Believe it or not, there are no legal requirements in the United States for a business to have an HR department — but somebody has to handle all of the HR tasks, regardless of how tedious some may be.

Wondering what HR is or what the acronym stands for? This guide will tell you everything you need to know about HR.

What Is the Definition of HR?

The acronym HR stands for “human resources,” which can be defined as the division within any given business that is in charge of onboarding, screening, recruiting, finding, and sometimes training these new job applicants.

In addition, HR — AKA Human Resource Management (HRM) or simply the Human Resources Department — is in charge of all employee-related operations within the business.

So, what exactly is HR in a nutshell?

Simply put, HR refers to employee management that strongly emphasizes employees as assets to the business. When reviewed under this scope, employees are at times referred to as “human capital.”

As is the case with all business assets, the main goal is to reduce the risk with the effective use of employees or human capital and maximize the ROI or return on investment.

What Are the Main Functions of Human Resources?

An HR team within an organization can handle various tasks and responsibilities that all should result in a healthier work environment for everyone.

For instance, within an HR department, some of the main functions include:

The application of safety and health measures
Recognize future and current hiring/staffing needs
Ensure compliance with all state, governmental, and federal labor laws, rules, and regulations
Ensure effective and happy employee relations
Retain, attract and recruit talent
Handle all administrative tasks such as; taxes and payroll
Manage employee benefits and compensation
To boost performance, manage training, learning, and onboarding processes
Oversee and organize annual or quarterly performance reviews

What Are Some of the Roles Within the HR Department?

Most commonly found in large companies — but also found in smaller companies — the various functions of the HR department are managed by a wide array of HR professionals that, in turn, report to the HR Manager or HR director.

Many companies require their HR executives to have at minimum a bachelor’s degree in business administration or, most preferably, in human resources.

Below you will find a list of the most common HR job titles:

Compensation and Benefits Specialist
HR Administrative Assistant
HR Onboarding Specialist
HR Administrator
HR Specialist
Diversity and Inclusion Manager
HR Generalist
Senior HR Manager
HR Executive
Payroll Manager
HR Analyst
Recruitment Manager
Talent Acquisition Manager
HR Recruiter

Does HR Stand for Anything Else?

In addition to Human Resources, the acronym HR is widely known as a baseball term meaning home run.”

A home run (aka “homers”) is a hit in baseball that enables the batter to make a complete circuit of the bases and score a run. It’s one of the most exciting plays in baseball and is a true display of a batter’s power and strength.

That said, although our word of the day most commonly refers to human resources and a home run, the acronym can also be used for the following:

Home Run (Baseball term)
Human Rights
US House of Representatives
Heart Rate
Home Rule
House of Representatives
International car registration code for Croatia (HR)
Hour

Note: When you come across the acronym HR, be sure to pick up on surrounding context clues to help you decipher its meaning.

For example, if you see our word of the day in a baseball magazine or while watching the ball game, the acronym is likely being used as a shortened way to say home run.

Now, if you stumble upon the acronym “HR” while reading your new employees’ manual, it’s likely referring to the “human resources” department.

What Are Translations of HR?

Wondering how to say HR in a different language? We’ve got you covered! Here are some common translations of Human Resources:

American English — human resources
Arabic — الموارد البشرية
Brazilian Portuguese — recursos humanos
Chinese (simplified) — 人力资源
European Spanish — recursos humanos
German — Personalabteilung
Italian — risorse umane
Japanese — 人事部門
Czech — personální
Finnish — henkilöstöhallinto
Korean — 인적 자원 관리
European Portuguese — recursos humanos
Spanish — recursos humanos
Greek — ανθρώπινοι πόροι
Turkish — insan kaynakları
Ukrainian — людські ресурси
Vietnamese — nguồn nhân lực
French — ressources humaines

Although HR is commonly used in reference to “human resources,” it’s also found frequently in baseball when referring to a home run.

With this in mind, here are some translations of home run:

Arabic — تشغيل المنزل
Chinese (simplified) — 本垒打
Czech — oběh domů
Dutch — homerun
Finnish — menestys
French — coup de circuit
German — Homerun
Greek — τρέξιμο στο σπίτι
Italian — fuori campo
Japanese — 本塁打
Korean — 홈런
Portuguese — home run
Russian — хоумран
Spanish — home run
Thai — วิ่งกลับบ้าน
Turkish — ev koşusu
Ukrainian — домашній пробіг
Vietnamese — chạy bộ tại nhà

Summary

HR is an abbreviation that stands for human resources, which refers primarily to the human resources department within an organization.

This important department is responsible for several things, including employee relations and running background checks on new staff members. The HR department also handles all sorts of staffing needs, such as personnel management and performance management. Simply put, the human resources department is in charge of quite a bit!

Although HR is commonly used regarding the human resources department, we should also note that the acronym is also found in baseball, meaning home run. So, when you come across our word of the day, be sure to pick up on context clues to ensure that you understand its proper usage.

Sources:

What does HR stand for? | Abbreviations.com

Nice Translator

HR | What is Human Resource Management

1.1 What Is Human Resources? | Open Libraries

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.