The Role of Human Resources

People are your most important resource in your business, you need to use effective HR strategic planning techniques and strategies to manage your resources and minimize human resources issues.

As a small business owner or manager, the people you employee are of key importance to your business – you need to develop them to support your business goals. Many small businesses have less than five employees; and therefore they believe the role of human resources (HR) in their business is minor. However, even if you have only one employee, you need to understand ‘what is human resources’ and how to effectively manage human resources in your business. In all businesses, people are your most important resource and the most challenging to manage. And you need these resources for managing and operating your business effectively. People are not machines – they do not respond or react in a predictable or consistent manner.

The role of human resources in small business is to focus on developing the best of the people who are your human resources. You need to learn how to hire, train, coach and develop them to be significant contributors to your business. Not all business owners have developed these HR skills; if you need help, work with a business mentor or coach.

HR is actually very important in small businesses because of the significant impact one or a few employees can have on the business. For the success of your business, and its future growth potential, you need to include HR strategic planning in your overall business plan process. Your employees often have direct or indirect contact with your customers, suppliers and other stakeholders: you want them to be capable, customer-service focused and happy!