How many senior managers have told you that their people are their greatest asset? I’m guessing it’s quite a few. But how many of them have the right human resources structures and talent management strategies in place to make the most of those assets? That number is certain to be considerably lower.
The fact is that a well-considered and structured approach to human resources will get the most out of your people – and your organisation. But all too many organisations take a rather cursory approach to it, or think that it starts and stops with recruitment. They couldn’t be more wrong. Effective human resources management takes commitment and consideration. But these twelve basic tips are a starting point for making the most of your employees’ energy, skills and creativity.
Strategy and Workforce Planning
Human resources starts long before you advertise for a new recruit. You need to make sure that you are getting the right people, at the right time, with the right skills. That means having an over-arching human resources strategy that is closely aligned with the wider business goals, and using the HR team as a true business partner.
It is important to keep the strategy up to date and in line with your company’s needs and responsive to wider labour markets. Get senior endorsement, and make sure everyone knows about it.
Policy
If strategy sets the framework, policy fills in the details. Policies should cover all appropriate areas - from health and safety, and employee review to equal opportunities and grievance procedures. You also need to ensure that you are up to date with current legislation: smoking, age discrimination and flexible working are all subjects of recent changes in the law.
Like your strategy, you need company-wide endorsement and implementation of the policy. Since it covers the way in which your employees should interact with each other, everyone needs to know what they are.
Diversity and Equality
One of the most important of your policies is that regarding equality and diversity. It applies at every stage of the employee lifecycle. Your recruitment process needs to be in line with your equal opportunities policy; and measures for preventing bullying put in lace along with transparent processes for dealing with victimisation should it occur.
The most successful organisations, particularly those that are customer facing, often reflect the make up of their own local community. In other words diversity makes good business sense.
Recruitment and Selection
It is tempting to approach every recruitment agency in town. But developing strong, long-term relationships with a short-list of preferred suppliers can deliver better results. And don’t forget to make any vacancies known to all staff. It’s often far more cost-effective to hire or promote from within – and you may already have the ideal person on your payroll.
Make sure you know exactly what you are looking for – a job analysis is key. And ensure your people know how to find what you need: training interviewers can dramatically improve the information gained. Always check references, and conduct health checks where necessary. Most importantly, ensure that everyone you hire has the right to work in this country.
Talent management is also an important element of recruitment and selection. If organisations have a talent management programme in place, it needs to be reflected in the recruitment process to ensure high flyers are being identified as early as possible.
Compensation and Benefits
To get the right people you need to ensure that the compensation and benefits on offer are attractive. Keep an eye on typical packages in your sector, and if you cannot keep up in terms of direct financial compensation, consider alternatives that cost you less but keep you attractive to new recruits.
It’s important that your wage payment systems and structures are satisfactory and that people are paid equally for equal work. Make sure sickness pay and pensions are run well, and keep an eye on your rewards system – people should continue to get benefits for results, not just from habit.
Induction
Starting a new job can be disorientating. However, a carefully planned induction will help your new recruits hit the ground running. At the end of induction, new staff should truly understand what your business does and how they will contribute. Induction covers formal policies like health and safety, and setting up meetings with key personnel, as well as pointing out on-site and local facilities and social activities. Most of all, make sure the induction is tailored for individual roles. After all, a new senior executive has different requirements than a graduate trainee.
Employee Relations
Keeping your employees engaged with your organisation is essential if you want to retain and develop your latest recruits. Company handbooks, employee consultation groups and participation in decision-making can all help employee relations. On a more formal note, certain organisations may need to keep their position on trade union recognition under review. And, in case things go wrong, you also need an up-to-date and workable grievance and discipline policy.
Whatever you do, communication is key. Make sure your employees are kept informed of changes and invite their feedback where you can.
Health, Safety and Well-being
If your employees are ill, sick or injured, they cannot work properly. Every organisation needs a site and job-specific health and safety policy to prevent accidents and injuries. But it isn’t just physical injuries that cause absenteeism and loss of productivity. Stress and stress-related illnesses also play their part. So it’s worth implementing activities that are designed to promote well-being and minimise or manage stress. There should also be a recognised mechanism for employees to discuss any issues and seek assistance in confidence.
Performance Management
You’ve made a significant investment in hiring your staff, but you need to ensure that your investment keeps delivering returns by managing performance.
Appraisals are the most widely-accepted way of doing this, but the quality of results depends on the quality of the appraisal itself. SMART goals are in, vague assertions are out. It may be that a formal appraisal process is not right for all roles, so consider alternatives. Finally, ensure that your managers can manage both the task in hand and the people working for them.
Appraisals are also essential for managing talent – to identify star players and what they need to continue to grow and develop within the organisation.
Training and Development
As your organisation changes and as staff move up the career ladder, you need to make sure you retain the appropriate skills in-house and nurture the talent you have got.
Training is an important part of any business’s development and deserves a recognised budget. Look at all possible options: e-learning, secondments and mentoring, as well as formal courses. And make sure training covers both the needs of the individual and of the organisation.
Career Management and Executive Development
In addition to managing employee performance on a day-to-day basis, it is important to have some mechanisms for managing their longer-term careers, especially as part of a talent management programme. Otherwise you may find your most competent staff leaving for better positions at your rivals. This is particularly true of senior executives, who are not immune to the blandishments of a commissions-hungry head-hunter. Coaching and mentoring are key to keeping talent in-house. In particular, succession planning ensures you are not left rudderless when your CEO retires.
Exit
However successful your business becomes, people will eventually choose to leave. But if you manage the exit process effectively you can gain valuable feedback about your organisation and, if necessary, make changes so that key employees are less likely to go in the future. Of course, people do not always leave at their own volition, so make sure your redundancy and dismissal procedures are fair and transparent.
And finally…
One last tip that underpins all the rest. Measure everything you do. Every aspect of your human resources activity needs to be regularly assessed for success and cost effectiveness. That way you know which measures need refinement, and which ones are delivering success and adding value to your organisation.
