The human resources department plays a very important role in a business or organization. HR experts are in charge of many tasks including hiring and firing employees, onboarding and development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, sexual harassment policy, safety and health, organizational leadership and culture and employment and labor laws.
The core functions of HR
The core functions of HR include:
Hiring and firing employees
HR managers are in charge of hiring employees and contractors and terminating employee contracts when necessary. Task involved with hiring and firing employees include:
- Identifying employment needs
- Recruiting employees/contractors to fill those needs
- Writing employee contracts
- Negotiating salary and benefits
- Terminating contracts
Employee development
Once an employee is hired, they should go through a thorough on-boarding process and receive ongoing development with their time at the company. Employee development includes:
- Training
- Introduction into teams or employees they will work with
- Ongoing training opportunities
Compensation and benefits
HR managers are in charge of setting competitive, legal and appropriate salaries and benefits to attract the best employees for each role. HR manager will use benchmarks and industry standards for each job to:
- Identify a reasonable salary
- Negotiate employee benefits packages including health insurance and retirement plans
- Handle raises and bonuses
- Keep compensation in line with legal and cultural expectations
Safety and health
Human resources is in charge of setting company practices on health and safety based on legal requirements for various job functions. The must also:
- Stay on top of any changes to legal requirements/implementing new safety measures when needed
- Discuss safety and compliance with unions and relevant governing bodies
- Discuss safety measures with employees
Employee and labor relations
HR takes on many tasks for handling employee and labor relations including:
- Mediating employee/employer disagreements
- Mediating employee/employee disagreements
- Creating a sexual harassment policy
- Reporting complaints with proper documentation
- Discussing employee rights with management, unions and other stakeholders
- Representing the organization and employees while handling organizational issues affecting employee welfare
Organizational leadership and culture
HR oversees organizational leadership and culture which affects the company culture from workplace expectations to organizational values and the way that management interacts with employees. The organizational leadership and culture have an enormous impact on an employees’ daily work experience.
Employment and labor laws
HR is in charge of ensuring compliance with Federal, state and local labor laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Federal civil rights laws. This role is incredibly important because when laws are broken, businesses open themselves up to fines and lawsuits.
Feeling overwhelmed with HR tasks? That’s okay; we’ve got you covered through HR outsourcing! When you partner with Makai HR you can get on with the business you are trying to grow while we take care of your employee needs from 401(k) plans to payroll, taxes, health insurance/benefits, and worker’s compensation. You also gain peace of mind that you are in compliance with all of Hawaii’s employer laws (if you’ve ever looked you know that the list is very long). When choosing a PEO to partner with, there are many things to consider including cost, services and technology solutions.
With the cost of doing business in Hawaii at record highs, we know how important it is to keep labor costs in line with revenue. Our plans are priced competitively and include value-added services like time-in/time-out systems. Our three tiers of PEO service plans are tailored to the size of your business and specific needs. We offer a 100% paperless solution which means that your employees can manage their needs through a computer, tablet or phone. We can truly improve your employees work benefits while freeing you up to run your business.
What are you waiting for? Companies who partner with a PEO benefit from 7-9% faster growth, 10-14% lower employee turnover; and they are 50% less likely to go out of business. Contact us today to get started!