What is a Typical Day Like for a Human Resources Manager?

Depending on the industry, a typical day for a Human Resources manager will involve many different tasks, meetings and responsibilities. HR managers are typically involved with staffing, training, benefits, policies and legal compliance. Keep on reading to learn about the key role that these management professionals play.

The Morning Routine

HR managers begin their day checking emails, voice- mails and messages. This is always first because HR managers are responsible for many urgent, legal and time sensitive matters. For example, this could be a wrongful termination lawsuit or an employee grievance issue. Therefore, HR managers start their day by prioritizing urgent matters from the mundane. Many clerical tasks will be assigned to their assistant. The HR manager must arrange their day’s tasks according to pre-scheduled meetings and appointments.

Meetings

Depending on the industry, an HR manager will have several meetings throughout the day. For example, an HR manager at a retail business might meet with other managers to discuss seasonal staffing needs. An HR manager at a health care facility might meet with the director of nurses to discuss how to improve the quality of new employee orientation. On the other hand, an HR manager at a manufacturing facility might meet with the operations manager to discuss safety concerns and how to fix them to ensure legal compliance.

Legal Compliance

HR managers in every industry must ensure that their company complies with local, state and federal laws. The bulk of these laws concern labor and employment. For example, an HR manager in a manufacturing facility would be responsible to ensure compliance with EPA air, water and soil guidelines. They would also be responsible to ensure compliance with strict OSHA safety guidelines. The HR manager would strive to help injured employees follow workers’ compensation rules while pushing to have the employee return to work as soon as possible. This is because workers’ compensation insurance rates will be increased according to the amount of days that injured workers miss work.

What Does a Worker’s Compensation Specialist Do?

An HR manager in a sales company would have to interpret the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules concerning restricted overtime pay for traveling salespeople. Overall, HR managers must ensure legal compliance in order to protect the company.

Staffing

A typical day for a Human Resources manager will involve staffing activities, which include recruitment, interviewing and hiring new employees. This could involve creating and placing job ads in a variety of media platforms. These include local newspapers, state employment agencies and job search websites. Most employee recruiting takes place online through popular job search websites, such as Monster, Indeed and even Craigslist. HR managers will often delegate the task of reviewing the hundreds of resumes and applications to their assistant. Or they will simply use their HR recruitment software that automatically screens candidates. However, the HR manager will decide on the final candidates and interview them.

Employee Performance

HR managers assist management with documenting and coordinating employee performance reviews. HR managers are involved because disciplining or terminating an employee requires excellent documentation. This is because certain employees may file a discrimination complaint, union grievance or even a wrongful termination lawsuit. The HR manager must ensure that any performance or disciplinary problems are properly documented.