The human resources department can do a lot more for the value and success of a company in the future of the business world. In a world where technology and innovation have changed the way many people view employment, it takes a lot more than the promise of a good job to recruit and retain valuable employees. People do not just want to get paid anymore. They realize that their time and well-being are important and want to be compensated for it in healthy ways. Businesses with happy employees are just more successful. They do not have to spend as much money on hiring and training.
That said, an overhaul of your HR department and their services would help your company to find out how it can retain trained staff by making them feel valued by the company. It will also teach you how to identify potential employees through employment skills assessments or tests that will help determine if they will fit well into your organization.
There are many ways to help your employees feel valued and inculcate a sense of loyalty that will serve your company well. These can run from reviewing compensation and benefits policy to match their actual work rather than an arbitrary system to training and seminars which help to foster a stronger work culture that thrives on clear communication. Find out what works for your industry and begin applying it through your new and improved HR department.
Advice and Support
Every person is different and this may lead to a clash of personalities between the managers and their teams. The HR department should be a safe and supportive place for employees to turn to in the event they feel that they need advice on improving their work environment. HR should not treat the employee like an issue and find a way to mediate or offer training or simply effective solutions to help employees integrate into their teams.
If there is a fault and it lies with the manager, the HR department should be empowered to pull the manager aside and discuss ways to improve their communication skills and compassion. The company culture must be an inclusive and supportive place that does not have room for power-hungry managers.
Career Advice and Planning
A valuable employee in one department or at a specific level might not want to stay there for their entire tenure with your company. While they are valuable in that department or capacity, your HR department must be able to share a vision with them of how to bring their skills and aptitude to improving other areas of the business as well.
Good employees want to move their careers forward, and they will be happy to do so within a company that values them. Train your HR department to offer career planning advice and direction. Your HR managers should be able to help ambitious employees man out their path and identify weak areas they need to strengthen to move in the direction they want.
Knowing how to career plan also means that the HR department will have a better idea of what positions need filling or changing around. This means they will be able to move interested individuals through training and into positions in a timely and efficient fashion. Your company will benefit from having a dedicated employee who is already familiar with the company in a position of importance and it will cost a fraction of the hiring and training of an outsider.
Performance Evaluation
Performance evaluations are usually conducted by managers, but they work closely with their staff. It is a good idea to change the system in a way that HR also evaluates the performance review as they are a step removed and view the employee based on their skills and merits rather than a personal acquaintance.
This will be fairer to employees and help to identify how to help an underperforming employee to become better rather than punish them for something that may actually be out of their hands.
Large corporations can benefit a great deal from offering continuing education benefits to their employees. The HR department should be able to advise interested employees on which programs and bursaries are available to them and any bonds that will apply to them if they were to take on additional education.
Of course, there is a limit to how much leeway you can offer employees. They should be able to explore different avenues but it can be strange to allow a copywriter to take a course in welding. Thus, it is a good idea to have HR develop a system by which employees can petition to change career pathways and show their dedication to doing so by undergoing training programs that will help them to prepare for further education in that field.
At the end of the day, your company will benefit by getting a trained employee who is familiar with company culture who is now even better at doing their job.
