HRM has three important characteristics

The objectives of HRM in the attempt to increase the organisation's effectiveness are the following (United Nations, 2013):

1. To help the organisation achieve its goals;
2. To efficiently use the abilities and skills of their workforce;
3. To offer the organisation well prepared and motivated employees;
4. To increase the level of satisfaction of the employee at the workplace;
5. To develop and maintain a certain quality of the working environment that can transform the employee status within the organisation into a personal and socially satisfying situation;
6. To communicate personnel policies to all employees;
7. To help maintain professional ethics;
8. To help introduce changes favourable to individuals, groups, organisations and the public.

 It is important to make the most of the existing workforce by considering its performance. HRM need to consider practices, approaches and interventions that can optimise health worker's performance, quality, and impact based on where currently practising health workers are located.

Some of these practices include (United Nations, 2013):

1. Identify health needs and service coverage;
2. Address HRH productivity and performance;
3. Implement supportive supervision;
4. Extend services through task sharing and/or differentiated care;
5. Harness appropriate technologies.