A Vice-President, or VP, of Human Resources is a critical job in any company, because they are able to provide connections between employees and make sure that everything runs smoothly. Each VP of Human Resources has different job specifics; however, there are some basics that apply to the vast majority of VP of Human Resource jobs.
Policy Creation and Application
All human resource departments are based on policy. They are based on the rules that govern how HR departments respond to certain situations with regards to employees. The main reason why working on policy is so important to the department, as well as to the VP of the Human Resource department him or herself, is because the policy determines the practices that are used to hire and fire employees. Any operations that are focused on the staff, as well as how the administration functions, will need to be developed by the VP of Human Resources. The VP will also be in charge of looking over publications that contain all of the policies, such as handbooks for employees, evaluation sheets, and the descriptions of jobs. In the creation of these documents, a VP of Human Resources will often work with legal departments to make sure that the wording of these documents cannot be interpreted in any manner that they are not specifically designed to be interpreted.
Make Sure the Business is in Compliance with Labor Law
Another job that the VP of Human Resources needs to address is whether or not the business for which he or she works is fully in compliance with all of the labor laws. This includes all of the laws on federal levels, state levels, and local levels. This means that all laws with regards to safety (OSHA) will need to be considered and implemented, along with tax laws (TEFRA), equal opportunity laws (EEO), and retirement laws (ERISA). All of these are designed to protect the employee and need to be implemented in order for them to be truly effective. It is the job of the VP to make sure that this actually happens.
Look at Personnel Contracts
Any negotiating that a potential or current employee does with regards to salary, benefits, or other perks will usually be done with the VP of Human Resources. Disputes and collective bargaining agreements will also usually involve the VP. As a result, a VP will usually have specialized negotiating skills, as well as experience with regards to brokering compromise and making sure that the needs of all parties are reasonably met.
Deal with Change
If large staffing changes need to be made, or if the location of the business needs to be upgraded, all of the details will fall to the human resources department and orchestrated by the VP, according to Changeboard. He or she will often look at trends in the workplace at large and in the business in particular in order to make decisions that will positively affect the company. He or she will administer any trainings that are needed to keep up with the changes that are being made so that employees are fully in compliance with regulation. Essentially, a VP will make any transitions go as smoothly as possible.
Related Resource: Chief Technology Officer
A VP in Human Resources’ main job is to make sure that the company is able to go through changes and has the human capital it needs to be successful. The VP will make sure that the company stays on track and remains in compliance with regulations so that its goals can be reached.