There exist numerous human resource management challenges which require to be addressed as human resource plays a significant role in an organization.  The human resource challenges range from organizational, environmental and individual challenges. In a broader perspective, the human resource challenges tend to be less connected to a single dimension as they focus on multi-dimensional issues that need to be addressed within organizations (Zkjadoon, 2015).  This paper focuses on exploring human resource challenges as well as identifying the most critical challenge for HR to address.

The environmental challenge connects to external forces which exists within or outside the organization environment and which has an influence on the performance of the organization. The environmental challenge can be perceived as threats in HR as they can lead to underperformance of the organization.  Some of the environmental challenges faced by HR includes rapid changes within an organization. This challenge requires organizations to policies that enhance quick adaptability of the organization (Mahendru & Kaleka, 2011). Managing workforce diversity is another environmental challenge that is faced by HR  as diverse employees can create problems that hinder the performance of HR.  Technology is another environmental challenge faced by HR  as constant changes in telecommunication and computer dominate older technologies and make them obsolete. Therefore, HR will need to boost the skills of employees to match the functioning of new technologies.

Changes in the organization create a challenge in HRM as the department will need to establish corrective measures to achieve flexibility and restructuring of the organization.  The organization changes require HRM to effectively combine opportunities available to eliminate potential threats such as competition from other organizations. Restructuring of an organization is one of the challenges faced by HRM  as the department has strike balance between different units of the organization. In doing so, the HRM need to create clear strategies and policies aimed at achieving the set mission, goals, and vision of the organization.  Individual challenges such as brain drain, job insecurity and matching employees and organization is another challenge faced by HRM.  The HRM usually face challenges when addressing issues that affect employees within an organization due to diversity.

In my opinion, the most critical challenge for the HR to address regards to environmental challenges as they affect the organization beyond the capacity of HRM. For instance, HR has to adapt to changes in technology to create a competitive advantage for the organization. This implies that HR will need to conduct new skill and knowledge equipping to the existing workforce.  In my reasoning, managing diversity at the workplace can be challenging for HR as they need to understand the culture of every employee. Therefore, environmental challenges tend to be most critical for the HRM as they require proper strategies and policies to mitigate the threats and risks that can accrue from this challenge.  Managing environmental challenge requires the HR to identify the factors within and outside the organization that can lead to potential challenge (Warner, 2013). Also, HR can adopt new strategies such as learning from other organizations on how to deal with environmental challenges. For instance, HR can do a benchmarking on how similar organizations manages the challenges. Finally, HR can create awareness on the need to embrace challenges among the employees by making them understand the dynamic changes in the external environment and how they affect the performance of the organizations.

References

Zkjadoon. (2015). Human Resource Management Challenges. Retrieved from http://www.businessstudynotes.com/hrm/human-resource-management-challenges/

Mahendru, M., & Kaleka, J. K. (2011). Challenges to HRM in the 21st Century.

Warner, M. (Ed.). (2013). Human Resource Management ‘with Chinese Characteristics’: Facing the Challanges of Globalization. Routledge.