What Are the 4 Fundamentals of HR?

The Milestone Team March 4, 2024
What are the 4 fundamentals of HR

The four fundamentals of HR are planning, recruitment, development, and retention. Essentially, human resources has to do with anything that enables the people in your organization—and therefore your business—to succeed. In this blog, we cover HR common terms and best practices. We also go over how outsourced HR for startups can help your business fulfill essential HR functions.

What Are the Fundamentals of HR Management?

At a fundamental level, HR management includes any tasks that help optimize your most valuable resource—your people! To this end, your HR team should handle the following:

  • Onboarding and Offboarding
  • Employee/Employer Relations
  • Handbook Design and Distribution
  • Labor Law Compliance
  • Compensation and Benefits Management
  • And So Much More!

Our team is here to supplement your team for as few or as many HR tasks as you need. Reach out to learn more.

What Are the 4 Ps of HR?

The 4 Ps of HR are:

  • Perspective
  • Pulse
  • People
  • Partnership

These principles help guide your HR team members to engage more deeply and effectively with their role in your organization. Let’s take a closer look at each of the 4 Ps of HR:

  • Perspective: HR professionals need to take a holistic view of your business to make the best decisions. HR impacts every aspect of your organization because they enable the people in each department to succeed. When making changes or refining a process, HR needs to consider how sales, engineering, marketing, leadership, customer support, and all other stakeholders will be affected.
  • Pulse: Your HR team needs to know how your people are doing. This can be done through employee engagement surveys, performance reviews, and casual conversations. When HR knows what’s going on, they can pursue initiatives to improve company culture, employee/employer relations, team morale, and employee retention.
  • People: The primary HR areas of specialization are people-centered. At the core of every decision, your HR team should understand that real people—your team members—are the ones being affected. Therefore, HR professionals should build relationships with employees in the rest of the company to truly understand what they need to reach their full potential.
  • Partnership: When done right, HR is the glue of your organization. Through partnerships with other business leaders, your HR professionals can drive meaningful change while ensuring your employees’ success remains central to decision-making.

It takes a lot to develop an effective HR department. For expert results without the ramp-up time (and straining overhead costs), partner with an outsourced HR services provider like Milestone. Our team is just a phone call away.

What Are the 7 HR Basics?

The 7 HR basics are:

  • uncheckedRecruitment and Hiring for Startups
  • uncheckedPerformance Management
  • uncheckedLearning and Development
  • uncheckedSuccession Planning
  • uncheckedCompensation Benefits
  • uncheckedHuman Resources Information Systems
  • uncheckedHR Data and Analytics

HR isn’t an a la carte function for startups. If you’re leaving any of the above boxes unchecked, it’s time to look for a solution. Our team is here to help you find it.

What Are the 4 Rs in HR?

The 4 Rs in HR are:

  • Recruit
  • Receive
  • Retain
  • Reward

By mastering these 4 Rs, your HR department can unlock the full potential of your team (and save your business resources along the way). Here’s why each aspect of HR is so vital:

  • Recruit Top Talent: No matter what market conditions are like, startups have to compete with a lot of other employers when it comes to attracting the best of the best. The most notable competition isn’t always other startups, either; you’re also sharing a labor pool with established corporations. It’s up to your HR team to cut through the noise and build connections with the types of people you want to work with.
  • Receive New Team Members: After new hires accept their offer, there’s still a lot of work to do. HR guides new employees through the (often tedious) process of onboarding. Since this is an employee’s first impression of your organization, it’s important to set the right tone. HR can start this relationship off on the right foot by streamlining onboarding paperwork and forming connections with key team members.
  • Retain Valuable Employees: Indeed reports that the average person stays at a job for four years. That’s a scary clock for businesses that have to eat the costs of employee turnover, especially when those costs range from three to four times that employee’s salary (according to LinkedIn)! HR can help increase employee retention rates through professional development initiatives, company culture improvements, and more. 
  • Reward Significant Contributors: In addition to professional development opportunities, advancement tracks, and compensation increases incentivize employees to stay with your organization. When you invest in your team, they’re a lot more likely to return the favor year after year. After all, people come to work to earn a living. Your HR team is responsible for optimizing your available resources to reward your team for their hard work.

Has your team mastered the 4 Rs of HR? If not, it’s time to consider partnering with a third-party HR services provider. Give us a call to learn more.

What Are the 4 Pillars of HR?

The four HR pillars are:

  • Recruitment
  • Performance Management
  • Corporate Learning
  • Performance Management

Some aspects of these pillars can be broken down even further. For example, within performance management, the 4 Cs of management are:

  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Commitment
  • Compassion

Or when looking into recruitment, the 4 Cs of onboarding are:

  • Compliance
  • Clarification
  • Culture
  • Connection

Master the Essentials of HR with Milestone!

HR keeps the engine of your organization humming, but most small businesses don’t have the resources for an in-house HR department. If this sounds like you, don’t settle for inefficient HR systems. Give our team a call for a partnership that provides:

  • Experts with experience in your industry and growth stage
  • Transparent pricing
  • No long-term contracts

Optimize your human resources today!

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