Technology may be growing by leaps and bounds, but humans remain every company’s most valuable, adaptable, and meaningful resource. The HR department is there to pick the best ones for the job, address complaints, and make sure everyone’s rights are respected. A company without a competent HR team faces legal and rights issues. It can also experience higher turnover and employees who aren’t living up to their potential. Do you feel like your HR department is underperforming? Here are the common mistakes to check for and avoid, as well as tips on how to set things straight.

Unclear or Underdeveloped Hiring Practices

HR professionals are responsible for screening, interviewing, and hiring the most suitable candidates for an open job. There are a few worse things one can do than fill a role with a candidate who’s not up for the task, which will negatively impact their and their team’s productivity.

A stringent set of guidelines needs to be in place to help assess an applicant’s qualities. Do their skills correspond to the position’s requirements? Are they adaptable and function well in a collective environment? Are they a good cultural fit for the company? HR professionals need to exercise diligence when assessing these qualities.

Lack of Onboarding and or Offboarding

Even an ideal hire needs time to integrate into their new working environment, which is why onboarding is indispensable. It’s a time for employees to get to know their roles and responsibilities, familiarize themselves with new systems, and start adapting to a new team dynamic. Employees who experienced no onboarding or whose onboarding was limited to a day of orientation are more likely to feel disoriented and unfulfilled. This leads to higher turnover rates and poor productivity.

Other than implementing a comprehensive onboarding policy, HR staff should also be mindful of following offboarding procedures. These uphold compliance and protect from legal repercussions. They’re invaluable for ensuring all the required skills have been transferred to remaining employees and that no loose ends remain, like company email and software accounts, security badges, etc.

No Company Policies & Employee Handbooks

Knowing one’s duties doesn’t mean an employee is equally effective at navigating the workplace’s subtler and sometimes unwritten conventions. Being vague about these is a bad idea since it invites confusion and misinterpretation, which can cause mix-ups and even grudges down the line.

Create an employee handbook detailing policies regarding attendance, leave, and vacation time, harassment, social media and personal device use, safety and legal compliance, and any other areas that require clarity. Ensure all employees have access to the handbook and update it as needed.

Lack of Employee Data Safeguards

HR departments are hubs for crucial and sensitive employee data. Everything from personal information and employment performance to details like health information needs to be protected to the highest standards.

Access control is key since it limits who can see which data and in what capacity, minimizing the chances of insider threats. Enterprise-level software for passwords is also a must for effectively handling hundreds of account credentials and securing access via a combination of strong passwords and two-step verification. HR personnel handling sensitive data also need to be up to date on the latest cybersecurity threats. In addition, it’s crucial to take precautions like using a reliable VPN, multi-factor authentication and other measures.

No or Poorly-Defined Performance Metrics

Laying out employee expectations only makes sense if HR takes measures to track employees’ ongoing efforts to meet them. Implementing performance metrics and keeping employees in the loop helps everyone. It gives timely feedback, allowing employees who may otherwise not have been aware of their poor performance to correct their mistakes. Metrics serve as irrefutable evidence against bias claims when discussing promotion opportunities or termination.

A Disregard for Legal Compliance

Labor laws are constantly evolving, and HR pros in many companies need to account for state-based or even international differences. Compensation packages, healthcare benefits, the differences between regular employees and paid contractors, confidential data storage, and separate medical data storage as outlined by HIPAA are just some of the human resource management items HR staff need to be on top of.

Conclusion

A knowledgeable, conscientious, and caring human resources department is instrumental in running a company to everyone’s satisfaction. Recognizing and eliminating the shortcomings outlined above will go a long way toward transforming yours into one.