Regardless of the type of industry – manufacturing, health, sales, education, among many others – human resource management (HRM) plays a major role in its success. The history of Human resource management can be traced back to 200 BC and has since been integrated into many workplaces today. One such workplace or industry is health care. According to the World Health Report (2000), the staff working as a clinical and non-clinical operative in the health sector, and performs both individual and public health intervention are known as a human resource. Management of these cliques of people is referred to as human resource management (HRM) (World Health Report, 2000).
Niles (2013) describes human resource management as activities and methodologies involved in overseeing representatives within an organization accomplish the organizational goals, vision, and mission. The human resource must have the knowledge and the skills to work in healthcare. Motivating, imparting skills, and attaining the right information is therefore paramount for the success of the healthcare personnel. Human resource management in health care has a role to ensure that the right workers are enrolled, motivated, well paid, and endowed with the proper ethics, among many others. In essence, human resource management involves finding a balance between the management, the workers, the clients, and the health promoters. This paper looks into the various aspects of human resource management in the health care system; the key roles, functions, and strategic role of human resource management.
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Introductorily, Kabene, Orchard, Howard, Soriano, and Leduc (2006) say that increased attention on Human resource management has risen over time in healthcare systems globally. According to Kabene et al. (2006), human resources are major principle units of health care system. These include the nurses, doctors, midwives, the laboratories, social health operators, physicians, community health workers, the management team at a health facility, and non-staff members within a health institution. Other major principles include physical capital and consumables. Human resource management must, therefore, reconcile these three major principles in the healthcare sector. This prompts Kabene et al. (20006) and Niles (2013) to claim that human resource forms the building block of the health care system. Niles (2013) indicates that human resource management, therefore, ensures the effective and efficient functioning of healthcare institutions. Grépin and Savedoff, (2009) add that HRM involves dealing with information, development, planning, training workers, research, managing performance, and acquiring new employees among many other activities.
However, to understand the deeper the role played by the HRM in health care, Niles (2013) say that it is important to comprehend that it is an association of the human resource department and the administration which must be built towards success on both ends. According to Niles (2013) and Kabene et al. (2006), the human resource and administration association in healthcare institution is paramount because of the fact that the most health care associations have double managerial structures – the clinical administrators the well-being administration directors (Pg. 7). Kabene et al. (2006) say that the fostered association between the human resource and the administration forms the basis of understanding the various key roles of human resource management. The administration helps the human resource by giving the required data needed to ensure job examination. It is therefore okay to say that one key role of the HR in health care is job outlining and employment investigation.
HRM has the role of carrying out employment investigation and outlining the job. The HRM has the responsibility of understanding the needs for the healthcare and finding the best individual who befits the position. Niles (2013) says that employment investigation marks the establishment of HRM because it acts as the way through which the body understands what preparing and staffing prerequisites are needed to fill a position at the workplace. The HR administration, therefore, designs the standards – expertise, skills, and capacity of performance- needed at a healthcare institution.
Another key role by the Human resource management is indicating to the human resource their representative advantages and further direct the same advantageous programs (Niles, 2013, pg. 11). HR in healthcare has the responsibility of regulating the advantages received by the representatives at the workplace. Some of the advantages are usually stipulated by the government and such referred to as the obligatory advantages (Niles, 2013). These include the employees’ remuneration, the leaves, medical benefits, unemployment protection, and government disability among others. As such the HRM prepare the retirement arrangements, the paid leave, and other benefits.
Human Resource management in health care also has a role to ensure that both the managers and the workers understand their rights at the workplace. HRM also ensure that the healthcare institution understands its rights and duties in relation to the employees. Additionally, HRM has to ensure that both the workers and employers are continuously updated on new laws, policies, and regulations that affect the health care system. For instance, Niles (2013) says that the Health Insurance Portability (HIP) and the Accountability Act of 1999 would require the HRM to notify the institutions on patient data related issues so that in case the employees violates such it is okay for the HRM to initiate the termination of contract or firing of the individual.
The function of HRM in Healthcare
HRM has various functionalities within the health care system. These functions, however, are based on the key roles – previously indicated – played by the human resource administration. Some of the roles indicated were remuneration, informing about advantages to the employees and the management, representation of the employees, training, and investigating job requirements among many others. It is, therefore, true to say that HRM addresses most of the issues related to the job in the healthcare institutions – analysis and design, legal matters, recruitment, training of the employees and the management, ensuring and distribution employee benefits, among others.
