Human Resources: Functions, Organization, and Best Practices
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
The human element is the differentiating factor of a business, the unique element of the organization. If a company is able to surround itself with a good team of professionals, it has a clear competitive advantage in the market. The human resources department should achieve these goals:
- Select and train the people the company needs.
- Provide workers with the necessary means to perform their work and define the most appropriate communication channels.
- Ensure that the worker meets their needs. This way, the worker will be more motivated, and the end result will be better.
The structure of the human resources department varies from company to company, depending on the size of the latter. In small firms, the functions are executed by a single section or a section included in other departments, such as Administration. In contrast, in larger firms, the human resources department can be very complex and be composed of different sections.
Functions of the Department of Human Resources
A) Organization and Planning of Staff
This involves planning templates depending on the organization of the company, designing appropriate jobs, defining roles and responsibilities, providing for the medium- and long-term staff needs, and analyzing compensation and promotion systems.
Some companies base the organization and planning of their staff’s work on job skills; this is called competence management.
Competence management is the way some companies manage their staff so that the workplace is occupied by a person with a broad range of skills, whether technical, professional, or social, in the sense that they can adapt to all situations of the business environment.
B) Hiring, Personnel Selection, and Recruitment of Staff
This function is very important because one of the determinants of a business’s success is the correct choice of the people who work in the company.
To make a good selection, follow these steps:
- Determine the exact profile of the ideal person to be occupying the vacancy or new job. For this, you can develop a job description: a chart detailing all the personal qualities that the person nominated should have.
- Recruit candidates. This can be done by internal selection, i.e., by offering the job to an employee of the company, or externally if the staff is expanded.
Normally, the company begins to search among its own staff, since the chance to get a promotion serves as a particularly effective motivator. To search for a person outside the company, use ads, employment offices, or employment exchanges.
At present, there are temporary employment agencies that put workers at the disposal of companies with temporary contracts.
- Conduct the selection process of the individual. Get to know the person concerned, study their resume, conduct a personal interview, and, if deemed necessary, administer a test of ability or personality.
- Choose the person who has shown to be the most appropriate for the job being offered.
- Make the final contract with the person if, during the trial period, they have met expectations.
C) Administration of Staff
This is to manage all legal and administrative proceedings involving company personnel: selection and awarding of contracts, processing of payroll and social security, and monitoring of the rights and duties of the employee, such as holidays and leave for paternity.
Selection and Contract Award
An employment contract is an agreement of wills between a company and a worker, whereby the person undertakes to provide the company with their services for remuneration, to act under its direction, and to make available, from the beginning, the result obtained with their activity. There are different types of contracts, and the firm will choose the one that suits it, taking into account the characteristics of the job, the time it will need the services of the worker, and the cost of recruitment.
Contents of a Contract
- Trial Period. Generally, it is 6 months for qualified technicians and 2 months for other workers.
- The duration can be determined for an indefinite period or for a fixed period, according to the characteristics of the company and the job.
- The contents of the work done. The type of work to be performed is agreed upon between the employee and employer.
- The salary and wage supplements are determined in accordance with the collective agreement and the regulations.
- The working time stipulates working hours, overtime, shifts, vacation days, etc.
Types of Contracts: Contracts of indefinite duration and fixed duration.
- Indefinite-term contract: The contracting parties agree not to set a date for the termination of the employment relationship.
- Fixed-term contract: The contracting parties agree to set a certain date unless it is extended. These contracts include structural, economic, and training contracts, which are two:
- Practical training contract. Its goal is to provide gainful employment to enable the employee to implement and improve their knowledge and provide good practice at the level of their studies, and achieve official certification.
- Training contract. The worker acquires theoretical and practical training that enables them to properly develop a trade or a qualified job; it is more for young people.
Payroll and Social Security
The salary is the total economic benefit of the workers, in cash or in kind, for the professional provision of labor services as an employee, either as payment for the actual work or rest periods counted as work. In any case, wages in kind may not exceed 30% of the worker’s perceptions.
