Folks in Human resources work day in and day out to provide a seamless experience for all the employees of an organization. They form the first point of contact for resolving any queries that employees might have. Since the incorporation of HR as a separate department, their responsibilities have been changing to reach the stage that it is in today. From providing a smooth onboarding experience to a satisfying exit, HRs take care of the most critical asset organizations have – their people!
It is quite easy to feel lost at work if there is no one you can reach out to at times of confusion and distress. HR personnel come as saviors and guide the employees in the right direction. It is well said that HRs are the face of the organization. They represent the whole organization at various platforms while hiring the right talent. Talking about talent, it is the HRs who bring in the right set of people who will drive the organization to reach its goals. There is a plethora of responsibilities on their shoulders that they carry out with ease Every. Single. Day!
Here are the key responsibilities these ‘superheroes without capes’ fulfill each day as part of their job:
Talent Planning and Recruiting
This comes under the purview of the talent management team of the HR department. It is the first task that an HR has to accomplish which is to attract people to apply to open positions at the organization. The first step is crucial because it will decide the entire workforce that the company will onboard and go forward with.
Talent planning will essentially involve the job descriptions, the average compensation, the platforms for job postings, and other channels that may help in bringing in the right talent pool. This stage also involves the important concept of employer branding where the organization positions itself in the job market to attract candidates to apply. The HR has to ensure that the right set of people are applying.
Recruiting is fairly an expensive affair. It has largely become virtual given the conditions brought about by the pandemic. Various recruitment methods such as on-campus recruitment, online job postings, etc. can be adopted. Recruitment is at the heart of all the things that HRs do because, “the right candidate can revitalize an entire organization, but the wrong candidate can upend operations.”
As important it is to rush into what the future of HR might hold, it is equally significant to understand what has happened and the history of HR. If not anything, history does teach a lot about what mistakes should be avoided and what trends can shape the future.
Hiring and Onboarding.
After receiving a large number of applications, it is time HRs move to the next responsibility on their list, hiring the people who best fit the job. Hiring is a critical part of their responsibilities and there are numerous methods they could follow to hire the employees. For instance, conduct personal interviews, case competitions, written examinations etc. Hiring could also involve third-party vendors who outsource their testing platform, but an HR has to supervise the process.
Having found the right set of people, it is time they are inducted into the organization formally. HR holds the responsibility to onboard the new hires and for facilitating the initial knowledge transfer session which essentially conveys the overview of the organization so that the employees feel welcomed. Every responsibility is equally important and as far as onboarding is concerned, it is to be revisited with agility and empathy. HRs should ensure that all the relevant documents have been signed off as part of the onboarding process.
To learn about how the pandemic impacted the onboarding process and how to approach virtual onboarding, read the blog by Darwinbox: Everything You Need To Know About Virtual Onboarding (darwinbox.com)
Processing Payroll.
Payroll comprises a lot of technical know-how. It encompasses all things related to employee compensation. HRs are responsible to calculate the taxes that are levied, any additions or deductions to the gross salary that are to be made, and any expenses that are to be reimbursed. It is one of the most difficult tasks that they carry out since it involves a lot of additional factors that come to play such as time and attendance.
Companies across the world have different pay periods and thus payroll works accordingly. To make the payroll process easier, HRs are now turning to sought-after and sophisticated HRMS platforms that automate this process. For an in-depth understanding of payroll and things that revolve around this concept, give a thorough reading to the various pieces written by Darwinbox.
Upkeep of Employee Records.
The most important benefit of maintaining proper employee records is to track and have a productive view of information. When records are kept it is also easy to fetch information. These are also required for efficient Analytic purposes to make the organization future-ready.
As the number of employees in a firm grow it becomes increasingly to track everything manually, therefore maintaining automated records can come in handy as it is the only piece of information that has all the details of people who work in the organization. Other important reasons for keeping employee records up to date are that they help identify any skill gaps that might be present and for legal purposes. The HRs can further work on these gaps by providing sufficient learning and training programs to the employees.
Following are the details that every HR must maintain in the employee records:
- Personal details.
- Employment-related details.
- Contact details. Job details.
- Payroll records.
- Awards and achievements.
Conducting disciplinary actions.
Disciplinary procedures and actions are standardized step-by-step comprehensive methods that a company commits to in situations where an employee has to be warned, reprimanded, or dismissed. If the procedure is not standardized and fair, the company could face discrimination or other legal charges.
