It is often the case that only thing that human resources departments have in common with each other is that they don’t have anything in common. In some companies they perform functions like payroll and compliance with legal employment issues, among others, they are responsible for evaluating employees and handling interviews. This is largely because every company is different and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for what an HR team should be expected to do.
But there are some things that the HR department of every company should be doing to improve the general running of the business.
1. Embrace new technologies
It doesn’t make sense for your HR department to be in a position where they are spending most of their time dealing with the mundane aspects of the job. It is often possible to streamline tasks by embracing new technologies. For example, rather than keeping a filing system of important dates you can simply invest in alert technology that pops up and tells you whenever an employee is due for an evaluation.
It is vital that companies should invest in new technology that can make their HR staff more productive and free up their time to work on more important projects.
2. Consolidating online systems
One problem for many businesses is that simply have too many internal systems in place in order to do their job. Having one system for payroll, and another for time management, and another for shift planning can be extremely complicated to track. It also creates far more admin work that can take up a lot of staff time. Thankfully, many companies are now focussing on systems that consolidate multiple operations into one place.
Staff rota software suppliers are making it easy for HR departments. As well as making it easy for businesses to manage their staff rotas, the software can be used to handle issues like staff management, internal communication and even producing reports. This kind of technology reportedly improves employee satisfaction, makes it easier to maintain the day-to-day issues – and will also make it far easier for new staff entering the business, as they will only have to learn the processes of one software rather than many.
3. Develop a consistent brand profile for hiring
The HR department has an important role to play in the hiring of new staff, and as a business grows it can be very important for their HR team to take on the task of developing a consistent brand profile for hiring staff. Ultimately for a harmonious working team and the best possible atmosphere, it is important to hire people who share the same work ethic.
Large companies with multiple departments will make their hiring decisions independently, so it is down to the HR department to ensure that they all hire on a consistent basis. Your HR department needs to work closely with each department. Drawing up a brand profile that explains the ethos of the business and how you like to work.
If it is left up to individual departments to write the job description they will be focussed on that individual manager’s opinion of what staff should be like, rather than thinking of the overall company ethos.
4. Take an active role in reviewing employee performance
It is essential that businesses should review and analyze the performance of their staff. Of course, you want your employees to be as productive as possible and performing their role to the best of their abilities, but it’s not something that you can rely on happening 100 percent of the time. Because of this, it is useful to have performance reviews.
Once again, this is something that the HR department needs to be involved in – especially in a large organization. The HR team will understand better how to analyze performance on a broader scale. It can be very difficult to evaluate the performance of staff if their efforts are only measured against other members of a small team.
About the author: Mike James is an experienced business writer specializing in HR, tech, and cybersecurity. On the latter, he has contributed to many of the leading publications both online and in print – such as StaySafeOnline, GlobalSign, Tech London and more.
