Human resource. It’s a term that’s been with us since the late 19th century. And it isn’t going anywhere. As wooden and charmless as it can sound to classify humans as a resource, it’s nevertheless a reality of business. People build businesses. Without people, businesses crumble. That’s why you need tools to help you to approach human resources in a modern and practicable way (check out HRIS, for example).
Staff acquisition and retention
Hiring the right people isn’t easy. Ask any company that’s waded into the talent pool and held up a sign saying “competitive salary”, and they’ll tell you that the kind of responses you get will not be best-fit so much as ok-ish fit. The lesson here is that you can’t expect to attract top talent on the grounds of salary alone. People want more than that from their employer.
Think about how the job ad was laid out. Was there any mention of culture? Do you even currently promote culture in your place of work? What can you say about the kind of experience you can offer to potential employees? Are there training and development opportunities? What about paid leave and other benefits?
Your HR department can engage with your staff and create a strong culture of like-minded individuals who don’t just sit next to each other in the office but work for and support each other towards a common goal.
Time and performance management
HR staff can help you track the performance of your teams and even break down the individual efforts of staff in terms of hours spent on projects. When you can see how your teams are performing, you can better estimate your ROI. Does the revenue generated by the team warrant the current number of staff? Or could you easily stand to streamline your teams into a more affordable size that doesn’t affect output?
There is one other consideration when it comes to time and performance management, which leads us to the final benefit of HR staff in our list…
Leadership and development
Staff don’t want to stand still in their careers. Put someone in a box and they’ll start to wonder what’s outside the box. They’ll fantasize about the opportunities they’re missing out on. They’ll start to look for other options.
But with HR staff looking after your leadership and development programs, staff can rest assured that the company has each employee’s best interests at heart. This could take the form of regular feedback sessions, training schedules, and meetings to discuss how the company is progressing. HR staff can make sure that the people who make the magic happen on your shop floor feel appreciated.
Without the efforts of HR, leadership roles and development options are likely to stagnate. While this leaves the door open for the type of job advertisements that state things like, “A role you can make your own” and, “a self-starter who thrives in a challenging environment,” we all know that those kinds of comments really mean, “Look, you’re on your own,” and candidates can spot it a mile away.
