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Difference between role of Personnel Manager and HRM Manager

Traditionally the term personnel management was used to refer to the set of activities concerning

the workforce which included staffing, payroll, contractual obligations and other administrative

tasks. In this respect, personnel management encompasses the range of activities that are to do

with managing the workforce rather than resources. Personnel Management is more

administrative in nature and the Personnel Managers main job is to ensure that the needs of the

workforce as they pertain to their immediate concerns are taken care of. Further, personnel

managers typically played the role of mediators between the management and the employees and

hence there was always the feeling that personnel management was not in tune with the

objectives of the management.With the advent of resource centric organizations in recentdecades, it has become imperative to put people first as well as secure management objectives

of maximizing the ROI (Return on Investment) on the resources. This has led to the developmentof the modern HRM function which is primarily concerned with ensuring the fulfillment of

management objectives and at the same time ensuring that the needs of the resources are taken

care of. In this way, HRM differs from personnel management not only in its broader scope but

also in the way in which its mission is defined. HRM goes beyond the administrative tasks of

personnel management and encompasses a broad vision of how management would like the

resources to contribute to the success of the organization.Cynics might point to the fact that whatever term we use, it is finally about managing people.

The answer to this would be that the way in which people are managed says a lot about the

approach that the firm is taking. For instance, traditional manufacturing units had personnelmanagers whereas the services firms have HR managers. While it is tempting to view Personnel

Management as archaic and HRM as modern, we have to recognize the fact that each serves or

served the purpose for which they were instituted. Personnel Management was effective in the

smokestack era and HRM is effective in the 21st century and this definitely reflects a paradigm

shift in the practice of managing people.

Some points that can easily understand difference between Personnel manager and HRM

Manager:

The scope of personnel management include functional activities such as manpowerplanning, recruitment, job analysis, job evaluation, payroll administration, performance

appraisals, labor law compliance, training administration, and related tasks. Human

resources management includes all these activities plus organizational developmental

activities such as leadership, motivation, developing organizational culture,

communication of shared values, and the like.

The human resource management approach remains integrated to the companys corestrategy and vision, and seek to optimize the use of human resource for the fulfillment of

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organizational goals. This strategic and philosophical context of human resource

management makes it more purposeful, relevant, and more effective compared to the

personnel management approach.

Another dimension of the difference is approach between human resources vs. personnelmanagement is the proactive nature of human resource management compared to the

reactive nature of personnel management.

Personnel management remains aloof from core organizational activities, functionsindependently, and takes a reactive approach to changes in corporate goals or strategy.

Human resource management remains integrated with corporate strategy and takes a

proactive approach to align the workforce toward achievement of corporate goals. For

instance, while the personnel management approach concerns itself with a reactive

performance appraisal process, human resource management approach has a more

comprehensive and proactive performance management system that aims to correctperformance rather than make a report card of past performance.

Personnel management is an independent staff function of an organization, with littleinvolvement from line managers, and no linkage to the organizations core process.

Human resource management on the other hand remains integrated with the organizations

core strategy and functions. Although a distinct human resource department carries out

much of the human resource management tasks, human resource initiatives involve the

line management and operations staff heavily. Personnel management also strives to

reconcile the aspirations and views of the workforce with management interest by

institutional means such as collective bargaining, trade union based negotiations and the

like. This leads to fixation of work conditions applicable for all, and not necessarily

aligned to overall corporate goals.

Human Resource Management gives greater thrust on dealing with each employeeindependently and gives more importance to customer-focused developmental activities

and facilitating individual employees rather than bargaining or negotiating with trade

unions.

Reference:

http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-

resource-management-whats-the-difference/

http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-resource-management-whats-the-difference/http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-resource-management-whats-the-difference/http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-resource-management-whats-the-difference/http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-resource-management-whats-the-difference/http://www.brighthubpm.com/resource-management/75775-personnel-management-vs-human-resource-management-whats-the-difference/