I’ll attempt to answer the question without pontification…
1. Yes they do job interviews. That’s the fun part, since the candidates are all on their best supplicating behavior, and this is where the harpies absorb the most ego power. Those job interviews come after hiring managers have expressed a need, and HR devises a proper job description, if needed. The budget for the position would also need to be approved, and HR spends a lot of time determining the “appropriate” amount - enough to attract the candidate, and limited enough to be approved by the purse string holders, all while taking into consideration potential lawsuits about women or minorities not getting paid the same, and making sure they can prove that’s not the case if push comes to shove.
2. If they don’t outsource it, HR does payroll. This is exceedingly complex, with all the programs and benefits a company offers, as well as making sure Uncle Sam gets his cut. HR negotiates with health insurance providers, dental providers, vision plans, savings plan companies, and other BS stuff like free bus tokens and other subsidies as part of the total compensation package. Employees are constantly changing their health insurance plans, and withholdings etc. as life events occur, and these changes need to be enacted. HR writes the company manual detailing all of these offerings, along with all company rules which constantly need to be updated as people find new ways to weasel the system.
3. HR manages your company’s personnel file. This is a significant administrative burden as new people get fired, people get transferred, they change positions, or resign. Depending on the type of company, HR would manage the global communication systems and asset tracking, making sure that mass e-mails or texts can be sent out, particularly for emergencies, and that all digital and physical access is ended, and all company-owned assets are returned, once an employee departs. HR also fields calls from employment verification references, and makes them too, while tiptoeing around Byzantine rules to make sure the company doesn’t get sued for saying the wrong thing.
4. Compensation management and employee performance tracking is a large analytic component. Annual raises need to be determined based on the company’s performance, and promotions need to be reviewed and determined. Any stragglers need to be let go, and that must be done carefully and with proper documentation to avoid lawsuits.
5. Since payroll is such a large component of a company’s expenditures, management is always looking for ways trim fat and fire unnecessary people. HR fields what-if inquiries from management and advises on what will happen as people are hired and fired in various scenarios.
6. Lastly, HR responds to all babysitting issues that arise from employees causing problems in the organization, and issues edicts accordingly related to dress code and other authoritarian culture issues. They also make you attend those mandatory trainings to make sure you know everything is considered sexual harassment.
1. Yes they do job interviews. That’s the fun part, since the candidates are all on their best supplicating behavior, and this is where the harpies absorb the most ego power. Those job interviews come after hiring managers have expressed a need, and HR devises a proper job description, if needed. The budget for the position would also need to be approved, and HR spends a lot of time determining the “appropriate” amount - enough to attract the candidate, and limited enough to be approved by the purse string holders, all while taking into consideration potential lawsuits about women or minorities not getting paid the same, and making sure they can prove that’s not the case if push comes to shove.
2. If they don’t outsource it, HR does payroll. This is exceedingly complex, with all the programs and benefits a company offers, as well as making sure Uncle Sam gets his cut. HR negotiates with health insurance providers, dental providers, vision plans, savings plan companies, and other BS stuff like free bus tokens and other subsidies as part of the total compensation package. Employees are constantly changing their health insurance plans, and withholdings etc. as life events occur, and these changes need to be enacted. HR writes the company manual detailing all of these offerings, along with all company rules which constantly need to be updated as people find new ways to weasel the system.
3. HR manages your company’s personnel file. This is a significant administrative burden as new people get fired, people get transferred, they change positions, or resign. Depending on the type of company, HR would manage the global communication systems and asset tracking, making sure that mass e-mails or texts can be sent out, particularly for emergencies, and that all digital and physical access is ended, and all company-owned assets are returned, once an employee departs. HR also fields calls from employment verification references, and makes them too, while tiptoeing around Byzantine rules to make sure the company doesn’t get sued for saying the wrong thing.
4. Compensation management and employee performance tracking is a large analytic component. Annual raises need to be determined based on the company’s performance, and promotions need to be reviewed and determined. Any stragglers need to be let go, and that must be done carefully and with proper documentation to avoid lawsuits.
5. Since payroll is such a large component of a company’s expenditures, management is always looking for ways trim fat and fire unnecessary people. HR fields what-if inquiries from management and advises on what will happen as people are hired and fired in various scenarios.
6. Lastly, HR responds to all babysitting issues that arise from employees causing problems in the organization, and issues edicts accordingly related to dress code and other authoritarian culture issues. They also make you attend those mandatory trainings to make sure you know everything is considered sexual harassment.