Human resources departments do more than process paperwork and interview job candidates. They’re responsible for ensuring that your company is properly staffed and compliant with the law. Once your HR staff onboard the talent, they have the job of keeping everyone satisfied and loyal. That may mean intervening in conflicts between employees while processing paperwork and filling empty positions.
There is always another stack of forms to complete and an inbox full of unanswered emails. Juggling responsibilities among the already hired, the soon-to-be-hired, and the need-to-hire-now, your HR team members can easily become overwhelmed.
The good news is that you can set your HR team up for success. From creating manuals that provide essential guidelines to knowing when it’s time to look into international HR services, we have valuable advice that will lead to a more efficient HR team.
Maybe you can’t reduce the number of tasks that your HR team members are responsible for completing. What you can reduce is the time it takes them to knock out some tasks on their to-do lists. You do that by seeking out technology that automates as many of your HR processes as possible.
HR automation allows your employees to focus on strategy, decision-making, and valuable interactions with employees and job candidates. It does that by turning many manual tasks into automated tasks that require little time or thought from humans.
Chatbots are a good example of how robotics can save your HR staff some time. You can allow these bots to automatically answer questions and provide information to job seekers. They can work on your company website as well as through most social media channels. Your company remains responsive to inquiries while your human employees are never required to answer the same questions repeatedly.
In September 2021, 25% of Americans with full-time jobs worked from remote locations. Another 20% worked remotely on a part-time basis. That means close to half of all full-time employees spent at least some of their time working away from the office. There’s a good chance your company will take advantage of remote work arrangements in the future if you aren’t there already. A company should also keep track of remote employees' attendance and performance, which can be easily done with software.
Remote work can be game-changing in that it gives you access to a much larger pool of highly qualified job candidates. If you’re going to let employees work outside your office, it doesn’t matter whether they’re located across town, in another state, or even another country.
Your current HR staff may have everything covered for one location or even all locations within a state or region. But we’re talking about a different set of rules with international hiring, and your company is required to follow all of them. Fortunately, there are two HR services that can handle everything from recruitment to payroll and benefits while ensuring your company is in full compliance with all international laws:
Think of these services as extensions of your current HR department. Your company can spread its values and culture across borders while remaining compliant with international laws. Meanwhile, you don’t overtax your HR staff.
What if you could buy a pre-assembled HR department complete with a user’s guide? The latter would serve as a manual that told you exactly how to utilize each member of the HR team. It’s impossible to create one guide that would work for every company, but you get the idea. Many businesses don’t realize that they can create that manual for their unique HR needs.
Make a list of all the tasks your HR staff needs to complete. Separate those tasks into categories like recruitment, onboarding, paperwork, and employee discipline or reviews. Then create processes that are easily repeatable for each of those categories. Rather than having a never-ending to-do list, you now have a few processes your team can implement right away.
Every HR team member should have a clearly defined list of duties. They should know where those duties fall within the overall departmental process. And they should have all the tools and resources they need to complete those duties efficiently.
How often do you compare your current pay structure and benefits to those of your competitors? Do you know what the top talent at your five biggest competitors is currently earning? If you don’t keep up with data for your industry, you will find yourself playing catch-up eventually. That may come too late as you notice your employees moving on to greener pastures.
What does this have to do with your HR department? Everything!
If members of your HR team can’t offer competitive salaries or hourly wages, they will struggle to onboard qualified employees. If they can’t offer the benefits that job candidates are offered elsewhere, they will lose the talent war. This makes their job far more stressful and less successful.
You can support your HR staff by allowing them a louder voice on wages and benefits. Your executives and accounting personnel may have all the numbers that say what your company can afford. You still need input at the human level to understand what it will take to secure the talent you need.
Start by opening the lines of communication between HR and your executives. Encourage HR and your finance department to compare notes and intel. Ensure each department is informing the others before big decisions are made. You will end up with a more satisfied HR team that feels heard and valued. You should also end up with more qualified talent due to competitive compensation.
Human resources is often a neglected department with a limited voice. You may not realize HR staff’s importance until you suffer an employee shortage or a preventable legal issue. You can keep these responsibilities completely in-house or engage an outside entity to absorb some essential duties. Either way, support is essential for HR success.
