What does Human Resources mean to you and what is their role in healthcare organizations?

For many individuals, the word "Human Resources" (HR) can bring up a caveat of emotions. Often a call from HR means bad news for the individual, often leading to a demotion or an outright "letting go" of the individual. However, HR should not be viewed as some kind of grim reaper in khaki pants. Instead, the role of HR in healthcare should be viewed as a department that helps to mold and build the most successful, efficient, and stable/comfortable work environment for the most qualified individuals available. If HR does their job well there should be no reason to "fire" or let go of any individual, set aside economic conditions.

Assuming the the job of HR within a healthcare organization is to accomplish the statements above, what is needed for HR to be successful in this endeavor? First and foremost, HR must understand what motivates and drives individuals to work their best. Are they influenced by compensation, work environment, incentive packages, or some sort of combination? Though it is critical for HR to maintain their traditional activities (payroll, benefits, etc.) they must also focus on the "environmental and organizational aspects that impinge on human resource activities" (Fottler, 2008). This means that HR must also focus on strategic human resources management (SHRM) to fill in the "doughnut hole" left by classic human resource management (HRM) activities. More specifically, they should focus on:

1. recruitment/selection
2. training/development
3. employee relations

It is important to note that while compensation is important, it is generally not the most important factor when an individual chooses to become part of an organization. Many researchers even consider the environment as a supplement to compensaiton in general. This understanding is based on research that determines "employees who feel and display positive emotion on the job, will experience positive outcomes in their work role" (Morgeson et al, 2001). This means if HR focuses on:

1. recruiting and hiring the "right" people,
2. continually training and developing these individuals, and
3. continually keeping communication clear and concise between employees and management..

compensation should be a very minimal aspect of their roles. In fact, a focus on compensation can actually be used in a negative way. For example, it can become a tool used by management to demand or assume employee loyality to an organization. Instead, this tool can often lead inviduals to feel "like a number" rather then an individual and create a high turnover rate., decreasing overall quality in many ways. Though high compensation can initially draw the best talent to an organization, this focus often results in high employee turnover before their impact (and the investment made by the organization) can come to fruitition. This often leads to a host of problems that decrease overall quality such as lost revenue and a decrease of employee morale.

However, by maintaining a focus on environment, it is my opinion that HR can continually maintain an organization that fosters stability, personal development, a feeling of control of destiny, and (most importantly) delivers quality healthcare within all operations. Though the classic day-to-day operations of HR should also be maintained, HR should be willing and able to give employees the tools to succeed and the ability to truly control their own destiny within the organization. For these reasons, HR's overall role within a healthcare organization is the "front-line" of the organization's Continuous Quality Management (CQM) model.


Sources:

1. Strategic Human Resource Management. Fotter PhD, Myron D. Human Resources in Healthcare: Managing for Success. Chapter 1, (2008) pp. 1-27

2. Understanding Pay Satisfaction: The Limits of a Compensation System Implementation. Morgeson, Frederick P., Campion, Michael A., Maertz, Carl P. Journal of Business and Psychology. Vol. 16, No. 1 (Sep., 2001), pp. 133-149