Essay Example on Human Resource Management: Critical Role in Healthcare Facilities

Any organization whose enterprises are hiring, promotion, firing and termination of contracts as well as employee retirement benefits has to have a department of human resource manager (Torrington, Hall, and Tyrol, 2008). Human resource managers (HRM) have critical roles to play in a health care facility for them to offer quality patient care (Kabene et al. 2006). Staff costs in a health care organization accounts of 65-80% of total budget (Khatri, 2006). Therefore, Human Resource Management is critical for the success of these organizations. For the success of HRM, two significant theories guide their activities. These theories are; theory of performance- in which the efficiency of the staff at work is directly proportional to the efficacy of management (Wren, 2003). The other approach is the theory of motivation- in which according to Maslow, to workers, one has to meet their needs according to their hierarchical pyramid order starting with the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter (Maslow, 1943). HRM roles range from recruitment and hiring, staff motivation, and leadership. Advancement in technology has affected how these roles are carried, and HRM have, therefore, to update themselves to the emerging trends to execute their duties successfully.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Technology advancement has changed the mode of recruitment. Application of Artificial Intelligent (AI) and object learning has taken the hurdle of perusing through thousands of files to get the most qualified candidate. With AI, HRM will only run a command from their computers and the best-qualified candidates are shown from a pool of applicants. Contacting them have improved as HRM will only be required to send emails to the successful ones. Interviews can also be carried online thus saving time and resources needed to conduct board room interviews.

Due to the rapid change in technology, employees will also need to be retrained periodically, which is the duty of HRM to facilitate these training. They should conduct a knowledge gap caused by technology advancement and do customized instruction to meet their needs. These training should be aimed at ensuring that the company reduces labor as it eliminates ghost workers, increase productivity of employees and adhere to government regulations.

HRM has to control health care organizations by encouraging teamwork and resolving conflicts. Technology has broken communication hierarchies and taken the HRM close to the employees. Use of social media channels such as Facebook and Whatsapp allows HRM to communicate and get real-time responses from employees who have helped to advance the democratic leadership practice as staff views can be incorporated in the decision making of the top management of healthcare industries.

Technology has also changed the mode of performance appraisal in health care industries. Previously, interviews were performed using suggestion boxes in which patients would give their response over the staff. With the advancement in technology, HRM can get these responses in real time through web portal snap charts and organizational Facebook.

Most of these activities of Human Resource Manager can be digitized through the use of Human Resource Information System (HRIS) which acts as backbone technology of contemporary human resource (Hendrickson, 2003). HRIS can take different forms from a standalone payroll system, to an Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or a Hospital Information System HISs, all of which have improved Human Resource Management greatly.

The rapid change in technology has also given Human Resource Managers leadership and managerial roles. HRM inputs are needed in making organizational decisions such as size and demographics of staffing. Investment in Human Resource Management is no longer seen as a cost that only reduces returns and profits of these organizations but as an investment that guarantees these returns. The future success in health industries will not only depend on the balance sheet and trading profit and loss account but also a human resource.

References

Hendrickson, A. R. (2003). Human resource information systems: Backbone technology of contemporary human resources. Journal of Labor Research, 24(3), 382-394.

Kabene, S. M., Orchard, C., Howard, J. M., Soriano, M. A., & Leduc, R. (2006). The importance of human resources management in health care: a global context. Human resources for health, 4(1), 20.

Khatri, N. (2006). Building HR Capability in Health Care Organizations. Health Care Management Review, 31(1), 45-54.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370.

Torrington, D., Hall, L., & Taylor, S. (2007). Human resource management. Prentice Hall.

Wren, D. A. (2003). The influence of Henri Fayol on management theory and education in North America. Entreprises et Histoire, (3), 98-107.