Human Resource Management, when utilized correctly, is a vital function that plays a crucial role in creating and maintaining a healthy work environment. It acts as a bridge, ensuring everyone's well-being and productivity. HR partners with every management level, ensuring employees work in healthy, evolving environments. It covers various job areas, including recruitment, training and development, benefits and total rewards, forecasting and planning, employee relations, and performance management. This list continues to expand, reflecting the organization's commitment to its employees' welfare. Trying to decide to determine what function is most important is hard, as I believe you need every department/task to ensure your organization is healthy. I'll probably be the oddball and say forecasting and planning are important functions, as this is when HR sits down and discusses the organizations and how HR can help assist with those needs. If leadership is honest and willing to work with HR, you can always be proactive; regarding compensation issues, your recruiter would have a higher success rate in selecting the right candidate with the pay rate and skill set