It does not need to be the start of a new year to resolve to improve the effectiveness of your Human Resource organization. Any time is a good time to begin practicing smart, strategic HR habits. Below is a list of five things your company’s HR department should be doing, and if not, there is no better time to start.
Shift HR from being a reactive, administrative function to being a proactive, business-oriented unit. When you consider that HR is responsible for acquiring and overseeing one of your company’s most vital assets – its employees- it becomes obvious that the group should understand and be aligned with the organization’s business goals and objectives. Include HR in the strategic planning process so they can proactively recruit for growth or redeploy talent to address changes within the company. If your company’s current HR organization isn’t capable of thinking or acting strategically, think about how the department may need to change to better serve the company.
Develop a sustainable process for evaluating and rewarding performance. If aligning HR to the organization’s goals and objectives seems difficult at times, try to align individual employees to move the company in the direction management wants to take it. One way to ensure employees are working toward a common goal is to establish a performance evaluation process that measures performance based on a set of criteria tied to that goal. A consistent and objective evaluation process can also help to ensure that your organization is rewarding employees based on merit rather than favoritism.
Engage work force optimization technology to track productivity and minimize costs. Web-based time and labor management technology is making time cards and manual time entry systems obsolete, while providing business owners progressive tools to conduct more thorough planning and organizing of personnel. Imagine being able to tap into real-time labor data online anytime or anywhere to assess current staff coverage, identify immediate staffing needs, and make changes accordingly. With an optimum level of transparency and technology, even details such as potential cost overruns caused by excessive overtime can be red flagged and calculated so managers can make quick, cost-saving decisions.
Alleviate common risk factors associated with the HR function. People aren’t perfect, so it is imperative that your HR organization maintains practices to mitigate the risks associated with human imperfection. During the hiring process, religiously conduct background checks and drug testing. Insist on professional references, not merely family or friends. To prevent litigation, conduct annual diversity training, harassment training, and salary surveys, and ensure that policies and standards are applied equally to all employees. To protect employees’ safety, implement a workplace security policy with photo ID cards, a receptionist and a visitor sign-in sheet, and always remember to lock up sensitive personnel information.
Establish an employment brand that attracts exceptional talent and enhances employee commitment. Every savvy business person knows that a strong brand helps attract buyers and build consumer loyalty. The same is true of a company’s “employment brand.” Human Resources can play a pivotal role in helping a company establish a first-class employment brand. By promoting an attractive corporate culture and offering competitive compensation and flexible benefits, HR can help ensure that your company is perceived as an employer of choice in the markets where you operate.
Perhaps these five things won’t transform your company, but any one might transform how your HR department functions, and since HR touches every single employee in your organization, there is no better place to start.
