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Human Resources and People roles

Recruiting, running HR processes and supporting managers are distinct needs. When building an HR team, clarify the services to provide to employees and the decisions to prepare with leadership.

Connect day-to-day operations with team development

The HR function combines personnel administration, recruitment, skills development and dialogue with employee representatives. It advises leadership and supports employee relations. Specialists may take responsibility for particular areas, depending on the organisation’s needs and resources.

When defining roles, distinguish day-to-day requests, HR policy projects and support for team leaders. Clarify what belongs to HR and what managers must decide or implement. People job titles do not remove the need to describe these concrete responsibilities.

Understanding the different roles

Lead the function and support managers

HR leadership connects company policy with its various HR areas. The HR Business Partner works with leaders on people and organisational capabilities. To define their remit, clarify the teams supported, the decisions to inform and the HR resources they can draw on.

  • DRH / CHRO
  • HRBP

Recruit and anticipate needs

Recruitment covers finding and selecting candidates, as well as onboarding them. Talent Acquisition also includes anticipating needs and attracting candidates. For a Head of Talent, make the areas assigned explicit: the title alone does not say whether the mandate extends beyond recruitment.

  • Recruitment & talent acquisition
  • Head of Talent

Run HR services

For a People Ops role, list the employee requests, data and processes to handle. Define handovers with other HR specialists. This scoping distinguishes a need for day-to-day service from a transformation or HR policy mandate.

  • People ops

Structure remuneration and skills development

Compensation & Benefits coordinates remuneration policy and supports its implementation. Learning & Development connects skills development with business objectives. For these specialist areas, clarify the decisions to prepare, the people to involve and the conditions for implementation.

  • Compensation & benefits
  • Learning & development

Job profiles in this family

Choose the area to strengthen

Recruitment takes up a great deal of managers’ time

If there are many hiring needs, examine the sourcing, selection and coordination work to take on. Clarify what managers will continue to decide and the information they must provide to start a recruitment process.

HR requests have no clear point of contact

If employees do not know whom to approach, identify recurring requests and how they are handled. An operational remit must specify the responses expected, the accessible data and the situations to refer to a specialist.

Managers need ongoing support

If several teams face organisational or development difficulties, define the matters an HR partner will work on. Distinguish advice, preparation for decisions and the responsibilities actually held by managers.

Remuneration policy needs clarification

If decisions lack shared criteria, describe the questions to resolve and the available data. Dedicated expertise can prepare this work with leadership and the managers concerned; clarify who will approve the choices and their implementation.

Make the HR mandate clear

Separate urgent needs from longer-term work

Describe the day-to-day problems to address and the projects to lead. If the same role must cover both, clarify priorities and the support available to avoid an unlimited mandate.

Provide access to the right stakeholders

Identify the managers, leaders and specialists the person will work with. Expectations for support must match their actual ability to take part in decisions.

Define service continuity

Clarify how requests will be handled during absences and how sensitive matters will be referred. The hire must fit into explicit service arrangements, rather than relying on one person without backup.

Frequently asked questions

How should HR and managers share responsibility during onboarding?

Assign tasks before the new employee arrives: administrative preparation, necessary access, welcoming them to the team, objectives and follow-up meetings. Tell the new starter whom to approach. These responsibilities can be brought together in a shared onboarding journey, with an owner for each stage.

When should you choose an HR specialist rather than a generalist?

Examine the nature and continuity of the work. A focused area requiring in-depth expertise may justify a specialism; a range of varied needs calls for a different remit. Also describe the external or internal expertise already accessible to the role.

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