Objectives of HRM: What HR Really Tries To Do (Beyond Payroll And Policies)

AUTHOR
Asawari Ghatage
DATE
July 25, 2025
CATEGORY
Human Resources
READING TIME
MIN
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Post Highlights

Business goals are loud—grab market share, double ARR, enter new geographies. Yet every bold arrow on a board slide depends on quieter, people-first objectives that HR must own each day. Get the objectives of HRM right and the strategy moves from aspiration to operating reality.

1. Align people strategy with business goals

Ambitious road maps stall if the workforce lacks the skills to execute. A 2025 McKinsey survey on AI adoption found that 46 % of leaders flag talent gaps as the biggest barrier to scaling digital programmes. HR’s primary task is therefore translation: turning revenue targets into concrete head-count plans, reskilling sprints, and succession maps that keep expertise on tap.

2. Attract and retain the right talent

Research shared by Google’s re:Work initiative confirms that structured interviews outperform informal chats in predicting job performance. One of the primary objectives of HRM is to attract and retain the right talent. Consistent questions, scoring rubrics, and trained panelists reduce noise, cut hiring cycle time, and build a fair candidate experience. But recruitment is only act one. Pairing each joiner with a “90-day buddy” and serving a role-specific onboarding plan accelerates time-to-productivity.

3. Offer fair, motivating compensation

Opaque pay structures invite rumour mills; open frameworks build trust and shorten negotiations. As a seasoned HRBP, one of the objectives of HRM within your organization needs to be transparency about compensation. With wage-transparency directives already on legislators’ agendas in several Indian states, publishing salary bands and ESOP logic is moving from progressive nice-to-have to competitive necessity. When employees understand the math, they stop reverse-engineering it in private spreadsheets.

4. Turn performance reviews into continuous growth

A one-shot annual appraisal is like being told once a year whether you’re a good friend. Continuous feedback loops work better: quarterly OKR check-ins, fortnightly one-to-ones, micro-learning nudges, and stretch-project rotations. Organisations with robust learning cultures enjoy 30–50 % higher engagement and retention than peers, according to Deloitte research summarised by Chief Learning Officer. Growth is sticky; when people feel themselves improving, job-hunt tabs stay closed.

5. Safeguard wellbeing and psychological safety

The business case for wellbeing is now crystal-clear. Gallup’s multi-year meta-analysis found that business units scoring high on wellbeing enjoy 81% lower absenteeism and up to 23 % higher profitability. HR can shift those numbers with tele-consult access, mental-health stipends, and meeting norms that ring-fence recovery time. Line managers need training in spotting burnout early; HR supplies the playbooks.

6. Guarantee compliance and ethical governance

One of the most crucial objectives of HRM is also to stay on top of regulations and labour laws. Labour codes, POSH rules, and data-privacy laws change faster than any policy PDF can. Compliance is about more than avoiding penalties; it is reputational insurance. Plain-language handbooks, scenario-based trainings, and audit calendars protect both employees and the company’s standing. A culture that sees ethics as non-negotiable travels far in employer-brand rankings.

7. Deliver friction-free employee experiences

Every extra click in a reimbursement form erodes focus. Modern HRM automates letters, claim submissions, and approvals so employees seldom need to DM “quick favour?”. On Plum’s platform, automated claim triage reduced average approval time from five days to one—an 80% cut detailed in our claims case study. Less friction means more headspace for higher-value work.

8. Turn people analytics into headlights, not mirrors

Dashboards should predict, not just report. Offer-accept ratios illuminate employer-brand heat; anonymised exit-survey themes expose cultural fractures before they widen. Leading indicators—early-tenure turnover, flight-risk signals, pulse-survey dips—let HR intervene in real time. Evidence, not instinct, drives better policy bets.

9. Guide organisations through change

Whether it’s folding AI into daily workflows or merging with a competitor, HR sits in the sherpa seat. Bain’s change-management research suggests that structured, proactive programmes can double transformation adoption rates compared with passive “announce-and-hope” approaches. Good guides chart communication cadences, reskilling boot camps, and feedback loops that turn resistance into engagement.

10. Champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging

Public DEIB scorecards, structured interview panels, and inclusive benefits aren’t soft extras—they are risk management and innovation engines. Increasingly, DEIB has become one of the core objectives of HRM. McKinsey’s diversity studies consistently link balanced teams to stronger financial returns, faster crisis navigation, and richer idea pipelines. Representation goals matter, but so do psychological safety rituals that let every voice surface.

If HR jargon slows you down, look at our concise HR Glossary for quick refreshers.

Bringing it all together

When HR’s objectives anchor every decision—from the wording of a job ad to the choice of a mental-health vendor—people strategy and business strategy converge. Alignment keeps growth plans believable, learning cultures lock talent in place, wellbeing sustains energy, and analytics flag trouble while there’s still time to act.

Plum’s own journey proves the compounding effect. Transparent pay, high-touch onboarding, automated claims, and a wellness marketplace didn’t happen in isolation; they clicked together because each mapped back to core objectives of HRM. The result is measurable: faster approvals, lower attrition, higher eNPS, and a benefits ROI leaders can see in quarterly dashboards.

AUTHOR
Asawari Ghatage