USA Today: What is human capital management (HCM)? Definition and best practices Human capital management (HCM) is the process an organization uses to recruit, manage, develop or optimize employees to improve workforce productivity. It involves hiring the right employees, aligning ...

Understanding the Context

Human capital management (HCM) transforms the traditional administrative functions of human resources (HR) departments—recruiting, training, payroll, compensation, and performance management—into opportunities to drive engagement, productivity, and business value. Human capital management (HCM) refers to a set of activities that convert traditional HR functions into opportunities that lead to increased efficiency, interest and revenue for the organization. Human capital management, or “HCM” for short, is the collection of organizational practices related to the acquisition, management, and development of the human workforce—or human capital—within an organization. Human capital management (HCM) refers to the broad set of practices and applications used for recruiting, managing, and developing an organization’s human capital – aka their workforce.

Key Insights

Human capital management, or HCM, is the practice of systematically recruiting, developing, and managing a workforce as a genuine business investment rather than a cost center. Human Capital Management (HCM) is the strategic process of recruiting, managing, developing, and optimizing an organization’s workforce to maximize business value.