Human Resources Issues

The human resource department is a vital and integral part of each and every organization. Let's take a look at some important human resources issues.

Hiring

You need the best people for delivering the better results. You can plan the recruitment process with the inputs from recruitment staff of the organization. The recruiter should ask himself the question whether new people are really required. Can the need be met by streamlining the process or restructuring the organization? The attitude of a person is a critical matter while hiring. This is measured by using psychometric tests. You should have a competitive salary range for the position. List out the attributes you are looking for a potential employee. Educational qualifications, relevant experience, certifications, ability to work in a team, leadership qualities are some of the possible attributes. Your mode of advertisement for a position should be such that it attracts the best and brightest. Recruiting through the internet is the latest technological trend. We now have an international pool of possible candidates. You have to schedule and hold interviews. There could be telephonic screening. There should be background checks to verify employment history and determining whether the candidate has a criminal history.

Promotion

Promotion within an organization could be a tricky issue. Different employees have usually different perspectives on their performance and expectations. It is important for the promotion process should be fair, transparent and systematic. One should go out of the way to reassure the overlooked employees.

Employee Relations

A safe, supportive, and productive work environment should be created and maintained. Establishing policies and procedures in itself is not enough. One should implement them consistently, fairly, and promptly. There should exist employee handbooks and policy manuals. Policies workplace issues such as sexual harassment, drug and alcohol abuse, and violence should be clearly spelled out. The organization should be compliant with existing legislative and regulatory requirements.

Compensation

The compensation should be competitive in the market and commensurate with the job profile and the efforts the employee puts in. Compensation determination should be a systematic and transparent process. The right compensation will attract and retain the required employees. There should be contingency measures to protect the employees and their families from injury, illness or death.

Training and Retraining

The newly hired employees may not have the required job skills or knowledge about the organization culture. The objective should be to impart domain knowledge and necessary issues, which would come into play. Sometimes retraining is required to restore forgotten skills or for enhancing existing skills and acquiring new ones.

Employee Retention

This is a very important issue for organization. Attrition usually adversely affects the company. The job should ideally be challenging and interesting with adequate monetary benefits. Comprehensive and systematic exit interviews could determine the cause of attrition. There could be special incentives for employer loyalty. Reasons for leaving could be lack of career growth opportunities, lack of appreciation, a more attractive job offer or stress from overwork.

Firing Employees

Incompetent or non-performing individuals have to be dismissed. One should not retain employees who engage in anti-social, criminal or any activities, which is detrimental to the organization's reputation. For maintaining the reputation of the organization they should communicate clearly the grounds of dismissal and adequate notice period.

Managing Mergers

This can be a pretty complicated matter. There exist many barriers to smooth mergers of organizations. There could be a difference in technologies among the respective organizations. If the company acquired is a foreign one there could be language and cultural barriers. The interests of the stakeholders must be taken into consideration. Retention of key employees and cultural integration are the among the critical Human Resources issues. The transition process should be smooth and efficient. The human resources department should be included in all decision-making right from the start to the end.