Evolving Roles and Metrics in Human Resource Management

The report provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of Human Resource Management (HRM) from traditional roles centered around administration to dynamic strategic positions within organizations. It highlights how modern HR departments contribute significantly beyond mere administrative functions by enhancing employer-employee relationships, ensuring workplace safety, managing employee training and relations, and integrating HR processes with business strategies. This transition underscores the importance of a robust HR measurement system to evaluate performance effectively and align HR practices with organizational goals. By reviewing various scholarly articles, the report offers insights into how strategic HR management supports service quality and overall business success.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCES
Human resources metrics
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

2
HUMAN RESOURCES
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Evolution of Human Resources.......................................................................................................3
Contribution of Metrics in HR’s Role as a Strategic Partner..........................................................4
HR’s Future Role in Organizational Strategic Planning..................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

3
HUMAN RESOURCES
Introduction
Human Resources are the people who make up the workforce of the organization or the
business organizations. The term is sometimes linked up with the Human capital. The Human
resource department of an organization is involved in performing a number of different works
like employing people in the company, managing the benefits of the employee, managing the
efficient pay structures and also managing the floor according to the policies of a particular
company. The modern market has however broadened the scope of HR and they are expected to
perform a large number of duties. However the companies nowadays face large number of issues
in the absence of a proper management of the HR functions. This has necessitated the need for a
proper HR performance measurement to make the company successful in the long run.
Evolution of Human Resources
The Human Resource Management functions has continuously evolved over the years
from being administrative in nature to taking the shape of strategic partners in business, players
and talent leaders in the business. The objective of the Human Resource professionals is to make
sure that the Human Resources add enough quality value to the strategies of the organization and
the business results of the organization (Gunasekaran et al. 2015). However Kavanagh &
Johnson, (2017) states that the ultimate goal of the HRM department in an organization is to
ensure the maximum possible profit by implementing the strategies set by the management of the
organization. Traditional sources have referred Human Resource to be a cost center rather than a
valuable strategic partner of an organization. However contemporary sources have challenged
those ideas and have proved the fact that a proper and efficient Human Resource Management

4
HUMAN RESOURCES
can easily be an asset for the company which can ensure the achievement of all the different
goals of the organization.
The focus of the corporate strategy is to create a strategic competitive advantage for the
company in the market and thus the HR department can work hand in hand to make sure that the
management can easily achieve such an advantage by maximizing its contribution to the HR
architecture. The HR architecture generally possesses 3 different dimensions that helps to
formulate the value chain model;
a. HR Function- The functions of the Human Resource department is made up of the HR
professionals with strategic capabilities
b. HR System- The HR system consists of the capable policies that addresses all the needs
of the organization and its employees
c. Employee Behaviors- Employee Behaviors is another dimension that has evolved in the
recent years as the employees are trained to strategically focus on the goals and deliver
the best performance (Aryee et al. 2016). They are trained and motivated during the
training period to align with the goals of the organization
Contribution of Metrics in HR’s Role as a Strategic Partner
Human Resource metrics as described in the following chapter are some standards for
measuring the HR performance of a particular organization. Measurement of HR helps to remove
the doubts in the actual performance of Human Resources and helps to add value to it. Some of
the most important elements of the Human resource metrics are;
1. Turnover- The HR department must possess a clear understanding of the exact
requirements of labor supply and demand and measuring the turnover rate of the

5
HUMAN RESOURCES
employees. The turnover rate affects the HR planning and the strategic planning of
the business and the different costs associated with it.
2. Employee Engagement- These measure the amount of happiness the employees have
after working for the organization. The more the employees are happy, the more is the
chance of the company to be successful.
3. Performance- The following metric helps to assess the key areas of human resource
as well as sales performance, customer service as well as manufacturing production
service of the organization.
HR as a Strategic Partner
The development of HR as a strategic partner of the business organization consists of a
number of different steps namely;
1. Transparent definition of the Business Strategy- Most of the employees in the
organization have no idea about their role in the organization and thus engage themselves
in different works that are unrelated (Becker, Huselid & Ulrich, 2001). The HR experts
have to step in this time to make sure that the employees are well aware of the company’s
goals and objectives and help them to assign their own roles.
2. Building a business case for Human Resource as a strategic asset- It is the task of the
management to formulate a business case on the exact roles of the HR so that they can
easily formulate a proper strategy to help HR function as a strategic business asset.
3. Creation of a transparent strategic layout- According to, Marchington, Wilkinson,
Donnelly & Kynighou (2016) the ways and processes on which the company increases
the value of the customers must be formulated to make sure that the employees gets to

6
HUMAN RESOURCES
know the processes and deliver according to the exact way the company wants them to do
so.
4. Identification of the HR deliverables within the strategies of the business Organization-
Identification of the strategic deliverables helps to guarantee the employee stability and
design the HR processes accordingly.
5. Alignment of Architecture with HR deliverables- According to Armstrong & Taylor,
(2014) the alignment of the HR architecture with the strategic intents of the organization
is a must for the company to gain success in the market.
6. Development and designing the Strategic HR measurement System- After the
completion of the primary work the management comes to a decision and forms a well
built HR measurement system to analyze the performance of the HR management.
7. Implementation of Management by measurement- The management of the organization
has to implement the measurement system in the company to make sure that the
organization adapts with the system easily (Brewster et al. 2016).
HR’s Future Role in Organizational Strategic Planning
The key strategic role of the HR department of any organization is the strengthening of
the employer-employee relationship. However the strategic planning of the organization has
forced in the diversification of the HHR role. In the modern market the HR performs a lot of
tasks like;
1. Workplace Safety- The HR management of the organization has to ensure the safety of
the workplace so that no unnecessary events or hazards take place. The HR has to make
sure that each and every worker has proper insurance policies in case they meet with any

7
HUMAN RESOURCES
accident in the workplace. The HR also manages the compensation policies and enrolls
them in different compensation packages of the particular organization.
2. Employee Training- Training the employee has became on the main strategic tasks of the
Hr department. This includes pre job trainings and post job trainings for the employees
(Sheehan, 2014).
3. Employee Relations- The HR management of the organization ensures a friendly
atmosphere within the workplace and ensures that no disputes arise within the employees.
They are there to resolve all the queries of the employees.
Conclusion
The following report has been properly arranged and formulated to analyze the changing
roles of HR management within the organization. The report has been successful to describe the
evolution of HR management from the traditional administrative roles to the latest roles as a
strategic business partner. A thorough analysis of the report will help the readers to get a basic
idea about the latest role of the HR managers in the modern market.

8
HUMAN RESOURCES
References
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Aryee, S., Walumbwa, F. O., Seidu, E. Y., & Otaye, L. E. (2016). Developing and leveraging
human capital resource to promote service quality: Testing a theory of
performance. Journal of management, 42(2), 480-499.
Becker, B., Huselid, M. A., & Ulrich, D. (2001). The HR scorecard: Linking people,
strategy, and performance. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Brewster, C., Houldsworth, E., Sparrow, P., & Vernon, G. (2016). International human
resource management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Gunasekaran, A., Irani, Z., Choy, K. L., Filippi, L., & Papadopoulos, T. (2015). Performance
measures and metrics in outsourcing decisions: A review for research and
applications. International Journal of Production Economics, 161, 153-166.
Kavanagh, M. J., & Johnson, R. D. (Eds.). (2017). Human resource information systems:
Basics, applications, and future directions. Sage Publications.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R., & Kynighou, A. (2016). Human resource
management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Sheehan, M. (2014). Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small
and medium-sized firms. International Small Business Journal, 32(5), 545-570.