Top HR Mistakes Your Company Should Avoid Making
As a business owner, you don’t expect your duties to go beyond overlooking typical operational tasks. For instance, you may have never paid attention to factors like dress code or sick leaves for remote workers. However, as your business grows in strength, it can introduce a new set of challenges for your organisation.
This is where HR comes in.
Human resources departments, or HR, successfully help team members settle in while ensuring a smooth integration process. Beyond this, they also play a crucial part in making sure everyone adheres to company rules and regulations, contributing to a positive and inclusive workplace.
However, the effectiveness of the human resource team can sometimes take a hit due to negligence or other errors. Beyond affecting the well-being of your employees, these company HR issues can also be very costly, exposing you to legal risks.
To help you steer clear of these pitfalls, we have listed four common HR mistakes to avoid. By proactively addressing these issues you can create a healthy environment for both you and your employees.
Let’s get started!
4 Common HR Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Absence of Policies and Procedures
The absence of a company policy can lead to many issues within your organisation. It’s important to have a well-defined HR policy and procedures in place. While they don't need to cover every detail, they must offer clear direction on acceptable behaviour.
An effective HR policy should address company rules and potential areas of confusion, such as personal phone use and the process of taking leave, while also incorporating legal requirements and government regulations.
With a wealth of experience helping businesses form their policies and rectifying common HR mistakes, we can extend our expertise to help you too! Get in touch with us if you are seeking guidance on enhancing your HR policies.
2. Documenting, Sharing and Revising Policies
Every business should have an employee handbook, including rules and guidance about employee-related policies, workplace safety, disciplinary measures and more. Everyone in your organisation should have access to this handbook, enabling awareness on all levels.
To an extent, policies should be flexible and modified as your business evolves or as regulations change. This adaptability ensures that your employee handbook remains a dynamic and effective tool in guiding your workforce.
At Elston HR, we conduct comprehensive audits to gauge if your policies and processes are in line with HR compliance. Through our audits, we can help identify if there are gaps in your company’s adherence, enabling you to not only fulfil regulatory requirements but also promote your employee’s well-being.
3. Inappropriate Onboarding Process
A recent survey states that most organisations spend an average of forty-two days to hire a new employee. Recruiting is a substantial HR expenditure, however, despite this investment, many companies make the common HR mistake of lacking an effective onboarding process.
While the onboarding process typically involves introducing new hires to your company culture and policies, there’s a lot more that goes into it.
Many organisations go beyond just routine onboarding, strategically incorporating various activities and training sessions. These activities may include peer mentoring, assessment of future training needs, access to training resources and more. This enables you to enhance the welcoming experience and contribute to a healthy organisational culture.
To improve the onboarding process of your company, you should think out-of-the-box too! Spending time and resources on your employee onboarding process will offer you better returns down the line.
4. Lack of an Effective Retention Plan
While acquiring efficient employees is essential, retaining them is even more important. Besides the usual annual employee engagement surveys, you should understand what motivates your employees on an individual level. This will help you create unique experiences to encourage a long-term commitment.
According to research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel, current top employee needs include job security, financial stability, work/life balance and fair treatment. Without a good retention strategy as a part of your human resource planning, you will likely lose good employees. You will also face other risks such as increased turnover, higher recruitment costs, and a potential decline in overall morale and productivity.
Take the initiative to address these factors to improve employee productivity and overall well-being.
Choose Elston HR to Avoid Common HR Mistakes
Your human resource team is one of the most important parts of your organisation. They not only help you maintain a professional working environment but also keep your employees happy and motivated.
At Elston HR, we understand the importance of a strong workplace culture to drive organisational success. Through our HR audits, we can help you identify gaps in your processes and help you to improve them.
What’s more? Our professionals work closely with you to identify areas of improvement and implement strategies that cultivate a supportive work environment.
Experience these positive workplace benefits, first-hand, with our help. Contact us today to learn how we can empower your business and help you achieve new heights of excellence.