Integrated Human Resource Management Concepts

Introduction

Human resource management is one of the main aspects of management concerned with people and relating to human energies and competencies (Greg & Kenneth, 2010). In human resource management, considerations are given towards recruitment and selection, development, motivation, and maintenance of human resources in an organization. A company’s ability to integrate the key concepts that define the field is the major factor that determines the success of their human resource management policies.

Strategic Human Resource Management

According to Pynes (2013), strategic human resource management is based on the belief that to be effective and able to adapt to changes quickly, organizations need realistic information on the capabilities and talents of their human resources. For a company to stay ahead in the competition race, it needs to be faster than its competitors in all regards. Integrating strategic human resource management with other HR concepts helps the organization work with more capacity by attracting new talents and keeping experienced employees within the company. This integration motivates individuals and teams in an organization and helps them focus on strategic targets by creating the right kind of efficient working environment. It affects three main areas: HR policy, HRM investment and budgeting, and HR practices. Strategic HRM aims at achieving congruence among HR practices. HR policy should focus on practices that facilitate streamlining the entire system. Strategic HRM also ensures that there is proper allocation of resources into various functions depending on their level of importance relative to other functions.

Equal Employment Opportunities

Equal employment opportunities (EEO) is an important human resource management concept where employers do not discriminate against an applicant or employee by race, age, color, sex, religion or nationality (Oakes & Galagan, 2011). This concept does not aim at creating equal outcomes for job applicants or employees. However, it seeks to level the playing field so that organizations do not subject people who have faced discrimination in the past to unfair treatment in their workplaces upon certain characteristics that have nothing to do with their qualifications for the job. Through the strategic deployment of a diverse workforce, companies seek to achieve competitive advantages that otherwise would have been unachievable without the strategic human resource diversity management. EEO emphasizes that human resources are an important component of organizational resources. It promotes practices and policies that organizations use to attract, retain, train, develop, and reward employees so that the organization can achieve its objectives in an effective and efficient manner. The practices promote job performance and satisfaction with the aim of improving employee commitment to organizational goals.

Staffing

Staffing is a human resource management concept that relates to selecting and training of individuals for specific job functions and entrusting them with associated responsibilities (Greg & Kenneth, 2010). The process involves hiring, positioning and overseeing employees in an organization. The staffing function also involves growth and development of all personnel in an organization. Just like many other human resource management concepts, staffing cannot be done in isolation. It has to be integrated with other concepts to meet set goals. With such an approach to this human resource management concept, staffing is not just having the right people in the right place at the right time, but it is about integrating people-related practices to help the business achieve its objectives. Currently, organizations integrate strategic thinking into the staffing process with the aim of addressing the consequences of operational and strategic plans. Therefore, it incorporates other HR activities such as employee classification and development. In general, strategic staffing is modeled to match future staffing demand and supply.

Talent Management

In the current economies, companies have to make continuous investments in human resources. Talent management is an integrated human resource concept designed to attract, develop, hire, motivate and retain productive and talented personnel (Oakes & Galagan, 2011). Talent management’s primary goal is to create a high performing organization that sustainably meets its strategic and operational objectives. Given the current workforce trends like global supply chains, an aging workforce, shifting demographics, and increasing global mobility, human resource managers must reconsider approaches used to talent management to be positively positioned to succeed in a highly competitive market. Additionally, other human resource management concepts like employee engagement that involve employee relations, worker protection, and equal employment opportunities have a significant impact on talent retention. Considering the above aspects, an integrated and well-developed and approach to labor management provides a pathway towards sustaining success in business. Integrated talent management seeks to manage human resources in a manner that an organization can respond effectively and rapidly to business needs. Therefore, the integrated approach incorporates tools and experience that leverage business opportunities with end-to-end processes in people management in a similar manner that an organization would approach supply chain management.

Total Rewards and Compensation

Each element of compensation and benefits in human resource management is better known as a reward. Total rewards include monetary and non-monetary remunerations used to attract, motivate and retain employees. The total rewards concept of human resource management collectively defines an organization’s strategy to attract, motivate and retain employees (Pynes, 2013). Therefore, this concept closely integrates with the staffing and talent management concepts as it supports their mandates for attracting and retaining talents in a business enterprise. Total rewards and compensation encompass a holistic concept aligning with other human resource management concepts as it encompasses everything employees value in their employment relationship and their work environment.

Risk Management and Worker Protection

Risks are inevitable in organizations thus organizations have a moral and legal obligation to attend to safety and well-being of those they employ and anyone who comes into contact with the organization’s operations. Consequently, human resource managers need to control all risks throughout the entire business’ operations and incorporate risk management strategies in planning and decision-making. In human resource management, the risk management concept involves the continuous process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and monitoring to mitigate the adverse effects of risks (Greg & Kenneth, 2010). Risk management does not happen in isolation but needs to be integrated into existing decision-making structures to support planning, program management, priority setting, financial reporting, audits, and evaluations. Integrated risk management environments embed consistent risk management strategies in human resource management processes to generate better information for their workforce decisions thereby improving the achievement of their objectives.

Employee and Labor Relations Activities

Treating employees and co-workers with respect is not just merely nice but also smart because employees will perform at their highest levels (Meshanko, 2012). Employee and labor relations concept of human resource management deals with employees’ relations provided within an organization. Its function is to provide assistance and advice on performance management, discipline, dismissal, contract interpretation, grievance processing, and complaints resolutions to managers. This component of human resource cannot operate in isolation, and it serves as the bridge between staff and the management in most organizations. The integration of employee and labor relations activities with other HR concepts means that employee consultation and trade union proficiency are incorporated into HRM planning, which addresses issues with what is feasible and what is desirable. Therefore, an organization boosts commitment to the plan as its activities focus on the achievement of overall objectives.