The role of the HR manager has changed and now means being most things to most people, writes Colm Ward.

Every successful business organisation recognises the value of top-quality staff. This is reflected in the massive resources companies invest in recruitment and training. In this battle to find and retain the best people, the human resources (HR) manager is on the front line.

But the role of the HR manager has been evolving constantly over the past number of years. No longer confined to recruiting staff and overseeing the administrative work associated with their employment, the job now encompasses a much greater range of responsibilities.

Staff training and development, maintaining good employer-employee relations and advising on overall business strategy all now come under the umbrella of human resources.

Many organisations have come to view the HR manager as an essential and equal player on the management team.

"HR has to move much more into the mainstream and become a business partner with the other line managers," says Ms Bernadette Breen, senior manager with PriceWaterhouseCoopers's HR solutions group.

In order to do this successfully, the HR manager needs to have a good understanding of whatever business they are in.

The HR role within a technology company, for example, would be very different to that within a hospital.

It is increasingly the case that HR managers need to assume a "collaborative and consultative role" within the organisation, Ms Breen believes. This means that they must have an input into the development of the business strategy.

Part of this involves getting the message across that people are the "lynchpin" in executing any plans. Failure on the part of management to recognise this can be disastrous for the organisation.

"The key role for HR is to help to facilitate change," Ms Breen says.

People often have a fear of change, which can pose problems for many businesses. A HR manager should be able to address these fears and ensure that staff are aware of what is happening.

To do this effectively, she says, a good HR manager needs more than business acumen; he or she should also be a facilitator and a relationship adviser.

A good personality is also an important trait.

"In this world, [HR managers\] have got to understand the vagaries of business, be personable, approachable and patient. If they have these attributes and can still communicate effectively under pressure, then they will make the grade," says Mr Don Hegarty, director of human resources with pharmaceutical and healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline.

He identifies four main roles for a HR manager:

employee champion, ensuring that the employees' voices are heard within the organisation;

administration expert, ensuring that all salaries and awards are administered in a timely fashion;

strategic partner, coaching business leaders and ensuring that staff are in alignment with the business strategy; and

leader or change agent, supporting staff when changes are being made within the organisation.

The pharmaceutical industry in Ireland is one that has been very successful, with many large multinationals setting up plants in the Republic.

However, this success presents some difficulties for HR managers - namely how to find and retain good staff given the limited number of appropriately qualified people.

Strategies to retain staff vary from one organisation to the next, depending on a number of factors, such as budget and profit margins.

However, most offer a combination of incentives, including bonuses, share-participation schemes and financial perks, such as a company car.

But such perks form only part of a larger process.

According to Mr Hegarty, employees regard career development as one of the most important factors. Training also plays an large role in encouraging staff to stay with the organisation.

"We would have a standard that everybody devotes 5 per cent of their annual time to training," he says.

At the height of the boom a few years ago, many organisations had to deal with a very high turnover of staff, as people changed jobs regularly lured by the promise of better salaries or conditions elsewhere.

Although the current economic downturn means that people are now more likely to stay in their present jobs, companies cannot afford to become complacent.

"There is still a huge need to have good people in place and to retain them because good people will always be able to go somewhere else," says Ms Breen.

"People want to be trained and if they are not getting that they are more likely to leave the organisation."

Similarly, staff must be made to feel that they will be rewarded for their hard work and ability.

"People like to feel that they can move within an organisation and have an opportunity to move to a more senior position," she says.

Recent developments, technological and social, have also impacted on the role of the HR manager.

According to Ms Catherine Lambe, HR director with Hewlett-Packard, the development of technology to assist with the administrative part of the job has meant that HR managers can dedicate more time to strategic thinking.

"I think that we can leverage a lot more from technology in the day-to-day stuff through employee self-service and manager self-service," she says.

Ireland's growing multiculturalism has also presented some challenges for HR professionals as they try to integrate people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds into the workplace. One of the largest employers in the Republic, Intel, has developed a number of strategies to create a respect for diversity among its staff.

"We kicked off a number of initiatives based around teaching our people to understand diversity," says Mr Ray Gannon, director of HR.

These programmes were created as part of a larger commitment to create of culture of "dignity and respect within the workplace".

Intel's staff turnover rate of less than 5 per cent, low by industry standards, is proof of the success of this policy, he believes.

HR managers also have to be aware that no organisation operates in isolation from the society in which it is based. He or she must take a step back and look at the larger picture, Mr Gannon says.

For example, Intel runs a number of schemes to encourage more people to study science and technology.

One of the benefits for the company is that there will be a greater pool of qualified people to meet future staff requirements.