HR’s New Role

HR’s focus on minimizing personnel costs was not a problem when job markets were cool. But now keeping positions filled and preventing employees from burning out or becoming dissatisfied are the priorities. To meet the fundamental challenge of hiring and retaining good people, HR needs to return to its traditional role of taking care of employees. It must play a lead role in persuading top management to treat employees better and to change company policies on pay, training, layoffs, vacancies, outsourcing, and restructuring.