Nowadays most employees have heard about HR. These two letters do not refer to 'Her Royalty', or 'His Royalty', but to a specific office or rather the manager/director responsible for the human resources section, unit or department within a company/organisation.

Not all workplaces enjoy the benefits of having an HR manager or department within the company's organisational chart, and in very small companies the task of HR management is generally absorbed by the manager.

Medium-sized companies usually only have a person specifically employed to take over all the jobs under the HR umbrella; or as it was previously known 'personnel management'. Larger companies employ more people to man their HR department, as there are more employees to take care of, and more employment and industrial issues to work on.

The HR phenomenon developed strongly after World War II, when social scientists evaluated the repercussions of a 'distance' between the bureaucratic arm of organisations and the human needs of its employees. Even as early as the 1920s, studies had indicated the existence of this chasm, which was a direct after-effect of the industrial revolution: masses of people were employed in factories and large establishments - a novelty at the time of their invention.

This created a situation where people literally became nothing more than 'numbers' - human pawns in the name of industry and money-making. Research in this area triggered attention to this growing fault in the world of employment, and it was the first inkling of what would become a mass movement towards giving back dignity to the worker, whatever the nature of his/her work.

Quality of life includes proper work and employment conditions and these are factors that the HR department is meant to address within any organisation.

Ultimately, organisations require workers, their skills, time, energy, enthusiasm, initiative and talents, among others. People need work to earn a living, to fulfil themselves personally and socially, achieve satisfaction in the pleasure of seeing a job well done and be appreciated for it. It is a give-and-take situation.

Therefore, it stands to reason that each worker must be well placed within a company to give his utmost for his own and his company's maximum achievement. This is the first instance where the HR manager, who is also a worker within the organisation, comes in.

This is where he/she helps the company in its recruitment and selection process. The company in turn consults with this HR specialist first by explaining which job the recruitment is targeting, what its specifications are and what sort of employee they are seeking to take on board.

The HR person will then draw up a formal recruitment strategy (which can also form an integral part of a company's internal policy), channelling an application process that targets the type of person in mind. There follows an intricate and generally detailed procedure of shortlisting and interviewing applicants, and after close scrutiny and discussion with the company, the successful applicant gets the job.

Then comes the next phase - the next responsibility of the HR manager or staff, when the new arrival gets guided through the initial stages of integration. This process is generally followed by training or induction. In certain instances, jobs or positions, it is the HR staff's task to train staff especially with a company's corporate identity.

There are many other training options that can be taken up by HR managers, namely ongoing training for personnel, organising training even in varied self-help realms, such as confidence-building, stress management, first aid, team-building, and many others.

Some innovative and dynamic HR managers come up with more original ideas, such as organising charity and health promotion events, commemorative dinners for staff members and their families, fun treats for employees' children, or employee suggestion schemes and employee of the year initiatives.

It is generally then the duty of the HR personnel to be present to tackle concerns arising from individual employees or departments within the company and bridge the communication gap.

However, there is another core responsibility placed squarely on the shoulders of the HR manager. That is to ascertain that all employees are coping well with their tasks, everyone sticks to his/her job description, that work distribution is suitable to all and that the health and well-being of each employee is being respected.

An HR manager needs to be consulted especially where there are issues of discrimination, harassment, unjust promotion and unfair treatment. Ultimately a conscientious HR professional can make all the difference within a company to successfully ward off high staff turnover and make the workplace a happier experience for all.

CSB, operator of VacancyCentre.com, has been supporting the local business community with its services since 1987. For information call 2123 2224 or 2123 2225, fax 2123 2226, e-mail support@vacancycentre.com, or visit www.VacancyCentre.com.