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, along with tips on how to rectify them.
Unclear or Underdeveloped Hiring Practices
HR professionals are responsible for screening, interviewing, and hiring the most suitable candidates for a vacant position. 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 familiarise themselves with their roles and responsibilities, learn about new systems, and adjust 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 details is a bad idea, as it invites confusion and misinterpretation, which can lead to mix-ups and even grudges down the line.
Create an employee handbook that details policies regarding attendance, leave, vacation time, harassment, social media and personal device use, safety, 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, as it limits who can view which data and in what capacity, thereby minimising the chances of insider threats. Enterprise-level software for managing passwords is also essential for effectively handling hundreds of account credentials and securing access via a combination of strong passwords and two-factor authentication. 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
Labour 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. Recognising and eliminating the shortcomings outlined above will go a long way toward transforming yours into one.
