Top Tips for Improving Your HR Department

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, HR Strategy: Job Leveling (26-slide PowerPoint presentation). Job Leveling is a disciplined approach to gauge the value of work for individual positions across the organization. It entails ascertaining the nature of work done by each position, authority levels, and the effect of each job on business results. Jobs that are configured inadequately bread [read more]

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Whether you’re a small business owner who manages HR yourself or you’re part of a growing brand that has a dedicated HR department, it’s important to remember that the human factor remains vital for modern businesses. Running any type of business has challenges, and managing the people that will help your brand to grow is more crucial than ever. In the days where job-hunters have more options than ever, you need to ensure that your HR department has a clear set of goals and an awareness of the modern demands of the job market. If your HR team is letting you down, here are some tips that could transform your company into human resource excellence.

The Hiring Process

One of the key responsibilities of the HR department is managing the hiring and onboarding process. All businesses rely on the skills and value of their employees, and a weak hiring strategy can have a long-term impact on the strength of your business model. Make sure that your HR team invests time in pre-screening research, and involves other departments in the hiring process.

Staff Development

If you want to attract the best hires then you need to think about what your business offers them. One of the most in-demand benefits being sought after by those in the job market is ongoing education and development. Your HR team needs to identify the skills that team members want to develop and find the best options to deliver that training. As your employees learn more, they bring more value to your business. That means your HR team is critical when it comes to business growth.

Real-world Processes

Your HR department will be just as reliant on business processes as any other department. The problem is that any business process can become outdated and cumbersome as a brand grows. This can hinder your future prospects. It’s always valuable to sign members of your HR team up to 6Sigma training, as expert Peter Peterka says it will help them to “…improve business processes by utilizing statistical analysis rather than guesswork.” In the digital age, relying on guesswork should never be an option.

Provide Clear Expectations

Rules and guidelines in a business environment are vital. They make it easier to meet your goals, but they also help you to identify when mistakes have been made in the hiring process. It’s incredibly easy to make the wrong hiring choice, but it can take time to identify the severity of that mistake. By having rules in place, and recognizing when new team members are incapable of sticking to them, you make it easier and faster to spot those hires that continuously engage in negative behavior.

Running an HR department is not easy. It means staying up to date on modern HR technologies and practices, as well as the development of a keen understanding of the current job market. By understanding more about the needs of the business and the demands of jobseekers, your HR team will transition from a department that offers little value into one that can guide the future of your brand.

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Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Human Resource Management (HRM). Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.

The purpose of Human Resources (HR) is to ensure our organization achieves success through our people. Without the right people in place—at all levels of the organization—we will never be able to execute our Strategy effectively.

This begs the question: Does your organization view HR as a support function or a strategic one? Research shows leading organizations leverage HR as a strategic function, one that both supports and drives the organization's Strategy. In fact, having strong HRM capabilities is a source of Competitive Advantage.

This has never been more true than right now in the Digital Age, as organizations must compete for specialized talent to drive forward their Digital Transformation Strategies. Beyond just hiring and selection, HR also plays the critical role in retaining talent—by keeping people engaged, motivated, and happy.

Learn about our Human Resource Management (HRM) Best Practice Frameworks here.