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HR Fundamentals: The Building Blocks of HCM

ADP via Coursera

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Overview

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Upon completing this learning, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of Human Capital Management (HCM) as a strategic method for improving organizational performance. Additionally, you will identify how HCM incorporates several functional areas to support the employee lifecycle.

Syllabus

Welcome

This lesson introduces Human Capital Management (HCM) and explains how it expands beyond traditional HR to align people practices with business strategy. You will explore the HCM framework, its five functional areas, and why integration and data insights are critical to organizational success. Human Capital Management (HCM) practices vary by country and organization. While some concepts or examples in this course may differ based on local regulations or policies, they are designed to help you understand how core HCM functions work together and the types of considerations organizations commonly address across the employee lifecycle.

Understanding the Employee Lifecycle

Explore the stages of the employee lifecycle—from recruitment through offboarding or retirement—and how this journey shapes workforce strategy. The lesson shows how organizations can support employees effectively at each stage to improve engagement, productivity, and retention.

Functional Areas of HCM

This lesson takes a deeper dive into the five functional areas of HCM: Human Resource Management, Talent Management, Benefits Administration, Time & Attendance, and Payroll. You will examine the purpose of each area, key activities, and how they work together to support the employee lifecycle.

Integration of HCM Functional Areas and Data Insights

Discover how the five HCM functional areas interconnect to form a cohesive, efficient workforce management system. This lesson highlights how shared data and analytics enable better decision-making, reduce errors, and support organizational strategy.

Conclusion

This lesson reviews the key concepts covered throughout the course, reinforcing the strategic role of HCM, the employee lifecycle, and functional area integration. You will demonstrate your understanding through a final assessment focused on applying HCM principles in real-world scenarios.