Human Resources (HR) is defined as the department responsible for managing an organisation’s workforce, including hiring, employee development, payroll, compliance, and workplace culture.
When businesses ask how many types of HR, they are usually referring to the different functional areas within human resource management that support workforce operations.
The types of HR represent specialised functions within HR teams that handle different aspects of employee management.
These functions ensure that organisations can recruit the right talent, manage employee performance, maintain compliance with labour laws, and support workforce development.
Understanding the types of human resource management helps organisations structure their HR departments effectively and ensures that each workforce function is handled by specialised processes or professionals.
The actual figures may differ according to the size of the organisation and industry, but the common HR divisions usually include several key functions.
The following HRM functions deal with managing the various stages of the employee lifecycle.
In many cases, the common HR functions include:
1. Recruitment and Talent Acquisition
This HR function focuses on attracting, selecting, and hiring qualified candidates for job roles within the organisation.
Responsibilities typically include:
Recruitment teams ensure that organisations hire the right people with the skills needed to achieve business goals.
2. Employee Onboarding and Training
Once employees are hired, HR teams help them transition into their roles through onboarding and training programmes.
Key responsibilities include:
Good induction and training lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction right from the start.
3. Compensation and Benefits Management
This HR function focuses on managing employee salaries, bonuses, incentives, and benefits. Typical responsibilities include:
4. Performance Management
Performance management makes sure that employees have clarity about their jobs and can work efficiently towards organisational objectives.
Key activities include:
This function helps organisations maintain productivity and support employee growth.
5. Employee Relations
Employee relations focuses on maintaining a healthy workplace environment and addressing employee concerns.
Responsibilities may include:
6. HR Compliance and Administration
HR compliance makes sure that the organisation adheres to labour law, taxation law, and workplace policies.
These functions protect organisations from legal risks and regulatory penalties.
These include:
Several HR concepts are closely connected to understanding the different types of HR functions, including:
Managing multiple HR functions manually can be complex for growing organisations.
TankhaPay provides an integrated platform that helps businesses automate various HR activities such as payroll processing, employee record management, attendance tracking, and statutory compliance.
By centralising HR operations in a single system, TankhaPay helps HR teams manage recruitment records, employee data, payroll calculations, and compliance processes more efficiently.
The platform also generates reports that support HR decision-making and workforce planning.
With digital HR tools and automated workflows, TankhaPay enables organisations to streamline HR operations, reduce administrative workload, and improve overall workforce management.
The different types of HR typically include recruitment and talent acquisition, employee onboarding and training, compensation and benefits management, performance management, employee relations, and HR compliance.
There is no fixed number, but most organisations commonly divide HR into six major functions: recruitment, onboarding and training, compensation and benefits, performance management, employee relations, and compliance.
The types of HRM refer to the key areas of human resource management such as strategic HR management, recruitment, learning and development, compensation management, employee relations, and HR administration.
Different HR functions help organisations manage various aspects of the employee lifecycle, including hiring, training, payroll, compliance, and performance management.
Yes. Modern HR software and HRMS platforms integrate multiple HR functions such as payroll, attendance tracking, recruitment, and performance management into a single system.