human resources

plural noun

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Definition of human resources

1 : personnel 1a

hiring more human resources

2 : personnel 2

Human resources will contact you about your interview.

the company's human resources department

Recent Examples of human resources from the Web

The personal information of cardholders cannot be disclosed to federal law enforcement or immigration authorities without permission from the city's human resources administration.

— nicole chavez, CNN, "Delivery man detained by immigration officers after dropping off pizza at Army base," 7 June 2018
The Forest Service has already identified needed funding, human resources and expertise to get the project started, Christiansen testified.

— erica martinson, Anchorage Daily News, "Plan emerging from Forest Service could undo Tongass logging limits," 6 June 2018
In March, Grazzini was notified his contract would not be renewed and his term as assistant superintendent for human resources would end June 30.

— sarah freishtat, Aurora Beacon-News, "School administrator resigns before starting job in District 308; faced previous discipline over Facebook post," 5 June 2018
Henry has been running several aspects of the steakhouse chain’s operations including human resources, IT, real estate, development and marketing.

— kyle arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Ruth's Chris Steak Houses replacing longtime CEO," 4 June 2018
So does tech company SMS Assist, whose 750 employees already take up three floors in the building formerly called the John Hancock Center, and recently hired a new chief human resources officer to help manage growth.

— ally marotti, chicagotribune.com, "It’s not all rainbows for Chicago’s $1 billion tech ‘unicorns’," 1 June 2018
The county says that after looking at the video, which has more than 90,000 views as of Friday evening, human resources decided to terminate Pack’s employment, effective June 1.

— crystal hill, miamiherald, "He confronted a family over disabled truck at campsite, video shows. Now he's fired.," 1 June 2018
Ellen Graves, 85, a human resources manager at IBM for more than 20 years before retiring in the mid-1980s, died April 9 at a hospital in Reston, Va.

— Washington Post, "The story must be told.," 1 June 2018
Instead, Kimmy found a job working in human resources for a tech startup, where her abundant enthusiasm and quirky charm made her an asset.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Bleak Truths of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," 31 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'human resources.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of human resources

1915

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of HUMAN RESOURCES

human resources

plural noun

What It Is

Human resources is an organizational function related to the procurement and retention of talented employees.

How It Works

All companies deal with human resources in some form or another, even if they don't have dedicated human resource departments. That's because human resources goes far beyond hiring; the function also deals with (among other things) maintaining morale within the organization; creating motivational compensation plans; creating and maintaining performance-appraisal programs; ensuring that important information about benefits, laws, and employment issues is disseminated; and helping employees maintain and develop their skills.

Sometimes the payroll function is part of human resources; sometimes it is part of accounting.

Why It Matters

Human resources recognizes that people are assets rather than liabilities in companies. In order to keep these assets optimally productive, human resources is there to make sure a company hires the right employees, fires the wrong ones, develops employees with potential, keeps everyone happy, and ensures that companies and employees are fulfilling their legal obligations to each other.

One can measure the effectiveness of the human resources function through various ratios such as cost per hire, employee turnover rates, training return on investment (ROI), and benefit costs per employee. However, human resources is as much of an art as it is a science because it deals with some of the more emotional aspects of labor management.

Source: Investing Answers