I need not stress the fact that any organization that aims to function well – especially as they concern maximizing its workforce to increase productivity and realize its goals – needs an effective human resource department. Wile discussing career in HRM, it’s worth mentioning that, apart from hiring employees, an HR manager is also responsible for determining attractive welfare packages (all benefits and payment structure inclusive) for employees, motivating them to increase their performance level and many other employee-related issues.
Importance of Effective Human Resource Management
This is to say that the career in HRM is at the cutting edge of managing people to create value – a daunting challenge that many underappreciate. Well, as HRMs, we are used to the stereotype. Good employees keep a business running. HR managers appreciate and value people that are less valued. By so doing, they make employees feel better and want to work better.
This is why career planning in HRM wouldn’t be out of place. If you still need to be convinced, let me quickly dive into what you stand to gain by taking a dip into the career.
Why Career Planning in HRM is Beneficial?
There are many advantages of career planning in HRM. For instance, there is no doubt that organizational roles are constantly evolving. While there is a ‘traditional’ way of doing things, it doesn’t take long that such a way becomes obsolete. During the process of transiting, employees are faced with a new dimension of stress. This is because new ways of doing things keep eroding the ways they are used to. HR managers have a significant role to play in this case.
Recruiting the Best Talent: A Key Role of HR Managers
As drivers of change and strategic thinkers, HR managers prepare the ground for their organization to stay competitive. The first step is that they ensure they recruit the best talent – or the candidates that best align with their organizational goals. This is necessary so they only recruit employees that will add value to the organization. During this process, the sales and marketing mindset of HR professionals is set in motion. They interact with the candidates based on the organizational culture and vision.
Onboarding and Retaining Employees
After successfully recruiting qualified candidates, the role of HR managers doesn’t end there. They work assiduously to ensure that they onboard as well as retain those employed for as long as they add value to the organization. No organization wants to frequently replace employees. This is because they come at a high cost.
Making Employees Happy and Motivated
One of the greatest challenges in career planning in HRM as it relates to retaining employees is how to make them happy and motivated. This is where the role of HR professionals as the real emotional caregivers comes to play. HR managers serve as the link between the workforce and the management. Thus, they aggregate views and responses from employees. At this stage, they need to be strategic in the process of thinking about what employees care about. Afterward, they escalate their recommendations to the management for appropriate actions.
Identifying Training Needs & Skill Development
Also, HR managers consider training and skill development as another way to keep an employee. Besides, it takes lesser costs to upskill an employee than to recruit a new one. At this stage, HR managers identify training needs based on what is obtained in the evolving market. To get started, they need to identify employees’ inherent strengths and the gaps that need to be filled. This puts to test, the psychometric skills of the HR managers.
A key role around career planning in HRM has to do with communication. Good communication is important to ensuring the growth and achievement of strategic goals. Since HR involves dealing with people, you’ll have to perform employee engagement – first, by communicating expectations to employees and then, getting feedback from them. Beyond paying employees attractive salaries and other benefits, they also need to feel valued. One of the ways is to seek their input on issues concerning the organization. As you engage with employees frequently, you become more effective in communicating messages and understanding their needs.
Conclusion
In short, despite the challenging nature of the HRM role, a career in HRM wouldn’t be out of place. It is an endlessly interesting career. This is as it exposes you to different activities, people, and situations as each day passes, an opportunity for you to learn and grow as well as set new expectations. You ultimately have a clear understanding of how the entire organization works. Besides, the HRM position is just a step towards advanced professional-level roles such as HRBP and payroll manager.
