Industrial Relations Manager vs. HR Manager: Who Has More Responsibility and Authority?

Need clarification on what the difference is between the job responsibilities of an Industrial Relations Manager and a Human Resource Manager. Who holds a more superior position on the organization chart?

Hello, fellow HR,

As far as I know, the Industrial Relations Manager is more focused on labor relations issues and concerns, such as policies affecting the company's code of conduct, employee discipline, and other related areas. An HR Manager, on the other hand, deals with HR from a more general perspective.

Regarding hierarchical superiority, it depends on who they report to. An IR Manager may report to the HR Manager, or both may report directly to the HR Head, regardless of their position title (e.g., HR Director, VP for HR, etc.).

I hope this information helps.

Dear Carsey,

We will share our perspectives and certain practices about your query. Why not add a poll here? Please do it and share your learnings with us.

Regards,
(Cite Contribution)

Dear Carsey,

Greetings from this end!!

As per your query, the job responsibilities of an IR Manager and HR Manager are completely different. You need to first understand the concept of IR in an organization. Broadly, IR has been categorized into relations between employee-employee, employer-employee, and employer-society.

In a big organizational setup, there are different departments like IR, HR, Personnel, and Administration. Few know about the differences between the job responsibilities of these departments. You need to have managers of different competencies to head these departments.

Like the human body, you cannot judge which part of our body is more important. The same is the case with these departments. You cannot compare whether an IR or HR Manager is more significant. If you have bad industrial relations, no matter how much training you give to employees, it will all go in vain.

I would love to share more with you on this matter if you feel like it. Kindly contact me at my personal email id, which is satyajeetudr@gmail.com.

You are most welcome.

My best,

Satyajeet