06 Sep Common HR Challenges

The success of a business may sometimes rely heavily on the team that helps run it. This fact puts loads of pressure in ensuring that employees, both full-time and part-time, are kept satisfied with their compensation, growth, and overall working condition at work. Such matters fall mainly on the plate of the Human Resources Department of an organisation.

The Human Resources (HR) Department plays a crucial role in keeping employee morale high and ensuring that the vision of each and every individual within the different teams in the company is aligned with the management’s vision. They also play an important role in creating the bridge between staff and management to effectively create a healthy working environment. However, as it is with roles that hold such responsibility, it will come with many challenges and with the ever-changing work conditions affecting numerous if not all industries, the HR team has their work cut out for them.

So what are the current common HR challenges and what may be the effective ways to tackle them?

1. Retention

A record-breaking number of 4.3 million employees resigned in August of 2021 in the US. It can be assumed that while maybe not as high, there can also be high resignation rates all over the world within the past years. With this information on hand, the HR department then is faced with the challenge in having a strong plan on how to keep the retention rates low (?).

Employees are now not only looking for a promising career, but more importantly a job that will allow for more personal time that employees can utilise to take care of themselves or their families.

With employment packages that cater for such form of benefits, companies can be more confident that their employees will not be searching for a new organization.

2. Recruitment

Employees have felt the convenience and benefits of working from home. While it was necessary especially during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, employers are now faced with the challenge of recruiting individuals who are open to an office-based setup, among many other conditions.

This may be a new hurdle for the HR team, however, there are certain steps that can be taken to help with the recruitment process. Apart from the obvious; attractive remuneration and benefits, an internal HR team may also engage an external party or a team of headhunters to help make sourcing out for candidates a little easier.

3. Corporate Culture Cultivation

A company’s culture is vital in stirring the company towards the direction it intends to go. This means that every member of an organisation must be encouraged and empowered to put in practice and uphold work culture and influence new members of the team to practice the same as well. However, with a work-from-home setup, this might be slightly more challenging.

Many companies have put to practice either a once a week office or online meeting. This can be an avenue for everyone to share what they currently have on their plates, tasks in the pipeline, or sound out any challenges that other teams may be able to assist with.

4. Acquiring top talents

Companies are always out to find the best talents there are out there. With that, the competition against other companies to find those talents are inevitable.

The HR team of a company is then faced with the challenge in ensuring that sourcing out and finding the perfect candidate is done.

A good place to start would be the job posting. It will be ideal if the job posting is clear about the duties the new potential member of the company will have to fulfill. This includes KPI, day-to-day expectations, and overall target. Job postings should also be able to provide a glimpse of the company culture and milestones. This is to showcase the possibility of career progression within the organisation and prove the company’s stability.

The interview stage is also crucial. Apart from the questions in regards the skills, past experiences, and the candidate’s expectations on his/her new work place, the interviewer should be able to convey why the company will be a great place for the candidate to be part of.

Pieces of information such as career growth, company perks, and employee benefits are some details that should be mentioned during the interview. Certain candidates are looking for certain benefits apart from just the remuneration and sometimes the former may even hold more weight when a candidate decides on whether he/she would really wish to be part of an organisation.

5. Remote Management

With more and more companies completely going on a hybrid work setup, where employees are only required to report to the physical office on certain days of the week, managing employee productivity may have just been even more challenging than ever.

Some organisations have signed up on video-calling apps for multiple users that teams of employees can use not only to collaborate, but more importantly for management together with the HR Department to use for monitoring. Such app or website may help make managing employees working remotely much easier, without giving them the feeling of being monitored.

6. Employee Mental Health

The pandemic might have different effects on different age groups, but overall, employee’s mental health should always be taken into consideration and be prioritised.

It may good to provide employees with mental health benefits such as mental health checks. With this, the company does not only reassure employees that their overall wellness, both physical and mental, are important to the company, the company also is reassured that the business is run by healthy individuals.

The role of the Human Resource Department in an organisation is not only important but also crucial. While some companies may have a solid HR Department, some organisations still find it challenging to either form a team or craft a strong and effective HR plan. Given the importance of keeping the morale high and employees engaged and empowered, companies make sure that what they have in place will help keep employees proud to be part of the company which then effectively helps the business grow.

HR Consultancy is helpful in understanding and evaluating a company’s HR plan. Pivot Tree Consultancy & Creatives offer a comprehensive HR Consultancy service to SMEs and MNCs. From the evaluation of the current efforts to the deliberation of its effects, all aspects are covered to ensure only the best results. Visit our website now for a free consultation.