Human resource is a term with which many organizations describe the combination of traditionally administrative personnel functions with performance management, Employee Relations and resource planning. The field draws upon concepts developed in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Human resources have at least two related interpretations depending on context. The original usage derives from political economy and economics, where it was traditionally called labor, one of four factors of production. The more common usage within corporations and businesses refers to the individuals within the firm, and to the portion of the firm's organization that deals with hiring, firing, training, and other personnel issues. This article addresses both definitions.

The objective of Human Resources is to maximize the return on investment from the organization's human capital and minimize financial risk. It is the responsibility of human resource managers to conduct these activities in an effective, legal, fair, and consistent manner.

Human resource management serves these key functions:

Recruitment Strategy Planning

Hiring Processes (recruitment)

Selection

Training and Development

Performance Evaluation and Management

Promotions

Redundancy

Industrial and Employee Relations

Record keeping of all personal data.

Compensation, pensions, bonuses etc in liaison with Payroll

Confidential advice to internal 'customers' in relation to problems at work.

Career development