment issues, such as payroll, insurance, benefits and taxes, and it is responsible for staying up-to-date on legal issues affecting employment.
The primary responsibility of the human resources department is to keep the associated company staffed appropriately at all times. This includes employee recruitment, selection and retention. Human resources managers strive to recruit quality employees, select the best for the available positions and then develop policies that retain great workers. Retention policies include providing adequate compensation, training programs and competitive benefits packages. When an employee leaves, the human resources department conducts exit interviews to assess the employee’s reasons for leaving in order to create better retention policies.
The human resources department also keeps track of changes in state and federal employment laws and applies them appropriately. These include tax regulations, health insurance requirements, overtime laws, unemployment restrictions, family and medical leave policies and safety regulations. Human resources employees develop and update employee handbooks and official policy lists as necessary to comply with changes in the law. The department works for the best interest of both the employees and the company, striving to create a safe workplace and handling employee disputes as required.
