Definition
Human resources (HR) is the organizational function responsible for hiring, training, compensation, performance and employee relations; the term also refers to the department itself and the people who work in it.
Meaning and usage
Modern HR work spans the whole life cycle of employees in an organization: from recruiting and onboarding through performance reviews, promotions and pay decisions to offboarding. Larger companies split the function further, with HR business partners embedded in teams and specialist roles designing the policies.
Usage
HR comes up in discussions of hiring, culture, performance systems and layoffs. For job seekers, most of the process — applications, interview scheduling, offer conversations — is driven by HR.
Related and confusable terms
HR is a function and a department, whereas CEO and CTO are executive titles. The head of HR sits in the executive team supporting the CEO on people and organization, but “HR” itself is not a title.