7 of the Most Important Responsibilities of HR

Jason Hanold
4 min readJul 5, 2024

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In recent years, the role of the HR manager has become a key driver of operational success. According to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends Report, top priorities in 2024 are attracting and retaining talented employees and designing talent processes around skills. From talent management to diversity and inclusion, HR is integral to the smooth running of business environments. In this article, we identify seven of HR’s key roles and responsibilities.

1. Recruitment

One of the most common duties associated with HR is attracting and engaging with new talent. The hiring process can include advertising the position in traditional employment listings, liaising with external recruitment agencies, or identifying and engaging with talent online.

HR may oversee the application process, perform a first read of cover letters and applications, screen résumés, and craft a shortlist of viable candidates. Staff from the HR department may conduct first interviews or gather more information about each candidate to.

Once HR has worked with the relevant people leaders to identify the best fit for the position, HR will put together the official job offer. HR ensures all applicable laws and regulations have been adhered to throughout the process.

2. Talent Management

Once a company has secured workers with the right credentials, talent must be nurtured. This helps maintain staff morale and ensure that all employees perform well and are productive. In addition to hiring responsibilities, HR helps with onboarding new staff and teaches them the skills they need to thrive in their new role.

Both new and experienced employees need support and tools to perform to the best of their ability. HR provides that support, resources, and feedback for employees. This includes answering questions, addressing concerns, and facilitating progression within the company.

3. Compliance

HR is responsible for compliance. It is therefore very important for HR professionals to understand employment regulations and laws, particularly those that pertain to their industry and locality. This includes keeping abreast of the latest regulatory and legislation changes and learning how they might impact the company and its employees.

4. Performance Management

Managing the performance of employees at all levels is critical to keeping the workforce productive and engaged. Effective performance management requires strong leadership, as well as clear goal-setting and open feedback.

While annual performance reviews between an employee and their manager remain common, almost 70 percent of HR professionals predict that in the future, performance management will be an integral part of day-to-day operations. Feedback will be more frequent and incorporate natural conversations. Applications like 360-degree feedback are also gaining popularity as a performance management tool to identify areas for improvement.

5. Digitization

Companies all over the world are embracing technology and automating tasks to make operational processes smoother and enhance decision-making processes. Technology can revolutionize business operations, reduce overheads, protect employee safety, and otherwise decrease the burden on people who currently perform mundane, repetitive tasks.

From HR’s perspective, technological advancements have resulted in some game-changing breakthroughs. HR professionals can now track key metrics, automate tasks, and manage the workforce and talent pipelines more effectively. Using HR technology, people can optimize key business functions. For example, corporate travel management software helps people better manage invoices and VAT while optimizing travel spend and improving travel policy compliance.

6. Rewards

Rewarding and recognizing staff for their hard work and achievements is another HR function. Competitive compensation and robust benefits are one aspect of an industry leader. In addition to financial incentives, recognition, status, and career opportunities are also important, as are a satisfying work-life balance, flexible working practices, meaningful work, and a healthy organizational culture.

7. Learning and Development

HR’s helps bridge the gap between the workforce of today and the workforce required in the future. Forward-looking organizations set aside funds for learning and development, an outlay that is mandatory in some countries. Take for example the UK, where companies with an annual salary outlay of more than £3 million are required to spend at least 0.5 percent of that sum on professional training for their teams. In other countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium, learning and development are considered part of the employer’s duty of care to its workers. In the US, as in some other countries, the concept is less well-known and therefore largely unregulated.

Despite regional differences in regulations, most employers recognize the value of adequately investing in both the current and future skills of their team members. Part of HR’s remit is helping to upskill the company’s workforce, including its people leaders. As Degreed Chief People Officer Janice Burns points out, while businesses do have to balance economic factors, investing in hard and soft skills helps with employee retention and retaining value of the organization.

Creating opportunities for employees to upskill has holistic benefits for the company. It also fulfills people’s individual needs, gives them tools to improve professionally, and helps them feel more confident about their capabilities and professional futures.

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Jason Hanold
Jason Hanold

Written by Jason Hanold

Executive Recruiter, clients NFL, Google, Patagonia, Under Armour, Gucci, Nike, Northwestern, eBay, UFC, Vail, REI, Electronic Arts, Live Nation, #HR #Recruiter

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