- The Wages.
- Minimum wage (SMI) is the wage that any worker should be paid regardless of the profession undertaken. In 2010 it was set at €633.30.
- Composition of wages. Consisting of base salary (fixed salary per unit of time or work, taking into account what has been determined in the SMI, which established conventions or what has been agreed in individual contracts) and wage supplements, based on their work.
- Extra payments. Workers are entitled to two extra payments: one at Christmas and another in the month that has been agreed upon.
- Guarantee of wages. The wages of workers not satisfied by the business take precedence over other pending business debts. Alternatively, in case of insolvency, bankruptcy, or bankruptcy of the employer, an agency of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Social Guarantee Fund (FOGASA), guarantees workers the perception of wages and severance payments or termination of the outstanding employment relationship.
- The payroll: The individual receives proof of payment of wages given to the employee in settlement of their wages. The wage slip comprises a header that contains data for the company and the worker and accruals, amounts accrued to the employee by different concepts. The gross salary comprises the basic salary and allowances and non-wage payments.
- Bases of Social Security contributions: Amounts determined based on remuneration received by the employee. These bases are the rates of contribution for the fee income is Social Security: common and professional troops and overtime.
- Deductions: From the total amount earned by the workers, the company must make a series of deductions, among which are Social Security contributions and income tax withholding.
- Total to charge: The difference between the total due or the total gross wages and deductions, net salary or liquid.
Control of Rights and Duties of Workers
- Labor Rights:
- Weekly rest. All workers are entitled to one and a half days of uninterrupted rest each week, which can be accumulated for up to 14 days. All children under 18 are entitled to two days a week uninterrupted.
- Annual leave. A period of paid leave that cannot be replaced by financial compensation unless the employment relationship is terminated, hindering your enjoyment. The holiday period will be agreed upon in collective agreements or individual contracts. But it will never be less than 30 calendar days.
- Not to be discriminated against for employment, or once employed, not to be based on sex, age, marital status, race, class, ideology, etc.
- Obligations of the employee:
- Meeting the specific duties of the job, according to the rules of good faith and diligence.
- Observing hygiene and safety rules.
- Contributing to improving productivity.
- Handing over the fruits of their labor to the employer.
- Respecting the power of direction of the employer.
D) Human Resource Training
The training of workers allows staff to adapt to technological and social changes, as well as to changes in the environment. Current technological developments make worker training continuous. It implies a cost, so the company must seek a balance between the cost of training and performance expectations.
E) Industrial Relations
These are activities related to the company with the workers, through their representatives, such as works councils, staff representatives, and shop stewards. These representatives should address the social conditions of work, such as the negotiation of collective agreements, conflicts that may arise in the workplace, and ways of solution.
Trade Unions and Employee Representatives
A trade union is an association of workers formed to defend their common interests in economic matters. The mission is to defend and ensure the triumph of their economic, social, and political members. Freedom of association is one of the basic rights of workers.
The participation of employees in the company is implemented through:
- Personnel delegates. They are the representatives of workers in the enterprise or workplace are between 10 and 50.
- The works council. It is the representative body of all college workers in companies with 50 or more workers. The number of components of the works council depends on the total workforce. The works council elects from among its members a chairman and a secretary for its operation.
Among the highlights of both competitions are being informed of the penalties for serious and responsible collective bargaining.
Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is the process to bring about agreement between employers and employees on the conditions under which the activity will develop in a workplace, company, or group of companies.
Collective Agreement. A contract negotiated and concluded by representatives of workers and employers to regulate working conditions for a geographic area and a specific activity. Collective agreements regulate matters in the following areas: economic, labor, and labor relations.
Labor Disputes
A labor dispute occurs when labor and management disagree on some aspect of the employment relationship. The manifestation of this conflict may be in various forms.