Category: Core HR Functions

We reside in the modern world where consequential approaches aren’t enough to differentiate between businesses. In the year 2021, heading forward without a strategic HR  approach is completely void. Companies require more on HR planning as opposed to transactional HR in a constantly changing and disrupted world.

The new approach revolving around strategic HR extends beyond the office cubicles and administration processes. Adopting this strategy means you’ll have to shift into a modern and future-oriented business that focuses on achieving its set HR and company goals.

 

Strategic HR: A work in progress?

The strategic HR approach is fairly dependent on the visionary mindset, having clear and set goals to work towards. Without these basics, the new approach may crumble.

Having clarity within your company goals as well as HR goals is the first base you’ll need to set. A solid method to set or highlight your goals would be to work from the top-down and from the past retroactively. This helps in visualizing what needs to be prioritized, what skills need to be implemented, and who needs to be hired to effectively reach the goal. Having it all laid out and planned will let you backtrack from the end result and possibly remove any hurdles from the get-go.

Nonetheless, upon classifying and identifying the required resources, working towards the vision requires thorough research and analysis of a variety of aspects such as behavior, skills, and knowledge within the company walls. Rectifying these aspects will help measure and align them with the set path, or help understand where you fall short of the vision.

 

Being an HR Professional and developing a strategic mindset

As an HR Professional being versatile as a manager and companion to the employees isn’t enough, you’ll also have to develop a strategic mindset and be able to think outside the box. The top-level HR Professionals will analyze the current situation, and align it with whatever the business is trying to achieve.

Although to the contrary belief that creative and strategic thinking are natural, our minds can easily be honed to produce similar results. Those looking to improve on such skills can follow these tips for strategic thinking:

 

• Gain knowledge from inside the business as well as outside
• Learn from your network/PR and be open to advise from other professionals
• Ask for feedback to rectify mistakes
• Be open to change, and mold your work in regards to feedback/criticism
• Proactively work towards the identified company goals, even with small tasks

These will help you open your mind towards strategic planning and help you adapt as an HR Professional. 

Shifting the business to a strategic HR

To effectively proceed in this transition from a transactional HR approach to a modern Strategic Approach the only key factor you’ll need is an open mindset geared towards growth. This will tie in seamlessly with the vision you have set for the company. Even for experienced HR Professionals adjusting to and adhering to newly established goals is a challenge, as with the company changes each department and aspect will shift along with it proving to be a crucial weight on the HR’s shoulder.

Being future-oriented will require quick adaptation to the world, as well as sheer commitment from the employees and teams to strive for the top spot in the competitive market. Such a drastic transition will require assistance and for that PeopleSonic will tie in perfectly with the ongoing mayhem. PeopleSonic encapsulates and delves into all departments in one form or another, especially in the management side of things as the HR team now has a free and open role during the shift to a Strategic HR. Aspects such as Payroll, Leaves, Liabilities, Management, Attendance, Timing, Core HR processes, and detailed analytics will help ensure the business runs smoothly and as efficiently as possible.

Boosting employee engagement and running advanced HR systems with the help of advanced digital tools and a cost-optimized payment plan such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee!

With the rise and spread of the novel Corona Virus, the globe faced an economic decline. The aftershock of the pandemic is still in action as many organizations and businesses are cutting down costs to stay afloat. Therefore downsizing and scrapping projects is an executive decision business leaders often tend to make, this does come at the price of discarding potentially valuable ideas to cut costs. 

Though straight up removing an idea or ongoing project may reduce costs initially, it often scraps investment of both time and money with it. Instead of eradicating a running program, a wiser option would be to optimize your budget according to your expenditure and cost. The goal is to ultimately find balance in the books and maintain the business growth, by taking the cost optimization route this is easily achieved without altering any long-term business plans.

Working around your finances and optimizing your costs can be achieved in a variety of ways, here you can follow 5 effective strategies to get you on your way. 

 

Aligning Short Term Business with Long Term Value:

Alongside the global shift, business models have also kept up with the times, and working remotely is the new norm. Therefore organizations that successfully adapted to this transition have handled the market pressure with ease, this short-term shift is the result of a few things. Functioning as a digital yet functional team, which means hiring mixed personals in each department to accommodate wage bill leniency. Full-time and Part-time employees will not only maximize the output required but sufficiently reduce salary costs, the same can be said about one-off contracts with freelancers which can be tied into planned or running projects. This creates an adaptive workforce and maximizes the division of work upheld by an employee.

Re-work remuneration and benefits:

Hard-workers and deserving employees should always be presented with bonuses and benefits which is a reflection of their commitment, that said, creating a complex compensation or incentive plan may help the cost-cutting cause. A model built around employee tracking and work metrics would be the ideal yet flexible cost optimization technique. The correct performance and data analysis of employees, in line with a refined compensation plan, will help evaluate the deserving candidates efficiently, which works entirely off of the return on investment concept.

