What exactly is HR?

HR, a.k.a., human resources, is the umbrella term given to the operations of an organization that help serve an organization’s most valuable assets—its employees. Human resources’ role is to manage the employee life cycle and employee needs. An effective HR department makes its employees feel supported, motivates them to perform better, and makes sure they have all the necessary tools to complete their daily tasks smoothly. The bottom line is that HR can guide your organization towards success by taking care of your people and culture. So, if you want to attract and retain the best talent to achieve your business goals, you need to set up an exceptional HR department. Related: Human Resources: Definition and How it works

What are the basic HR responsibilities?

HR professionals help create and maintain a healthy work environment that’s beneficial for both employees and employers. An HR Department’s basic responsibilities include:

• Finding and recruiting talent that aligns with company objectives: HR is responsible for creating job posts, filtering applications, and interviewing top talent to fill vacant positions. HR should also know how to create and maintain the employer brand to attract and retain the ideal candidates.
• Helping selected candidates with the onboarding process: One of HR’s basic responsibilities is getting recruits familiar with the work culture and the specifics of their job roles. The onboarding process may also include training new employees, helping them fill out applicable paperwork, and setting up their payroll.
• Managing compensation and employee benefits: HR must know how to calculate hourly wages, reimbursements, bonuses, and taxes for individual employees. The role also includes routinely investigating competitor companies and formulating attractive employee benefits to attract the best talent.
• Reviewing employee performance and giving appraisals: HR is responsible for monitoring employee activity and noting their monthly and annual progress. The HR department also often devises appropriate bonuses and appraisals to improve employees’ motivation.
• Managing training and development processes to boost performance: The HR department’s role includes identifying and fixing any productivity leaks. For example, if an employee is going through a phase of bad performance or is slacking at work, the HR department needs to recognize the problem and come up with a solution. HR executives also need to create a learning environment to encourage self-actualization and allow employees to improve their skills continually.
• Addressing employee queries and concerns: HR professionals must be open to bias-free communication, so that if employees have any doubts or need to report an issue related to their employment, they can approach HR without hesitating. HR is also responsible for actively resolving employee-employee or employee-employer conflicts.
• Advocating for employees: The HR role is often like that of a leader who bridges the gap between employers and employees. HR is responsible for open communication, encouraging employees by recognizing their best performance, recommending stretch assignments, and creating a physically and mentally safe work environment.
• Planning and developing business plans: The HR department often serves as the strategic partner of the organization. So, they often participate in identifying company objectives and developing business plans to meet those objectives.
• Implementing business and employee policies: HR duties include creating and maintaining policies that are in the best interest of both the employees and the company. HR executives should make sure that everyone in the company understands and follows any new changes in the policies.

What are the best practices for HR to improve workplace productivity?

Since HR needs to comply with several laws and regulations and directly influence workplace productivity, it’s important for those who work in this department to follow specific guidelines. Here are the best practices for an HR department to follow:

• Ask for regular feedback: This shows employees that you value their opinion and have their best interests in mind. It’s also beneficial because it can help the HR department recognize what systems employees like or don’t like and create better policies for the future.

• Be flexible with schedules and deadlines: Doing this helps create an environment of trust, improves creativity, and allows employees to work according to their preferred styles and deliver their best results.
• Provide employees with the right tools and information: Sharing the right information ensures transparency between the company and employees. Similarly, by providing access to the right tools, the HR department can boost employee efficiency and reduce the time spent to complete simple, mundane tasks.

• Trust employees and giving them more responsibility: When you don’t micromanage your employees, it helps your employees feel more valuable and creates an environment of self-motivation.

• Include employees in important decisions: HR’s role is to ensure employee productivity and satisfaction. So, it goes without saying that if you want your employees to be happy and continue working with your company, you should include them in all important decisions while making any changes to policies.

• Be consistent with policies: While a change in certain policies may be necessary from time to time, the HR department needs to stay consistent with policies for the most part. This way, there’s no room for confusion, the same rules will apply to everyone, and you’ll create a fair and healthy workplace environment.

Related: 21 Key HR Policies, Procedures, and Forms

What qualities should you look for in a candidate for an HR role?

The HR department hires, fires, and retains the best talent for your company, but what kind of qualities should you should look for when hiring an HR candidate? Here are the qualities that make a good HR manager:

• good communication skills
• awareness of ethical responsibilities
• excellent leadership and conflict management skills
• impartial and non-discriminatory attitude
• strong negotiation skills
• organizational and multi-tasking skills
• motivational and influential personality