1.5 Responsibilities and Roles in HRM

In this section, we will first look at the overall responsibilities of HR managers in regard to managing the employee life cycle. Next, we will identify the areas that HR is usually tasked with that are broader in scope. Then we will look at the unique requirements for those individuals who have all of the HR responsibility for a small firm, or as it is sometimes referred to, an HR department of one. Finally, we will explore the HR responsibilities of line managers.

The Employee Life Cycle (ELC)A model that portrays the journey of a typical employee from the time they first learn about an opening at the organization, through the recruitment and hiring process, until their employment ends. is a model that portrays the journey of a typical employee from the time they first learn about an opening at the organization, through the recruitment and hiring process, until their employment ends. The nine stages of the ELC are: recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, development, coaching, performance appraisal, benefits administration, and separation. These nine stages can also be grouped under three overall categories of talent acquisition, talent development, and talent retention, as shown in Figure 1.3. Let’s now look at the HR responsibilities during each phase of the ELC.

In many small businesses, there is only one individual that is responsible for all of the HR functions. In these situations, individuals are often stretched beyond their capacity to deal with a wide variety of issues, regulatory requirements, training needs, etc. The solo HR practitioner is pulled in many directions and does not have the time or expertise to adequately address all of the responsibilities previously described.

SHRM recently polled small-business HR professionals and asked them to identify the top issues they face. Employee engagement was the number-one issue. One respondent said: “It is a challenge to engage employees across multiple generations and retain high performers to keep them motivated.” Their second most important issue was talent acquisition, which has become more difficult recently due to the low unemployment rate. Third, they cited effective leadership, and specifically that being a department of one, they often feel stuck doing day-to-day tasks that have to be done and do not have time to focus on the strategic aspect. These issues were followed by employee relations and the struggle to communicate effectively with employees and other organizational leaders.

So how should the solo HR practitioner handle the demands of their time? You may find it interesting to note that their top concerns have to do with engagement, acquisition, leadership, communications, and relations. With the exception of acquisition, these are all strategic or big-picture concerns. They did not cite doing payroll, managing health insurance benefits, or other day-to-day tasks as their major concerns. If you find yourself in a position as an HR department of one, then you might consider outsourcing some of the day-to-day tasks, freeing yourself up to focus on communications, leadership, engagement, and employee relations. Fortunately, there are many companies that specialize in providing these types of HR services.

Who is ultimately responsible for managing human capital, and for implementing effective human resource management practices and procedures? Which managers within an organization bear the most responsibility for talent recruitment, development, and retention? Is it the line manager A person who directly manages the employees and operations of an organization that creates products and services. , who actually supervises the employee, or is it the human resources staff? First, let’s distinguish between line and staff managers.

A line manager is a person who directly manages the employees and operations of an organization that create products and services. In a for-profit organization, these are the revenue-producing activities. Line managers are responsible for day-to-day supervision, motivation, and performance management of their direct reports. They are accountable for the results of their unit, including production and profit goals, employee turnover, and other key performance metrics. They get the praise if the team performs well, and they get the blame when things go awry. Thus, the line manager has a vested interest in almost every aspect of human resource management, including recruiting and selecting the most qualified employees, onboarding, training, performance management, and disciplinary actions.

A staff managerA person who manages a department that serves the line managers in a support or advisory capacity by providing information and advice and ensuring compliance with government laws and regulations. is a person who manages a department that serves the line managers in a support or advisory capacity by providing information and advice and ensuring compliance with government laws and regulations. Human resources, accounting, marketing, and customer service are examples of staff departments.

Line managers and HR managers should share the responsibility for talent recruitment, development, and retention. Table 1.3 summarizes some of the key HR duties of line and HR managers.

You can see from these two lists that there is much overlap between the HR responsibilities of line versus staff managers. In companies with successful human resource practices, the line and staff managers have learned that they both have some responsibility for HR management and have learned to support each other to implement effective HR practices and procedures. Ideally, there is a synergistic relationship between HR and line managers. If the HR managers see themselves as strategic business partners, and they do not have an adversarial relationship, then this can free up line managers to focus on their operations and increasing revenue and productivity.