HR should be more than an emergency room according to an Online recruitment expert

Human resources (HR) needs to do more for employees than act as an emergency room, one industry expert has stated.

Jackie Orme, chief executive officer of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, believes that HR should be there to ensure the long-term health of the workforce.

Speaking at a networking lunch organised by Ceridian, she said that good people management is not enough, Human Resources magazine reports.

Instead, professionals in the industry need to focus on sustainable performance, innovation and leadership.

Ms Orme said: We have to reposition the profession because its true value has not yet been fully explored. There is still a great deal of disillusionment about what the profession can do.

The profession is still in its teenage years and has some way to go, she added.

HR's biggest and most critical role is undoubtedly in ensuring staff retention said a spokesperson for ClickAJob.

Now more than ever, employees and management need to engage more closely - and HR is the resource to ensure that synergy, he stated.

Keeping good people, knowing what motivates them, providing their inspiration, are all part of the HR remit that allows management to manage unhindered, he insisted.

Most of all, HR must get managers and staff to feel part of a team - with competition and financial challenges ever on the increase, no company can afford an 'us' and 'them' hierarchy anymore.

A survey conducted earlier this month by yasni.co.uk revealed that a third of HR professionals use social networking sites to spy on their employees.