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Christina Sng explores the multifaceted arena of human resource management and finds out how
critical it is to all organisations.
Why is Human Resource Management (HRM) important? In a nutshell:
Good HRM + Happy and Motivated Employees = Productive Co.
It is important because it is the heart of every corporation. It attends to the welfare of the employees
and the employees are the people who drive the company. Without happy and motivated employees, there
would be no company.
You can argue that yes, we can always hire new staff if the old ones don’t work out, but it’s a drag.
You will have to retrain them and refit them. Later when you realise that the former employees were better,
it’s too late. Now they work for IBM. Nurture the ones that are still there. It’s easier. Trust me.
Send them for training, make sure their paychecks reach them on time, give them special days off for their
birthdays and children’s birthdays. Be flexible about leave and sick days. Make them feel special and important.
They’re the reason why you’re there.
What’s the alternative?
Imagine working in a place where the paychecks are never paid out on time, where people are stuck in the same
job for 5 years or where new staff is hired without reference checks, resulting in a super high turnover. Well,
that happens in places with poor HRM too, hence the importance of good human resource management.
What do human resource (HR) practitioners do?
Most HR practitioners do:
- Staffing
- Staff Development
- Talent Alignment
- Team-building ?cultural events, activities, and value ingraining
- Administration Development ?payroll, leave management, etc
Quite often, HR and administrative duties are meshed together as one function. In smaller companies where the
headcount does not warrant a HR practitioner, HR responsibilities are passed on to secretaries or personal assistants.
With HR, responsibilities increase with the headcount.
Sometimes companies decide they don’t want to have their own HR team but rather outsource to specialists in HR
to do the job. Companies like Business Trends, EPS, Reachfield and Manfield all specialise in recruitment, payroll,
employee welfare and other human resource administrative work. Some of these companies have departments or whole
divisions that focus on specific industries, for example, the telecommunications, engineering, IT, banking and finance
industries. This enhances their credibility and reputation of being experts in the said industry. These HR practitioners
strive for and maintain a strategic partner relationship with the organisation they work with.
Breaking it down
HR can be divided into two types: generalists (doing the standard functions of recruitment, payroll, administration) or
specialists (training, compensation & benefits planning, career/leadership development). Most large organisations are
specialised for HR, due to the large numbers of employees, while HR staff in small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are
usually generalists.
Specialists can grow to be knowledge workers, having the facility to design and implement specific solutions (such as
stock options policy, succession planning). They can also switch to consultancy later in their career.
Show me the ladder!
Where there is a large HR department, there is space on the ladder for progression. HR officers move on to be executives,
then managers. In large multinational companies, HR managers can progress to the level of a Head of Department, then Group
Head of Department, then Regional Group Head of Department.
Specialists can grow to be knowledge workers, having the facility to design and implement specific solutions (such as stock
options policy, succession planning). These specialists can later switch to consultancy.
How do I get in?
Most employers prefer to hire diploma or degree holders, preferably in HRM. However, HR involves a variety of disciplines
such as Psychology, Sociology and Statistics. In particular, Psychology-trained graduates can be quite inclined toward HR,
given the aptitude for specialisation.
Some smaller companies will hire a candidate without a diploma or degree but with some basic administrative skills.
Looking at some recent job advertisements, recruitment firms tend to ask for more sales and acquisition-oriented responsibilities
and are more flexible about qualifications, although they require experience. Here is an example of some requirements for an
executive recruiter:
- Develop new clients and maintaining the existing sales orders
- Specialise in one of following sectors: General Placement, Temporary Placement, IT, Government, Healthcare, Engineering, or Finance
- Provide leadership to manage and lead the group of recruitment consultants
- Conduct sourcing of candidates, screening, interviewing and profiling
- Responsible for the group sales target
Companies who wish to hire their own HR look for a range of candidates from executives to managers depending on their needs.
This is a selection of some of their requirements:
- General recruitment
- Salary payment ?working knowledge of software Paymaster (or Easypay)
- Managing company insurance
- Leave administration
- Training certification
- Performance appraisal
- Daily incoming and outgoing mail management
- Secretarial/administrative services
- Apply for Employment passes and work permits and support for foreign workers
- Organize events and projects
- Coordinate print media advertisements
- Present in career talks, varsity seminars and participate in career exhibitions
These generally require at least a diploma in HR and 2 years relevant working experience. Note that some of these requirements
include secretarial and administrative duties.
Certification
Certifications, of course, will expand your knowledge of the field and most certainly your paycheck (you’ll have the skills to
negotiate for it!) since you will be able to take on more responsibilities, especially if your employer requires it of you.
Based on various the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) certifications, let’s take a look at what they can offer you:
- Basic Certificate in Human Resource Management (BCHRM) ?9-week program
- Certificate in Human Resource Management (CHRM) ?9-month program
- Diploma in Business & Human Resource Management (DBHRM) 9-month program.
- Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management & International Relations) and the Bachelor of Commerce (Management & Human
Resource Management) ?2-year programs offered by SHRI and Curtin University.
- Graduate Diploma in Human Capital Management (GDHCM) - 1-year program
Visit http://www.shri.org.sg for more information.
Does the paper really matter?
Yes. Most advertisements for HR ask for at least a diploma. The alternative is to go in with ‘O?levels and administrative skills
and work your way up. However, certifications help you get ahead faster. If you don’t wish to do a degree or a diploma, take professional
certifications and courses like Applied Psychology, Finance, Industrial Relations and Law. These will put you in good stead with your
peers and increase your HRM know-how.
Show me the money!
Remuneration comes with job requirements, company size and your experience. However, it is safe to say that it is usually similar to the
starting salary of many other functions. Some jobs require only staffing and payroll. Others may require you to organise events, do up
staff profiles and cater to employee needs (as did the HR departments in the good old Silicon Valley boom days!). With more functions and
responsibilities your remuneration should increase accordingly.
Show me the numbers!
Starting pay for a diploma holder is around SGD1,500; a degree holder, between SGD1,800-2,200. HR practitioners of 2 to 3 years will see
their salaries jump to a range of SGD2,500-3,500, while industry specialists with 5 years experience can command SGD4,000-6,000. Moving
on up, a HR department head can receive SGD6,000 and above, depending on the size of the company and how many people he or she manages.
Tips on being a good HR practitioner
Convinced it is your calling? Here are some quick tips on how to be a good HR practitioner:
Take the time to get to know everyone in the company (well, if it is an extremely large company, then the people that come under your
jurisdiction). Show them they’re special and they are important to the company. On the other hand, be fair and don’t play favourites.
It is your job to keep the employees in your company happy, although this aspect of the job is sadly often overlooked nowadays.
Remember that actualised and cared-for employees mean a productive work place. Productive workers mean better profit margins. That’ll make
your boss happy and you’ll be in a better position to renegotiate your remuneration! Everyone benefits. Do that for us, won’t you?
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