Redefine Processes for efficient and effective service delivery:

For an efficient and effective system to be laid out, most if not all kinks need to be ironed out to ensure consistent performance. In terms of direct business, whatever metric gets measured is the one that gets managed. Therefore successful businesses will opt to test their HR departments’ procedures to eradicate performance loss and overall financial waste. Responsibilities to ensure SOP’s and system rules are divided along the hierarchy from the

Stakeholders and Managers to the bottom level employees. Similarly, input from the users and customers brings a new field of view to be worked on.

Re-examine Cost Optimization within HR Service Delivery Systems: 

Organizations existing on an expired or old model may be experiencing success, however new room for growth amongst shared HR service models is minimal which reduces areas to optimize cost savings. Having a standard and consistent system not only simplifies the tangle of commands but rather opens up an opportunity for cost-effective techniques as well. A key example would be the recruiting process, where each organization tweaks the set standard to accommodate hiring employees by their needs, however, this constant updating and tweaking lengthens the process revealing a completely different sub-process as a result. A solution would be to unite similar processes which can be utilized to create an efficient and set model for Service Delivery.

Review HR Technology:

As teams and organizations expand so do their HR systems. The sheer burden and size of ever-growing HR needs are met by HR technology which simplifies the processes to improve efficiency and performance. However such systems come at high or unconventional pricing schemes which may not cater to all business models. Monitoring the effectiveness of the system in place is vital for HR leaders to understand and pick out. Underutilized systems or add-ons should be removed to boost the cost optimization and invest the sum in other departments which are ensured to thrive.

Boosting employee engagement and running advanced HR systems with the help of advanced digital tools and a cost-optimized payment plan such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee!

It is no secret that the advancement of technology in this era has boosted productivity, efficiency, and engagement to new heights. By gradually integrating technology and future advancements into our workflow, our growth in almost every sector has grown exponentially and cut down time consumption drastically. 

With the help of technology at our disposal, communication and management as a whole has been highly productive. Employees are able to attend online meetings, access various tools, digitize their data, and have a seamless connection to their work irrespective of their location. The automation of most tasks has therefore decreased the burden on employees’ shoulders while enabling them to work sufficiently by putting out maximum efficiency which directly allows a business to compete at a greater scale.

With the current pandemic situation around the globe, more emphasis has been put on remote and digital work. Thankfully with the current advancement of technology we are able to compute our workstreams rather efficiently from home. Therefore a business that lacks the available technology or hasn’t transitioned in time may struggle during this period.

Similarly, employees which lack the understanding or are intimidated by this transition may prove to a liability than a worthy asset to an organization, therefore enabling them to open up to the digital world will not only be useful for a company’s growth rather the growth of an individual as well! Here are 4 ways you can gear your employees towards technology.

 

Create an Adaptive environment:

As with the current change in the workplace environment, creating an immersive experience online may be tricky especially if the employee base isn’t tech-savvy or prefers to work without much influence of technology. Therefore building around the emphasis of transitioning to the modern work methodology is key to revitalizing your business during this period.

It is important that leaders and the management not only convey this effectively but create a culture that plants the seed for a progressive and adaptive environment. Being able to switch and adapt to new ways is an essential part of the modern world, as employees are required to be versatile to match the demands set by society.

Therefore creating a base or platform where employees can build their flow towards technology and be less intimidated by its usage should be implemented, technology should be perceived as a tool rather than an option. With decent exposure, the heads will surely turn in favor of technology 

 

Present functional and user-friendly technology:

As mentioned in the previous pointer, opening up and presenting the usefulness of the available technological tools will help employees engage. Showcasing the benefits and total outcomes will provide them with a cushion to work with more freedom as well as ease. Opting to adopt user-friendly software etc will help the employees visually feel focused rather than having software that is clustered with information and analytics, keeping it simple is the definite way to go. Presenting technology that is a hassle to use or provides a broad learning curve will intimidate the users and may even be met with resistance on their part. Employers must therefore be careful to not introduce such technology into the workstream as this will create a feeling of discomfort amongst the employees and later be pinned back at the business.

Introducing new technologies should never be barred, but carefully picking which ones actually serve a purpose and provide the necessary tools for the team should be chosen. This selection process will remove any kinks and streamline the functionality and purpose of using such technology in the office.

 

Smooth Transition:

From an employer’s point of view, pushing their workforce to adopt a new piece of technology is not only a bad moral decision but a terrible business one as well. Putting anyone in an uncomfortable environment will create unease and may stunt their performance, therefore offering a complete course on the new technology being introduced as well as constant support to adapt to something new is the go-to method.

