The management of human resources (HRM or HR) is the management of human resources. It is commonly known as the Human Resources Department to maximize the performance of employees serving the strategic objectives of an employer. Human resources are mainly concerned with the management of people within organizations focusing on policies and systems. Human resources departments are responsible for overseeing the design of employee benefits, employee recruitment, training and development, performance evaluation and reward (for example, administering payment and benefit systems). HR also cares about organizational change and labor relations, that is, the balance of organizational practices with the requirements derived from collective bargaining and government laws.
HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early twentieth century, when researchers began to document ways to create business value through the strategic management of the workforce. Initially, it was dominated by transactional work, such as payroll and profit management, but due to globalization, consolidation of companies, technological advances and additional research, HR from 2015 focuses on strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labor relations, and diversity and inclusion.
In new companies trained professionals can perform human resources tasks. In larger companies a full functional group is usually dedicated to discipline with personnel specialized in various human resources tasks and a functional leadership that participates in making strategic decisions throughout the company. To train professionals in the profession, higher education institutions, professional associations and companies have established study programs explicitly dedicated to the duties of the function. Academic and professional organizations can produce field-specific publications. HR is also a field of research study that is popular in the fields of management and industrial / organizational psychology, with research articles appearing in a series of academic journals, including those mentioned later in this article.