What is the definition of human resources management?

Human resource management (HRM) is both an academic theory and a business practice that addresses the theoretical and practical techniques of managing a workforce. Synonyms include personnel administration, personnel management, manpower management,[1] and industrial management[2], but these traditional expressions are becoming less common for the theoretical discipline. Sometimes even industrial relations and employee relations are confusingly listed as synonyms (e.g. EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica) although these normally refer to the relationship between management and workers and the behavior of workers in companies.

The theoretical discipline is based primarily on the assumption that employees are individuals with varying goals and needs, and as such should not be thought of as basic business resources, such as trucks and filing cabinets. The field takes a positive view of workers, assuming that virtually all wish to contribute to the enterprise productively, and that the main obstacles to their endeavors are lack of knowledge, insufficient training, and failures of process.

HRM is seen by practitioners in the field as a more innovative view of workplace management than the traditional approach. Its techniques force the managers of an enterprise to express their goals with specificity so that they can be understood and undertaken by the workforce, and to provide the resources needed for them to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, HRM techniques, when properly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterprise overall.

Nowadays, the more traditional synonyms such as personnel management are often used in a more restricted sense to describe those activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing its members with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. These activities can require regulatory knowledge and effort, and enterprises can benefit from the recruitment and development of personnel with these specific skills

Human resource management of independent contractors
The human resources management of the contingent workforce can be challenging due to the unique legal and operational landscape. There is much research indicating the benefits and advantages to working as and hiring independent consultants. Companies benefit because they can hire a highly skilled and experienced expert to work on a short-term project and do not have to hire the consultant full-time. The benefits of this are that the company incurs a relatively low cost, because they pay a rate to the consultant for exactly and only the amount of time they are needed. The alternative to this would be hiring the consultant permanently and having to pay for the time the professional is not working on a major project. Many industries now have a rising need for the flexibility and speed of deployment of skilled contractors, and permanent talent can never fill this demand. Also the company gets an experienced professional to work on the project, most likely resulting in a finished product of high quality. The independent consultant benefits because he or she may choose when and where to work, on which projects to work (probably those in which he or she is most interested) and can also choose his or her salary by negotiating a competitive billing rate. There are, however, several challenges in managing independent consultants in regards to human resources. The hired consultant often does not work in the same physical office space of the hiring client, and therefore could be rather detached from the company. Also the contractor works for the company for a short period of time. These aspects of the independent consultant's profession could present HR problems in terms of lack of motivation, lack of cohesion with the hiring company's goals and culture, as well as miscommunication between the consultant and his or her manager or director. From a security standpoint, the independent consultant is somewhat of a â€œforeignerâ€ in the company and may pose concerns about his or her trustworthiness. Also, if the company does not correctly classify the contractor (for example if they were hired as an independent, but are really considered an employee), it is at risk for IRS reclassification. Although these are legitimate concerns and real challenges, there are several solutions and ways to succeed in the management of independent contractors. For temporary administrative workers, staffing companies can fulfill the HR need. In the case of more specialized consultants (highly skilled and highly compensated experts), a better solution is to use a Portable employer of record or an umbrella company.