The
personnel function, also called HRM or human resources management, is seen by more and more companies as having a
strategic role to play in improving the company's competitive position in the marketplace. The paper shows that, in order to facilitate this, the role of the personnel practitioner may have to evolve. Certain
changes need to be made to make the personnel function fit better with its developing strategic role, including a clearer
definition of those functions, a definition accepted more widely, and other changes to give the personnel function more credibility.