These procedures are carried out by the HRs timely so as to maintain the decorum of the organization and to also ensure that employees comply with company rules and regulations. Disciplinary actions could be as simple as ensuring that all employees report to work on time. Sometimes, if not carried out appropriately they can lead to dismissal of a valuable employee. Thus, while carrying out these actions, it is important to keep all the legal pointers at hand.
HRs could also just initiate a talk with the employee who has not followed the rules before proceeding to take any action against them. A new high has been seen in the number of disciplinary actions that HRs had to take after the pandemic as work became remote. According to the data in the Paychex survey, 44% of employees have been reprimanded for their behavior while working remotely. Surely, a lot can be improved in this area of human resources at workplaces.
Providing learning opportunities and development programs
Yet another responsibility that HRs have is to provide opportunities for continuous learning and upskilling of the employees. Employees at workplaces feel more empowered and belonged when the organization provides them with programs that help them develop professionally. 66% of L&D professionals said that learning and development are becoming a more strategic part of their organization (Emerald Works, 2020).
It would not be wrong to say that the pandemic accelerated the provision and acceptance of learning and development as a core facet of the HR department. During times of distress, HR professionals had to ensure that the employees felt supported and cared for.
If you are an HR professional and looking for courses that will be useful for your employees check out, The Ultimate List of HR Courses to Upskill (darwinbox.com)
Books have always been an integral part of any learner’s life and here is a well-curated collection of HR books for HR enthusiasts, 30 Best HR Books every HR Enthusiast Should Read (darwinbox.com)
Devising and updating employee policies.
Policies govern the way employees function in the workplace. Employee policies should encompass everything from employee wellbeing to employee security, from employee benefits and perks to employee safety. It is HRs responsibility to formulate policies and keep them up to date from time to time as the organization evolves.
Most policies are a direct result of the company objective and vision and are formulated on a high level by the board or the senior management. Oftentimes, the HR managers are a part of such decisive meetings for it is they who are the first point of contact that the employees have.
Timely Upgradation of employee policies is as important as constructing them. For instance, the wrath of the pandemic forced the HR department to rethink its policies revolving around especially employee well-being. It is the prime duty of the HRs to improve the wellness strategies of the companies since according to Deloitte’s 2020 Global Human Capital Trends Survey , only 21% of organizations said their well-being strategy was comprehensive enough.
Providing timely rewards and benefits.
If fixed compensation is the reason why employees join an organization, it is the rewards and recognitions that make them stay. HRs hold the principle responsibility of assuring timely benefits to employees such as health-related benefits, lifestyle benefits, employment-centric benefits, etc.
The significance of employee benefits is clear by the fact that in a certain survey, almost 78% of employees said they are more likely to stay with their employer because of their benefits program. Knowing that the stakes are high, HRs must constantly work on introducing improved programs concerning employee benefits. To begin with, here is a list of 10 benefits that every employee looks forward to.
It wouldn’t be surprising to know that providing benefits is directly proportional to low turnover rates. To back this up, we have data from a descriptive report by LinkedIn that says that “Companies that are rated highly on compensation and benefits saw 56% lower attrition rates.”
Resolving conflict and maintaining a good culture.
A healthy work culture is the fundamental pillar for the success of an organization. HRs have been instilled with the responsibility of ensuring that good work culture is regularly maintained. A good culture at work is characterized by features like:
- Having a supportive team that is always ready to help.
- Having robust mechanisms in place to solve conflicts.
- Having an HR department that values employee experience and satisfaction.
- Having leadership that formulates policies for wellbeing at the workplace.
The foremost duty of HR is to understand the fact that employees are people after all. And a workplace that values and celebrates its work will only set itself on the journey to success and growth. If we go by statistics, 94% of entrepreneurs and 88% of job seekers say that a healthy culture at work is vital for success.
The way HRs work to maintain a fine work culture has changed massively after the pandemic. To get an insight into how virtual organizations are approaching this read this blog, CHECK-IN to the Virtual Organisation Culture (darwinbox.com)
Providing legal and other support.
However big or small an organization is, HRs have been the torchbearers when it comes to providing support. Although legal is not a direct responsibility of an HR, they look into it at a high level. Having all legal resources kept handy, HRs can navigate during times of crisis and risks. They might not be the people solving the legal disputes but can be a source of advice. HRs also work in collaboration with the legal to devise training programs and educational content for hiring programs and any other programs in general.
Other support could include providing assistance in terms of navigating through complex workflows and software, during workdays when the employee might feel a burnout, for navigating through the various employee policies, etc.
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