Difference Between HRM and HRD

While they might sound similar, the terms HRM (Human Resource Management) and HRD (Human Resource Development) are quite different in their meanings. They stand for vastly different aspects of human resources, which allow the HR personnel to manage their staff effectively while catering to the recruitments of their organization.

Hence, we will be discussing the difference between HRM and HRD in this blog, by giving you a good idea of their exact definitions as well as their differences. We will also discuss extensively the similarities and advantages of these concepts, helping you differentiate between HRM vs HRD.

Difference Between HRM and HRD

Here is a table to help you understand the difference between HRM vs HRD:

What is HRM (Human Resource Management)?

HRM or Human Resource Management is the process of managing the employees of an organization through various effective strategies to achieve the organizational goals. It motivates the employees to perform their duties actively and remain engaged with their company.

Human resource management aims to optimize the productivity of the organization through effective management of the human resources within the company. To achieve this objective, the right individual is hired for a role and provided with the best tools feasible to help them undertake their duties well.

While HRM starts with the hiring of employees, it continues throughout the employee life cycle in various forms such as training, performance and appraisal, compensation and benefits, safety, health, welfare and wellbeing, etc.

Evolution of HRM

Over the years, HRM has evolved from simple personnel management to comprehensive management of ‘human resources’. It began with Industrialization as the working class was the creation of this revolution. As a result, dedicated departments for payroll, employee welfare, etc. were established by the government. Similarly, it also led to the creation of labour unions, employee relations, etc. which looked after employee welfare.

Eventually, scientific management principles were theorized and put into practice, which shifted the focus from extreme productivity to employee well-being and job satisfaction. It eventually evolved into management of human ‘resources’, as employees started being treated as valuable ‘resources’ of an organization.

HRM Functions

There are numerous functions handled by HRM, which provide the company with a workforce that is satisfied and engaged enough to handle the daily tasks of the organization. Some of the major functions include:

1. Strategizing

It involves developing effective strategies to ensure the fulfilment of organizational goals.

2. Administration

Administration provides structure to the various tasks required to handle the employees successfully.

3. Job Planning

It refers to developing the numerous designations for specific jobs, as well as the requirements for the employee undertaking that job.

4. Recruitment

It involves searching for the right candidate and placing them in specific job roles while ensuring that they are the right fit for the role and the organization.

5. Engagement

It refers to actively strategizing multiple approaches to ensure employee engagement among the employees.

6. Payroll Management

It refers to handling employee payroll to calculate it accurately and disburse it on time to compensate the staff for their time and effort.

7. Attendance Management

It involves handling the employees’ roster and attendance management to ensure correct payroll.

8. Performance Management

It refers to the process of measuring employee performance and providing them with rewards and recognition.

9. Exit

It refers to the process of smoothly concluding the formal relationship with an employee.

Advantages of HRM

There are various advantages of HRM, which make it a critical part of organizational processes. Some of the major ones are:

• It improves the overall performance of the organization which leads to enhanced business growth.
• It enhances employee performance since it includes onboarding, training, performance analytics, etc.
• It ensures compliance with the regulatory laws, which helps build trust among the staff members.
• It improves employee relationships with the company through conflict resolution and negotiation.
• It also leads to a better employee satisfaction rate, leading to motivated staff members who can be retained for longer.

What is HRD (Human Resource Development)?

HRD or Human Resource Development is the process of helping employees enhance their productivity through targeted training, upskilling, and other initiatives, leading to better organizational efficiency and profitability.

While HRD is often confused to be simply training exercises, it is composed of multiple components, with employee training simply being a part of it. It also includes measuring employee performance, taking care of employee wellbeing, providing customized growth and development opportunities for career growth, and more.

Human Resource Development ensures that employees are skilled enough to handle their duties effectively, leading to increased performance and enhanced efficacy. It also involves aligning the individual goals with the organizational goals and empowering the staff to achieve their personal goals, which also leads to the accomplishment of the organizational targets.

Evolution of HRD

HRD was conceptualized solely as the process of improving employee productivity, with a limited scope of employee development. However, with the increased popularity of HRD, it was repurposed to cater to employee skills development.

Around the 1970s, the idea of upskilling the employees steered towards an employee-centric approach, which resulted in the creation of dedicated employee training and development programs. These programs were developed to improve the efficiency of the training and help the employee retain their knowledge effectively.

By the early 2000s, employees were trained using modern technologies, which made the training creative and engaging. Similarly, ‘continuous training’ began gaining momentum as a concept around the same time, further increasing the significance of HRD for organizations.

