Cooperative line and staff hr management: an example
Exactly which hr management activities are carried out by line managers and by staff managers? There’s no single division of responsibilities we could apply across the board in all organizations.
For example, in recruiting and hiring, it’s generally the line manager’s responsibility to specify the qualifications employees need to fill specific positions. Then the hr staff takes over. They develop sources of qualified applicants and conduct initial screening interviews. They administer the appropriate tests. Then they refer the best applicants to the supervisor (line manager), who interviews and selects the ones he or she wants.
Some activities tend to be hr’s alone. For example, 60% of firms assign responsibility for preemployment testing exclusively to hr, 75% assign college recruiting to hr, 86% assign hr insurance benefits administration, 84% assign hr exit interviews,