This also carries forward onto how the employees are approached during their training period, as a team consists of different mindsets and abilities providing a single solution to encapsulate each individual is not possible. Providing levels to their training will help distinguish which employees may need more help during the transition whereas others may be capable enough to adapt sooner. Tech-savvy employees may grasp the new technology based on a few online sessions/tutorials, but the same cannot be said for others. Providing a hands-on approach may be the solution in that case.

As a chain is as strong as its weakest link, ironing out the kinks by implementing a smooth transition period during a shift of technology will make the employees feel confident and in return reap a higher performance output for the company.

 

Implement technology in a beneficial manner or with an incentive:

The current economic standards of an average company may not be suited for direct incentives for adopting new technologies, however, incentivizing or providing a monetary reward for their hard work shouldn’t be eradicated completely.

Providing monetary rewards isn’t the only tactic you may use to engage your employees, creating a positive and supportive work culture may just be what you need. Providing a sense of accomplishment with positive feedback and a firm pat on the back shows the employee his work did not go unnoticed and motivates the others to work towards the same achievement. Recognition for similar abilities may seem like a small step but provided with collective appreciation, can bring a vast change. The newly implemented technology will also provide employees the opportunity to enhance their skillset and polish their abilities, which could further develop them into a higher role provided they keep it consistent. Indirectly proving to be a positive and effective method.

Boosting employee engagement with the help of advanced digital tools such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee!

There’s nothing more satisfying than a hardworking team working efficiently as a system to get the best results. However, if anyone’s gear let alone multiple ones fail to work, the system is bound to breakdown and hinder the results drastically.

This simple analogy can be placed into the real world, where managers deal with such a debacle with their employees. Everyone wants the best work done in the shortest amount of time to boost performance, yet getting that level of commitment from your employees requires work in itself.

It is no surprise that organizations would suffer a decrease in revenue especially when they aren’t getting the most out of their employees, if not anything at all. Engaged employees who are determined to pull their weight and put in the required effort, form an innovative team with like-minded. Such are the candidates each company strives to hire or look for.

Instead of searching for the select percentage of individuals, forming and adopting new strategies to boost your employee engagement might just be what you need! These pointers will not only help engage your workers but create an environment that allows for healthy and sustained growth for all those involved.

 

Incentives and Salary Slip: When it comes to employees the main put off from work or engagement is primarily due to financial stress. Any individual at any position would disengage from their work if they were underpaid or not appreciated for it. So a simple solution would be for managers to compensate the employees to eradicates such stress and related issues. Keeping bonuses and incentives in play could also take an edge off work and promote some healthy competition to boost workspace engagement. A few factors to maintain the desired engagement are as follows:

– Keep the salary in check with the market or keep it higher. Reviewing such changes regularly is the way to go.

– Optimize transfers and processing, for prompt salary payments without delay.

– As mentioned earlier, introduce bonuses/incentives/commissions where applicable.

– Oversee leave requests in a lenient and immediate manner.

 

Recruitment Choices: As a manager, always aim to hire the right person for the position. If not evaluated effectively this may prove to be dead weight to your company’s goals. Candidate evaluation should be taken on directly by the manager, opting to align the soft and hard skills of the recruitment to the environment your company has in place. Interviews are a key essence of the recruitment process and should be well thought out with the organization’s mentality, environment, and goals in check. As the rise of the digital era continues, shifting this traditional process to a modern one is past due. Here are the benefits you may reap from going digital with the process:

– Organising and scheduling interviews in an automated fashion.

– Assessing the candidate’s cultural fit based on behavioral interviews.

– Narrowing down the target candidate with target pools selected off various regions.

– Focusing more on the interview without the hassle of manual processing.

– Generating reports and analytics to assess the suitability of the candidates and isolate the required ones.

 

Build a relationship with your employees: Now that you’ve potentially hired a new candidate, maintaining his/her expectation as well as engagement is key. During the starting period of a new hire, it is then when an employee is most vulnerable to quit. This may be associated with being undervalued, overwhelmed, underpaid, overworked, or just confused with their position. With some care and motivation, converting new hires into loyal workers is an achievable goal, aside from some motivation and support here’s how you can build a better relationship:

– Constant support and tips/tricks regarding their work. Periodic training sessions will help them engage with the work and themselves much more effectively.

– Detailed brief regarding the job description and requirements.

– Team building sessions or group work to boost engagement amongst employees.

– Casual meetings with managers and supervisors to receive feedback on their progress.

 

 

Motivate workers and develop new skillsets: Employees always seek to increase their repertoire of skills and develop their role in an organization. If such advancements aren’t present or underappreciated it is common for employees to lose interest and ultimately seek other job options. Similarly, much-required feedback from the managers is key for the growth of employees. Appreciating them for their hard work and effort goes a long way, providing critical feedback does a similar service but with a positive and reassuring tone. Other options to increase employee satisfaction levels include:

– Provide training and development material such as workshops, courses, or even access to online tools.