Eventually, the trend skewed towards managing talent and succession planning, leading to career development initiatives, DEI integration, training analytics, and more. Presently, HRD provides creative career and skill development opportunities, personalized training, AI-based talent development initiatives, and more, which enables the HR teams to analyze employee talent and market trends and train them based on them.

HRD Functions

There is a common misconception that HRD is simply employee training. However, it covers a myriad range of employee and organizational development initiatives, ranging from personalized training programs to strategic organizational growth. Hence, the main functions of HRD are:

1. Career Development

It involves developing employee careers through personalized training and providing the right tools for the alignment of employee and organizational goals.

2. Talent Management

It involves managing the talent within the organization through performance management and career planning initiatives.

3. Gamified Training

It helps provide the employees with a gamified learning experience which effectively trains them for an engaging experience and increased knowledge retention.

4. Performance Analytics

It measures employee performance and provides HR with in-depth analytics to enable them to personalize the training experience to suit the employee.

5. Succession Planning

It involves choosing specific employees who seem promising enough to be future leaders and grooming them to take over senior positions when they become vacant.

Also Read:

6. Structured Learning

It deals with developing a structured approach towards employee learning and development programs, leading to optimized use of resources.

7. Training & Development

It involves arranging and managing online employee training sessions for smoothly undertaking them while ensuring effective knowledge retention.

8. Organizational Development

It refers to the collective development of the organization through employee training and talent management initiatives.

Advantages of HRD

HRD is essential for the correct functioning of an organization since it helps the employees upskill themselves. Hence, some of the major advantages of HRD include:

• It improves the employees’ skills and knowledge, leading to enhanced organizational productivity due to better overall performance.
• It increases employee motivation as they realize their importance to the company and wish to remain for longer.
• It leads to a better work environment as the employees remain motivated to work, while also staying engaged with their organization.
• It also helps the employees trust and stay loyal to their organization for longer, ensuring employee retention and loyal staff.
• It also results in the alignment of employee goals with organizational goals, which is ideal for better business and company growth.

HRM and HRD Difference

The difference between HRM and HRD is very evident when you consider the implications both have on the company. While HRM is concerned with the overall management of employees, HRD focuses more on their upskilling and development to ensure a productive workforce.

We are using the following factors to understand HRM and HRD difference:

1. Focal Point

HRM: HRM focuses on the overall management of the human resources within an organization. It includes administration of the employees using company policies, cultivating and maintaining company culture, and more, which results in enhanced engagement and job satisfaction.

HRD: HRD emphasizes the learning and development of employees through targeted training sessions, personalized training plans, and more to ensure that all employees can perform to the best of their abilities.

2. Overall Scope

HRM: HRM’s scope is comparatively broader since it deals with the overall management of employees in the organization. From hiring to retirement, HR management ensures that the employees’ needs are met and are contributing members of the company.

HRD: HRD’s scope is comparatively narrower since it only deals with employee upskilling and development. To achieve this objective, various activities are undertaken under HRD such as career planning, talent management, training management, etc.

3. Objective

HRM: The main objective of HRM is to manage the employees effectively to ensure a productive workforce for the organization. Hence, it tries to accomplish the administrative tasks within the organization through optimized usage of its staff members.

HRD: HRD’s main objective is to make employees more productive through effective upskilling and development measures. To ensure that they remain productive and align with a work culture of continuous learning, HRD also deals with career development and succession planning.

4. Duration

HRM: HRM is focused on short-term goals such as completing administrative tasks, addressing talent shortages, generating reports, and more. Similarly, it is also utilized for improving organizational efficiency.

HRD: HRD focuses on long-term goals such as achieving optimal performance from the staff, succession planning, etc. which requires a strategic approach. It enables the staff members to achieve their potential while also realizing their value for the organization.

5. Handling

HRM: HRM handles employee management passively since it is reactive to employee behaviour. While the HR teams handle employee management at the administrative level, the employees are required to actively participate in HRM to ensure its correct functioning.

HRD: HRD takes more of an active approach by suggesting employees undertake training sessions. Similarly, their performance is evaluated continuously for understanding organizational performance as well as succession planning.

Conclusion

While HRM and HRD are different functions of the Human Resources Department, they are vastly different. While Human Resource Management acts as the overall administrative body managing the employees of an organization to function effectively, Human Resource Development provides them with the training and skills to perform their duties well.

We have covered the key difference between HRM and HRD, as well as shared their evolution and their advantages for the organization with this blog. While they have their differences owing to their functionalities, both complement each other and are essential for running a business smoothly.