In this article, we’ll take a close look at objectives of personnel management, the different types of personnel management and how to align your whole organization.
Satisfied employees are more productive and motivated, and create a better professional culture in the workplace. [1]
Effective personnel management ensures that employees are continuously developing, productive, engaged, and satisfied – and that their goals are aligned with your organization’s objectives.
In this article, we’ll take a close look at how this is achieved, what it entails, its benefits, and how AG5 can help you create and implement a strategy for personnel management – even on an international scale.
For human resources professionals, understanding and implementing effective personnel management is essential. Personnel management encompasses all administrative tasks related to managing an organization’s workforce.
Within personnel management, there are three primary types – strategic, tactical, and operational. Each plays a distinct yet interconnected role in optimizing HR processes and achieving business goals.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down what personnel management entails at a high-level, then dive into the specifics of strategic, tactical, and operational personnel management. Let’s get started.
What is Personnel Management?
Personnel management refers to the management of an organization’s human resources or workforce. It involves overseeing and executing tasks related to employee satisfaction, recruitment, onboarding, training, compensation, and day-to-day workforce administration
The primary goal is to maximize employee productivity and satisfaction. This enables the organization to operate efficiently while achieving overarching business objectives.
Personnel management responsibilities typically fall under the human resources department. HR professionals oversee programs policies and processes that allow an organization to effectively manage its people – its most valuable asset.
Now let’s explore the three types of personnel management and their unique focus areas
Strategic Personnel Management
Strategic personnel management focuses on long-term workforce planning and talent management. The goal is to ensure the organization has the right people and skills not just for today, but for where the business aims to be years down the line.
Key Focus Areas:
-
Workforce planning: Forecasting future staffing and skill needs based on business goals, then developing talent pipelines to meet those needs.
-
Succession planning: Mapping career progression paths and nurturing talent to build a robust leadership succession pipeline.
-
Talent management: Implementing programs for attracting, developing, motivating, and retaining top talent across the employee lifecycle.
-
Change management: Guiding the workforce through organizational change in alignment with strategic objectives.
With strategic personnel management, the emphasis is on big-picture planning and talent optimization from a future-oriented perspective. Getting this long-term vision right enables tactical and operational personnel management programs to align.
Tactical Personnel Management
While strategic personnel management focuses on the long-term, tactical personnel management zeroes in on the near-term. This involves designing and executing HR programs anchored in strategic workforce plans.
Key Focus Areas:
-
Compensation and benefits: Developing competitive salary structures and enticing benefits packages.
-
Training and development: Creating training programs to upskill employees in line with business needs.
-
Performance management: Implementing systems to track employee performance, provide feedback, and align with strategic goals.
-
Recruiting and onboarding: Streamlining recruiting workflows and onboarding programs to efficiently hire and integrate new employees.
The tactical level aims to build the infrastructure needed to support strategic talent goals in the immediate 1-2 year horizon. With sound tactics in place, day-to-day personnel management can smoothly align.
Operational Personnel Management
This foundational type of personnel management involves executing the daily, nuts-and-bolts HR tasks that keep the workforce running smoothly. While not as flashy as strategic initiatives, operational personnel management establishes the backbone that underpins an engaged, productive workforce.
Key Focus Areas:
-
Payroll and employee data management: Processing payroll, maintaining records, managing taxes and compliance.
-
Absence management: Tracking vacation, sick days, and leaves of absence.
-
Administrative tasks: Handling tasks like reimbursements, office perks, employee relations issues.
-
Technology infrastructure: Ensuring HRIS systems, digital tools, and data integrations provide efficiency.
Dedicated operational personnel management resources are essential for maintaining high-functioning programs employees rely on. When these foundational tasks fall through the cracks, the ripple effects spiral upward.
Unifying Personnel Management Levels
Strategic, tactical, and operational personnel management work best when tightly aligned to provide cohesive, optimized human capital management.
-
Strategic plans inform needed tactics that enable smooth operations.
-
Effective operations and tactics provide the infrastructure to reach strategic talent goals.
Without alignment between the three levels, HR programs either won’t fully support business needs or will be inefficiently managed. Unified personnel management amplifies the impact of your people strategy.
Key Takeaways for HR Leaders
Personnel management provides the backbone of strategic HR planning and program implementation. Mastering these core types creates a holistic system for empowering your workforce from hire to retire.
-
Strategic – Future planning for long-term talent needs.
-
Tactical – Program development to meet near-term needs.
-
Operational – Day-to-day workforce administration.
Now that you understand the core types of personnel management, you can optimize processes at each level to drive productivity and keep your workforce energized. Ready to elevate how you manage your people? Reach out to learn more about our personnel management advisory services.
Legal compliance and risk mitigation
Effective personnel management also includes staying up to date with and adhering to laws and regulations related to employment and safety. This minimizes legal risks, prevents costly litigation, and fosters a compliant and ethical work environment.
Improved employee satisfaction and retention
Effective personnel management prioritizes employee well-being, recognition, and development – and thus contribute to higher rates of job satisfaction [4]. Satisfied employees, meanwhile, are more likely to stay with a company for longer, resulting in higher rates of retention (and reducing your organization’s turnover costs).
When employees’ goals are aligned with their organizations’, they contribute positively to key performance indicators, leading to improved business outcomes. This is because everyone is working toward the same common goal, despite potentially having different individual goals.
Human Resource Management (HRM) Explained in 10 minutes
What are the three types of personnel management functions?
(Definition And Steps) The three primary types of personnel management functions are as follows: This involves planning and recruiting employees strategically by studying the current recruitment policies, staff turnover and employee satisfaction levels.
What are the duties of Personnel Management?
The duties of personnel management cover the intake and continued evaluation of employees in a company. Some of those duties include: To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. What does personnel management mean? Personnel management is the focus of human resources and how the department interacts with company employees.
What are the different types of personnel administration tasks?
Personnel administration tasks can be divided into two categories: tasks for operational or legal reasons, or tasks for human resource policy and planning strategic decisions. The latter includes management key statistics, performance comparisons, or evaluating employee surveys.
What are the three elements of Personnel Management?
Aligning the three elements of personnel management involves a multipronged approach that encompasses a spectrum of employee-related factors. Here, we’ll take a brief look at a few of the most important. Recruitment and selection. Align hiring practices with the skills, competencies, and cultural fit necessary for organizational goals.