Firstly, the most important function of human resource management in healthcare is employee recruitment, selection, and retention. Mayhew (2016) say that human resource management has one of its major goals set to ensure objective recruitment of both the clinical and non-clinical staff at health institutions. HRM also is to ensure that turnover rates are reduced to the minimum while retention maintained at high levels. Mayhew (2016) says that staff turnover is one of the leading cause of loss of millions of dollars in the health care system as well as other industries. HRM must, therefore, design the approaches to ensuring high employee retention. Some of these approaches, as stipulated by Mayhew (2016) include salary incentives, housing facilities, employee development programs, health insurance, and other benefits. Zurn, Dal Poz, Stilwell, and Adams (2004 ) also adds that offering the direction and guidance to the employees on how to improve on their career can help in ensuring high retention.
Secondly, motivating employees in the health care system is the other function of the HRM. It is important to indicate that the main functions of a healthcare institution is to provide quality healthcare services to the public, making their work among the most difficult and complicated. It is therefore important to motivate the human resource at the healthcare institutions – physicians, nurses, doctors, surgeons, pharmacists, and technicians and technologists working the various equipment at the workplace. Niles (2012) say that unmotivated employees at the health care institutions can lead to severe losses of both life and revenue. Niles (2012) indicate that unmotivated employees may not perform at their best consequently endangering the lives of the patients. According to Niles (2012), HRM has the responsibility of ensuring the employees are motivated and perform at their level best. Niles (2012) just like Mayhew (2016) suggest training, employee empowerment, and incentives as a way of motivating health practitioners and non-clinical staff at healthcare institutions.
Thirdly, human resource management handles the legal, ethical, and safety issues within the health care system. According to Niles (2013), HRM has the mandate of ensuring the training of the staff about the various legislations of the land about health care and the recommended ethical standards. They also have the function of ensuring that a good environment and organizational culture is created within the healthcare institution to ensure the safety of the employees. HRM is also responsible for designing the ethical standards within the organization and as such also have the responsibility of resolving conflicts within the health care system (Niles, 2013).
Fourthly, HRM ensures job analysis and design. According to Niles (2012), job analysis and design are one of the most important functions of HRMN in general, irrespective of industry. HRM in health care has the responsibility of analysis job and designing it depending on the workflow at the health institutions. Niles (2012) says that the various tasks in health care can only be assigned after analyzing the job and the professionalism required. This helps the human resource department to clearly understand the type of training that the staff requires and design the training program. Also, it helps the HR department to acquire the right people for the job, in cases of recruitment.
Strategic Role of HRM in Health Care
According to Russell (2016), the HRM functions revolve around one thing, representation. HRM has, therefore, the responsibility of giving and addressing representative concerns within the healthcare industry. Russell, therefore, says that human resource management in healthcare has the obligation of building a strong dependable bond between the administration and the employees by reprersneti9ng the workforce in various aspects. Russell (2016) say that this forms the basis of and the major strategic role of human resource management in health care.
Thompson, Strickland, Gamble, and Zeng' a (2008) just like Russell (2016) say that the major strategic role of the HRM in health care is to ensure the employee-employer relationship is strong. According to Mayhew (2016), the healthcare system must always consider long term growth and profitability. However, this mainly relies on the human resource management department. Mayhew (2016) says that every organization strategic planning, including the healthcare organizations, revolves around sustainability through HRM. Thompson et al. (2008) say that the ultimate objective of a health care institution is to maintain a sustainable competitive. As such the HRM has the role in ensuring availability of the workforce who are satisfied as well as able to keep up with organization goal. This the HRM can only do through strengthening the relationship between the employer and the employees. Mayhew (2016) adds that HRM strategic role in health care is the strategic planning of the organizations. HRM ensures that they identify the functional process required within the healthcare institution to ensure long term sustainability and competitive advantage. As such HRM become able to formulate a strong workforce strategy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, HRM plays a major role in the health care system. As described, HRM is responsible for creating a good relationship within the institutions of work. They are responsible for creating a good work environment for both the employees and the healthcare institutions. They are responsible for analyzing the job to ensure the right recruitment and training. They also represent the workers by providing them with the right information about legal matters and ethical standards in the workplace. HRM also helps in recruitment and ensuring high employee retention. All this HRM does to ensure sustainability and competitive advantage of the healthcare institution.
References
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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.
Mayhew, R. (2016). Human Resources - arcareereducation.org. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/six-main-functions-human-resource-department-60693.html
Niles, N. J. (2013). Basic Concepts of Health Care Human Resource Management . Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Russell, (2016). The Role of HR Manager in Health Care | Chron.com. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/role-hr-manager-healthcare-19031.html
Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., Gamble, J. E., & Zeng'an Gao. (2008). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases.
World Health Report (2000). World Health Organization. Health Systems: Improving Performance Geneva. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int.proxy.lib.uwo.ca:2048/whr/2000/en/whr00_ch4_en.pdf
Zurn, P., Dal Poz, M. R., Stilwell, B., & Adams, O. (2004). Imbalance in the health workforce. Human resources for health , 2 (1), 13.
