Blog
The Changing Face of Human Resources
11th September 2009
The HR function has probably undergone more changes than any other over the last half century. Many of those areas that were once considered to be the responsibility of HR Managers (or Personnel Managers as the majority were called before the turn of the 21st Century) have been transferred to line managers, leaving HR Managers to (in theory!) concentrate on matters of more strategic importance.
It is therefore now relatively rare to find HR Managers undertaking visits to sick staff, or booking employees on training courses. The HR Manager (or HR Business Partner as he or (increasingly likely) she is more often to be found working alongside members of the Senior Management Team in developing long-term manpower plans or devising sophisticated reward mechanisms which link pay to employee performance.
The CIPD (Chartered institute of Personnel and Development) is the body that represents the interests of HR professionals within the UK. To reflect the changing role of the HR Function the CIPD has introduced a new HR Profession Map which describes what the HR Manager needs to do and to know in ten major professional areas.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at the changing HR function, and use the HR Profession Map to examine the contribution that is now made by HR professionals to the day-to-day running of businesses in the UK