The HR department is usually made up of a group of people who take interviews, hire people and manage all the employee paperwork. However, there is much more to the HR team than what meets the eye. They play a key role in the success of the business by hiring the right employees. Plus, they play an active role in the overall growth and development of the employees within the organisation.
You must be thinking—how does HR support employees? Or, how can HR support employees? Let us check out the ten things the HR team does to ensure the success of their employees.
1. Career planning
It is expected that the HR department, like any other team, be always focused on ensuring the success of the business. However, the company won’t find success, if it doesn’t hire the best employees, and, best employees always have the desire to move ahead in their respective careers. So, how does HR support employees in their career growth?
HR can support employees by helping them map out their career path. They can help them plan and achieve their ultimate career objective. If an employee wants to be the CEO of the company, then the HR can help the employee identify their strengths and weaknesses. This can further help the employee build a comprehensive career path towards their most prized objective. If the employee holds expertise in a particular type of work, they should inform the HR about it, so that when the need arises, the HR knows whom to call for support and assistance.
2. Continuing education
Many employees ask the HR of their receptive companies, what does HR do to help employees continue their education? The lack of this option, coupled with a dearth of growth opportunities, is one of the main reasons which forces many employees to search for better options.
HR can certainly look to support the employees by helping them continue their education. This can be done by way of providing tuition reimbursement on a degree of certification course that is directly related to the company. Further, it will help the employee succeed in their careers within the company.
Allowing employees to continue their education in the fields that are related to the company will help the employee succeed, and is a great way to retain employees and boost employee engagement with the company.
3. Managing the manager
It has been mostly observed in a corporate set up that not all managers are awesome. Some may be taskmasters, while some may be control freaks. Also, not all wonderful managers come across as such to each employee.
Disagreements and differences of opinions are healthy for a business. However, the essence lies in maintaining a balance between agreements and disagreements. And if the weighing scale tilts more towards the unfavourable side, then an HR intervention may be required to give a different perspective of things. So, how does HR support employees in managing their manager?
The HR team must start from the basics by creating a proper code of conduct at work. Doing this helps prevent any unfavourable practices. Plus, HR should encourage more peer-to-peer collaboration and transparent communication with the manager to dissuade any disagreeable situation.
4. Support creativity and innovation
Encouraging the spirit of creativity and innovation among employees is a great way to boost their engagement with the company, which will increase their efficiency and productivity. It will ultimately result in better growth in the careers of the employees. So, what do human resources do to bring in creativity and innovation?
By setting the right expectations, goals and guidelines for employees, HR can provide them with the opportunity to be flexible and embrace creativity and innovation into their daily work culture. The HR team should focus on enhancing innovation and creative skills instead of killing the instincts altogether in favour of business and profits.
Provide your employees with a detailed framework within which they can experiment with their creative side. After all, unchanneled creativity and innovation can end up in confusion and loss of direction.
5. Offering flexible work schedule if possible
Many employees do better with a fixed work schedule, while some like a flexible workweek. It has been observed that some employees perform better when offered the flexibility of working from home or from a remote comfort location at a time of their convenience.
The HR team can support such employees by introducing a flexible work culture for the desired. They should start by creating well-defined procedures and policies to implement the plan. Further, they should also procure the necessary technology that will help them monitor the remote employees. As long as flexibility boosts performance and the employees feel connected with the company, it should be allowed and encouraged.
6. Helping with internal promotions
The best way to help an employee succeed within the company is by helping them with appropriate internal promotions based on their performance and experience. The HR team can let the employees know about the different internal vacancies through emails or portals. And then, seek the details of the most deserved employees, guide them and evaluate them rationally to find the best candidate for the position.
The HR team should ensure that internal promotions are transparent and fair to encourage more participation and engagement from existing employees. Doing so will hugely reduce the cost of searching for good talent outside.
7. Medical problems
If an employee has a health problem or any member of their family as a health problem which is affecting their work, then they should inform the HR about the problem and seek proper guidance. The HR representative won’t know about your problems unless you inform them about it. For instance, if you start taking unplanned leaves due to severe back pain, but you do not mention anything to the HR, then there is a possibility that you may be asked to leave due to unprofessional behaviour and violation of attendance policy.
However, if you discuss your medical issue with your manager and the HR, they may be able to provide you with the necessary assistance and guidance which may help you solve the problem without jeopardising your career.
8. Personal problems
Sometimes, employees have some personal problems, which they would not feel comfortable to discuss with any other authority at work. In this case, the employees should seek the help of HR to solve the problems.
For instance, problems of physical or sexual harassment at the workplace should be brought to the notice of the HR. In fact, the HR representative is mandated by law to investigate the matter. Also, other safety and security related problems at the workplace should be brought to the notice of the HR to find efficient solutions.
9. Helping with navigating the law
There are certain employment laws that every HR member should know about. This will help them solve the issues of employees when they arise. Complaints by coworkers or sexual harassment complaints get handled properly when the HR knows the rules at the workplace.
This helps the victims find a better solution to the situation. The employees should not blow any issue beyond proportion. If there is a problem that threatens to become a legal issue, they must seek assistance from the HR team to sort out the legal modalities.
10. Managing employees
Finally, the success of managers depends on the success of the employees working under their team. Managing employees may become tricky sometimes, and even managers may need some help and assistance to boost team performance.
In this case, the managers can seek help and assistance from the HR team. The HR team can provide managers with the appropriate resources and training to boost their knowledge and team handling skills.
The HR department is there to ensure that the company succeeds. And the company can only succeed when its employees find success within the organisation. Thus, it is essential to keep the employees motivated and engaged with the company by providing them with a harmonious workplace and adequate avenues to find success in their career.
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