– Help improve their hard and soft skills alike.

– Motivate ambitious employees by helping them transition into a profound management role. This succession planning helps you identify and train people to carry on the company growth, so pass the baton on!

– Value your employees by giving feedback on their work or general character traits to boost their mood and optimize their day. 

 

Healthy work culture/environment: An environment speaks volumes regarding the people that are found in it. If your company looks over such a key aspect you’d want to revise your ambiance better suited to productivity. Stressful work environments prove to be a stress hub which further leads to health issues and burnout in employees. Hurdles you’d want to jump over are:

– Solid work schedules and no flexibility.

– Long working hours with overtime.

– Negativity of all kinds in the workspace. A safe environment will keep everyone at peace of mind.

– Unsupportive and ignorant supervisors. Caring and valuing your employees is necessary for their growth. Listening to their concerns and feedback may help you grow as a manager and work to improve on their potential requests.

Boosting employee engagement with the help of advanced digital tools such as the complete HR management of PeopleSonic is the modern way to go! Such software allows you to work with your employees and focus more on their engagement and productivity whereas the automated functionality does the rest for you. Keeping employees engaged with an online learning curve will not only help the development of related skills but ease their workload, which are all signs of a healthy workspace and engaged employee.

As the pandemic and lockdown around the globe draw to hold, we are finally able to see some clarity into the post-pandemic life. Business owners and HR leaders look forward to adapting themselves and their employees from recovery and onto the work field. Most firms are rebuilding from the ground up whereas others shifted to a platform to keep things running. The management and owners of such businesses now rely on hard work and determination to bring their organizations to the previous standings, yet individual talents in this regard cannot be overlooked.

Utilizing the pre-covid format and skillsets in the post-pandemic world will definitely prove to be a hassle. HR leaders and Firms are in the race to upload versatile minds and workers into their newly planned systems. Making a higher demand for skilled, capable and tactical minds in this new revolution to uprise businesses. With the current workforce, however, a few key changes are due to be implemented to tackle this change. Here are the top 5 HR skills your organization needs to rebuild itself.

Agility: 

Improvise, adapt, and overcome, the key pointers associated with survival which perfectly tie in with the current struggles of upholding a business during a pandemic. Being ready to be agile to whatever the world throws at you, gives you a significant advantage in the business world. Business owners and management should look into being agile when it comes to recovering from the pandemic as well as shifting from platform to platform. Having certain HR tools such as PeopleSonic at your disposal allows HR leaders to make an educated workforce and future planning decisions.

Change Management/Communication: 

Being agile to change is one thing, and managing throughout the change transition period is another. Both are vital and go hand in hand during such recovery periods. The management should be at the forefront of change, leading and planing from the frontline to accommodate their workers’ mobility throughout the process. Communication is the pivot that determines the pace and effectiveness of the procedure. Keeping employees aware of strategical and tactical changes will allow for a clean shift in gear. Thorough and detailed briefs followed by constant updates through a well-communicated medium will surely keep the bearings turning smoothly.

Managing wellbeing/safety: 

Your employees and the environment that surrounds them are key components in the success of a company. Many wrongly believe that intense work practices and having a constantly pressurized environment keep employees on their feet. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as they are the entire driving force of an organization so ultimately keeping their wellbeing and psychological safety in check is a priority. Post pandemic concerns are definitely not off the table yet as lingering viruses are still present, so constructing a healthy ambiance is necessary.

Strategic Workforce Planning: 

Workforce and planning without a strategy in play that too during a recovery/building phase is an obtuse decision. Having a set tactical plan set for the future is imperative. Strategic Workforce Planning covers employee experiences, development of roles, succession planning, and scenario strategies. Being prepared for different obstacles and crisis are condemnable, but planning to prevent such events from happening are far superior. Businesses that opt for such an approach are known to have a strong HR approach while grasping every opportunity given.

Compliance: 

Tackling the typical HR tasks during a pandemic proved to be strenuous, with constant evolvements and law changes, the constant updates did not help the situation. Therefore using and ultimately shifting to HR Software is the move for the post-pandemic agenda. Allowing for such tools to relieve time by handling tasks such as payroll, performance management, time management, and the core HR functionality is the goal. HR teams need to be compliant, whilst maintaining their time management will dedicate and open up further growth possibilities.

 

How brands, businesses, and organizations tackle the recovery period will ultimately define and streamline their efforts in achieving success. Therefore being compliant and orchestrating changes are the signs of a competent HR leader, who develops their own skills and aids the workforce to thrive.