Food-Service-Manual-for-Health-Care-Institutions

Chapter 8
Human Resource Management
An organization’s most valuable resources are the people who perform the work—its human
resources—without whom no organization could function. Employers who recognize this fact
understand the importance of involving employees in meaningful work to ensure their longterm
retention. Consequently, human resource departments have become a mainstay in organizations
of all kinds. The department advocates employee rights and serves as a source of
counsel for managers on all levels.
The structure of a health care organization’s human resource department varies with the
size of the institution. Specific departmental activities also vary with type and size of the facility.
In any case, a food service director must work closely with human resource specialists to
make sure that the department’s service delivery complies with labor laws and with the organization’s
personnel policies and procedures.
This chapter discusses the following specific areas of concern in human resource management:
• Laws that affect the employer–employee relationship
• Role of the human resource department
• The employment process (recruiting, screening, interviewing, hiring, orienting)
• Employee training and coaching
• Employee performance evaluation
• Maintenance of personnel records
• Development and application of personnel policies and procedures
• Compensation and benefits administration
• Labor relations
Although food service directors may not be directly responsible for performing all of these
activities, they are involved in or affected by each one in some way. In small health care organizations,
the food service department may be directly responsible for performing some of the
activities usually performed by human resource departments in large organizations—for example,
conducting its own training and orientation programs. In addition, food service supervisors
may be charged with interviewing and hiring new employees they will supervise directly,
evaluating employee work performance, and maintaining certain employee records.
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