Human Resource Development: An Important Guide For Beginners In 2021

Introduction

There is only one way a company can find its climate free from monotony and improve its way of working, and the path leading to these two is called Human Resource Development. Why is HRD considered a vital part of the organization? Why is it that everyone wants to talk to HR when something goes wrong? How is the HRD department more than a hiring and salary management system? Let us answer all these questions and explain the role of humans in resource development.

1. Human Resource Development Definition
2. The Concept Of Human Resource Development 
3. Why do we Need the HRD?
4. What Are The Functions Of HRD?
5. Features Of HRD
6. Benefits Of Having Human Resource Development 

1) Human Resource Development Definition

HRD works to develop Human Resources in an organization by modernizing the knowledge and updating their skill set, a perception to meet the change in trends taking place in the global economy. HRD is one of the subsystems which works closely with other subsystems of the given organization such as production, marketing, finance, developer team, etc. Any standard HRD system holds communication, training, development, role analysis, job enrichment, along with performance appraisal. 

2) The Concept Of Human Resource Development 

The term HRD comprises two terms – the first one is “Human Resource,” and the latter one is “development.” The human resource is the lifeblood of any organization as they help recruit new talent and contribute to establishing a work culture. On the other hand, development is the ability to perform a present task at hand or the job which needs to be done shortly.

From the last two decades, we have seen the concept of human resource development coming into prominence. It is now considered one of the most critical and active factors that decide the velocity of production and manipulate the economy’s development processes. In layman’s terms, HRD is the concept that aims to impact the organizational and individual learning of the employees positively. 

3) Why do we Need the HRD? 

HRD is not a new concept, but it is gaining importance due to the work culture’s deteriorating conditions and the increased in-office competition, and rapid technological advancements. The rediscovery of HRD played a vital role in developing a healthy work culture in multinational corporations. People from different countries and backgrounds come together to find solutions to problems. 

The central theme of HRD keeps on changing from time to time. For some people, HRD has to do with the labor, agility, and skill development in the organization. In contrast, world organizations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) apply human resource development parameters to determine the quality of Human Resources in a country. 

There were three stages of human resource development in the past. The first one being the ancient one in which India was the leader. Then came the second stage during medieval times. The second stage was able to determine the welfare state concept, but the second stage could not materialize the idea into practice. Thus, it gave birth to feudalism along with perpetrated traditionalism. During this time, human development lost the battle to cope with technological evolution taking place in the material world. The third stage that most organizations are in today shows the human factor as a resource and power. It is as equally important as hardware resources. 

The reasons why we need the HRD are – 

• It makes the working life of Human Resources better, and it helps create a congenial environment in the organization.

• With the help of HRD, a company can create effective communication to surface employees’ creative abilities in full swing. 

• The HRD company gets to tap into the growth of the employees. Thus, making sure an employee knows about his strengths and weaknesses. 

• To make a present workforce skilled in their work to exploit the opportunities given to them in the best way possible. 

4) What Are The Functions Of HRD?

The HRD of the organization has lots of work to do, which includes recruitment, performance management, along with learning and development. Some of the major functions of the HRD department are – 

• Human Resource Planning

When it comes to defining the functionality of HRD, we need to talk about the organization’s future needs. HRD takes care of the kind of people the organization wants and in how many numbers. Knowing this helps to form the recruitment plan, learning, and development process. 

• Employee Training 

One of the most critical functions of HRD is to provide training to both new employees and old employees on the latest technology. Training helps increase the knowledge and the command of new skills required for doing a particular job. Training is considered to be the corner-stone of personnel administration. Employees can be trained systematically and scientifically so they can perform their tasks effectively and with efficiency. 

• Successful Planning and Development 

HRD is responsible for planning and developing the business in the given organization to bring fruitful results. Thus, the team has to develop every aspect of its organization and develop it to succeed. 

• Quality Circles

HRD creates a quality circle in the organization and supervises it. The main aim of quality circles is to identify the issues which are happening in the current workspace and try to get solutions. This helps in enhancing the problem-solving capabilities of the employees and increase their decision-making ability. 

• Career Planning 

Not only does an employee look for a way to create a better career, but even companies are taking a keen interest in planning the career of their employees in their capacities within the context of the organization’s current and future requirements, and HRD plays a significant role in achieving this target. 

5) Features Of HRD 

Human resource development keeps the present and the future needs of the organization in mind while making a decision. As a result, its features are crucial in shaping the organization’s work culture and team spirit. Given below are some essential features to look for in the HRD of any organization – 

• Systematic Approach 

With HRD, an organization gets to plan its employees’ growth in a systematic way to increase their work efficiency. HRD helps set future goals for the organization and work on employee development at an individual and an organizational level to make that goal achievable. 

• Human Resource Techniques 

The HRD team members work with several techniques to keep employees happy and conflict-free to get their employees’ full potential.

• Multi-Disciplinary Subject 

Furthermore, the Human Resources Development team continually keeps track of the employees’ feedback from behavioural science, people’s stats, human management, and the company economics perspective. 

6) Benefits Of Having Human Resource Development 

HRD is the single most important factor in higher productivity and better relations between the organization and the employee. In the same way, HRD has several benefits under its belt; some of the significant benefits are – 

• HRD makes the workplace more competent as it helps develop new skills and regularly updates employees with the latest technology. It also promotes a positive and professional attitude among the employees. 

• HRD brings in the performance appraisal system, which makes people more committed to their jobs. Each individual gets under the review in which the performance is measured based on the work the individual has done. 

• In addition to this, it helps build an environment of trust and mutual respect, which can only be created with a Human Resource Manager’s help. 

• With happy people, the workplace becomes more productive. Therefore creating better working relationships and maintaining its integrity adds value to the organization. HRD members are great at building trustworthy relations with the employees as it is part of their professional ethics. They are responsible for deploying new rules without hurting the sentiments or values of the employees. 

• If there’s a conflict between two team members or a dispute, a Human Resource Manager could end the disagreement if they are internal. The HRD has the responsibility to take timely action and resolve any dispute which would arise in the office. They also handle the conflicts between the employer and the employee or vice versa and always try to find a middle ground. 

• There’s no doubt that employees are the company’s principal asset, and hiring a new employee is one of the painstaking tasks. A single employee turnover can cost twice as much as their current salary when hiring a unique individual and training them. 

• The HRD department controls the turnover and is clear about the terms and conditions of the organization. Hiring the right person from the very start can quickly reduce the turnover by a considerable degree. 

Conclusion

Human Resource Development (HRD) isn’t a new thing, and indeed it’s not going out of trend soon. Even though its main objective keeps shifting according to scenarios, its primary function remains the same – to make Human Resources’ working life better in the organization.

Making the workplace more competent, HRD pushes employees to their working limits while still keeping them efficient and happy. Thus, we need to recognize the importance of HRD.
 In case you want to be a certified HRD who can take on any task required from this field like a champ, make sure you visit Jigsaw Academy’s 3-month online People Analytics & Digital HR program. This course offers an in-depth understanding of HRD solutions and their functioning. It also provides a joint certification from IIM Indore & Jigsaw Academy.

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