Introduction To Human Resources Management

Introduction To Human Resources Management

All small businesses must staff their operations. This involves bringing new people into the business and making sure they are productive additions to the enterprise. Effective human resource management matches and develops the abilities of job candidates and employees with the needs of the firm. A responsive personnel system will assist you in this process and is a key ingredient for growth.
Human resource management is a balancing act. At one extreme, you hire only qualified people who are well suited to the firm's needs. At the other extreme, you train and develop employees to meet the firm's needs. Most expanding small businesses fall between the two extremes -- i.e., they hire the best people they can find and afford, and they also recognize the need to train and develop both current and new employees as the firm grows.
The first section of this publication explains how to hire and train the right people and addresses the characteristics of an effective personnel system, such as

Assessing personnel needs.
Recruiting personnel.

Screening personnel.

Selecting and hiring personnel.

Orienting new employees to the business.

Deciding compensation issues.

The second section of this publication addresses the training and development side of human resource management. The third section discusses how the personnel system and the training and development functions come together to build employee trust and productivity. These three sections stress the importance of a good human resource management climate and provide specific guidelines for creating such a climate. The appendixes include a self-assessment questionnaire to assist you in evaluating the effectiveness of your personnel system and a list of general information resources.