Personnel Management: Functions, Policies and Organisation
Personnel Management: Functions, Policies and Organisation
This domain tests the managerial side of people management: what personnel functions do, how policies guide action, and how the department is organised.
Core rules
- Managerial functions: planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. Operative functions: procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and separation.
- A personnel policy is a general guide to consistent decisions; a rule is specific and mandatory. Policies should be lawful, communicated, fair and reviewed.
- Organisation may be line, staff or line-and-staff. Line managers own performance and discipline; HR staff advise, design systems and ensure compliance.
- The personnel manager's roles include adviser, service provider, controller, change agent and employee advocate.
Worked example
A 60-person firm has no written leave or grievance policy. The personnel manager should first map legal requirements, then draft policies on recruitment, leave, wages, discipline and safety. Line managers must apply them consistently; HR monitors records and advises. If a supervisor grants leave outside policy, the problem is not the policy but its inconsistent application. The remedy is training and review, not an informal exception.
Traps
Do not reduce personnel management to hiring and payroll. Do not confuse policies with rules. Do not let HR take over line accountability; managers still manage people. Policies that ignore labour law create legal risk.