HR 101: The basic principles

You’re probably familiar with the popular statement: “People are your greatest asset.” This is particularly true of the charity sector, where without good staff, organisations wouldn’t be able to deliver their vital work.

So, it makes sense to have an HR team whose job it is to find the right people to do this important work and keep them motivated.

What is HR?

HR stands for human resources. This is the team or sole person – depending on the size of the organisation – that is responsible for developing, hiring, and training staff. HR professionals carry out tasks such as reviewing CVs, keeping track of information about staff, and making sure the organisation complies with employment laws.

The professional body for HR and people development CIPD says: “The HR function helps an organisation deliver its strategy and objectives by effectively recruiting and developing people and managing their performance.”

Depending on the size of your charity, you may have a large HR department with each team member focusing on one area of human resources. Or if you work for a small organisation, you may have a smaller team, or one person, doing a bit of everything.

Why is HR important?

For a charity to thrive and fulfil its mission, it’s important to have an enthusiastic and motivated team of staff. HR professionals play a key role in maintaining and boosting employee satisfaction and morale. They do this by training and supporting staff and building positive relationships between employers and employees.

We explore the main responsibilities of an HR team, or sole HR person, below in further detail.

Working culture

To keep staff engaged with their work, it’s important to create a positive working culture. This in turn can lead to benefits for the organisation, such as increasing productivity and reducing staff turnover. A good HR team can help to improve the work culture and employee experience in an organisation.

Talent acquisition and management

Talent acquisition is the process of finding candidates for open jobs and bringing them into an organisation. It involves two phases: recruiting and hiring.

To find potential employees, HR staff will use LinkedIn, job boards, and get referrals from existing staff. They’ll collect a pool of interested candidates which they’ll share with managers and the senior leadership team. The candidates will be reviewed, with suitable people invited in for interviews.

Training and development

A key responsibility of an HR team is to make sure that staff update their skills and continue to perform well. HR teams can either develop training programmes in-house or use a third-party training company. HR professionals can also provide specific guidance and training to managers and senior leaders.

Hiring and firing

HR teams are responsible for managing the employee lifecycle – so, recruiting through to letting go of staff. HR departments will work with managers to determine the needs of a role and then advertise them and arrange interviews. They will make sure that all necessary paperwork for hiring someone is completed.

Sometimes HR teams may need to take disciplinary action or dismiss a staff member.

Onboarding

New candidates need to be integrated into an organisation and familiarise themselves with how things work. This includes completing payroll and benefits paperwork, giving them handbooks and policies to read and providing inductions with key members of staff.

Payroll and benefits

Payroll is the “process an organisation uses to distribute money to employees, the government and other recipients on behalf of staff and the organisation”. A big part of this is making sure everyone gets paid correctly, and on time. If anything goes wrong, it can really affect the working culture.

HR teams also coordinate employee benefits and make sure staff get what they’re entitled to. HR professionals should carry out research to check what other organisations are offering and make sure their benefits are competitive.

Updating policies

An HR team is responsible for reviewing and updating your charity’s policies each year. If HR staff feel changes need to be made to policies, they’ll speak to senior managers about this.

HR compliance

HR staff need to make sure an organisation is complying with key employment laws that promote fairness, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These rules help keep employees safe by protecting them from discrimination and harassment.

Supporting health and wellness

HR teams are also responsible for looking after the health and wellbeing of staff. This means, for example, supporting people with physical and mental health issues and making sure people who are pregnant get the maternity package they are entitled to.

Look out for other articles in our ‘HR 101’ series. We’ll cover talent management, compliance, training, workplace safety, and much more.