The Most Common Issues Faced By Human Resource Managers There are many significant human resources issues

facing both employers and employees today. With the development of both small and larger-scale businesses, the need for human resource management and the foresight and ability to avoid the problems that accompany it is growing. 1. Recruitment Personnel management workers have always been responsible for at least some aspects of employee recruitment. They have to find methods, such as attending job fairs and sending out promotional mailings, to generate interest in particular positions and the company as a whole. Many companies face an even bigger problem in this area, however, because globalization means that companies are competing with each other around the entire world rather than just one small area or country. Modern employees also are looking for jobs that provide more of a balance between employment and family. Companies sometimes need to offer more in terms of benefit packages or incentives, as well, because people increasingly look for jobs that reduce their risks in unstable economic situations. 2. Training Training is needed in virtually every business and industry because every company has its own policies and procedures employees must follow. It is HRs responsibility to figure out how to conduct the training so that operations are not interrupted or strained. The department also determines how training sessions and seminars factor into the company calendar and budget. Coordinating with third parties involved in the training is also necessary, in some instances. 3. Discrimination Companies often value diversity because it provides different modes of thought and experiences that can generate new ideas and better productivity. It also fosters a sense of equality that is well-suited to teamwork. Businesses look to their HR departments to build diversity into the workplace, as those in personnel management generally are responsible for company recruitment, hiring, promotion, and termination. Many places have laws that make various forms of discrimination in the workplace illegal, so human resources workers have to recruit and train in a way that follows both legal and business standards. Since more employees are aware of their rights, a modern HR department may also need to handle a potential increase in complaints about discrimination.

4. Conflict Resolution Even though members of personnel management departments work hard to find employees who are a good fit for the companys culture, the wide range of personalities, experiences, and skill sets found in the workforce mean that some conflicts are bound to happen. Investigating complaints of verbal or physical harassment is common, but other conflicts, such as those involving broken promises from managers, stolen property, and other problems, also occur. This is one of the biggest human resources issues for companies because it is almost always cheaper to retain an employee than to find and train a new one. If HR doesnt resolve conflicts when they are present, resignations or firings can result, which ultimately costs the company money. 5. Safety Workers often use equipment that, if not properly used, can result in accidents or health problems. Even something like a desk that is not ergonomically positioned can be a potential injury source. The HR department has to take this into account when it organizes workers. It also investigates allegations of unsafe equipment or managerial direction.

6. Benefits Virtually all companies offer some benefits to employees, either to appear competitive or to comply with local, regional, or national regulations. HR directors work with the heads of companies to create benefit policies and packages. Common employee benefits include health insurance, life insurance, a dental plan, and employee product discounts. When employees are terminated, their benefits usually are too, so HR must keep records of the exact hiring and termination dates of each employee. 7. Outsourcing Outsourcing refers to companies giving work to independent contractors outside the company rather than to inhouse employees. Independent contractors are freelance workers who pay their own taxes and insurance. Outsourcing is one of the most common human resources issues, as many businesses are hiring freelancers rather than creating more overhead costs by taking on additional in-house employees. Overhead costs include equipment and workspace as well as benefits such as medical insurance.

Steps to overcome problems In the fast paced modern business world HR Departments have never been under so much pressure to process higher volumes of work, provide a greater breadth of service and balance day to day transactional work with proactive strategic work. Common problems encountered tend to be; lack of resources and / or multiple skills in the department; HR and Payroll systems which are not fit for purpose, lack of flexibility, little available time to problem solve or be proactive; line managers who still expect HR to deal with their people issues; HR not understood by the business and administrative processes which consume huge amounts of time and resource.

Where is your HR department currently? (Diagnostic) Take the time to ask your HR team where the bottlenecks and problems are and what the possible solutions might be. Speak to your customers, i.e line managers, employees and suppliers and gain their feedback on the quality of service they perceive they are receiving and what could be done to improve them or expand them. Run internal HR customer satisfaction surveys. Review your HR technology and systems against the original specifications and see if there are any functions you could make better use of. Clarify what type and level of service HR will provide to the business. In light of this, do the job roles, current skill levels and structure of the HR function fully support this?

How efficient are you at delivering your service? (Processes & Measurements) Review all your processes, forms, documents, letters, filing & storage systems and process map your employee life cycle activities, both as it is and as it should be, and use this opportunity to eradicate duplication, non value added activities, overly long or complex processes & areas of high concentrations of time. Ensure you have quality and corporate governance processes in place.

Assign clear areas of responsibility to each member of the HR team and ensure all members of the HR team understand where responsibility and accountabilities lie with team members. Put in place regular processes and systems for listening to the voice of the customer and obtaining feedback on the quality of service and new opportunities for providing additional services. Use the in house experts in I.T. or HR systems people to develop and enhance existing technology. Develop performance measures for both the HR Department and for service provided to the business. These should include: mix and volume of work received in the department, time spent on tasks, accuracy levels, skill levels of team members, and turnaround time of work processing.

How effectively does HR work with the business? (culture) Define who your customers are and in what ways do they access your services. Ensure all members of the HR team understand good customer service and check to make sure all the systems, processes, documentation which customers access are user friendly. Set up regular forums and opportunities to engage with your customers to share information and have quality discussions around service improvement areas. Educate and up skill your line managers to become effective people managers and to understand the importance of working to processes and procedures to enhance the quality of service to them. Place part of the accountability for effective service provision on your customers in providing timely, complete and accurate information.

How well do you harness technology to provide your services? (systems) Ensure the systems your customers use are intuitive and user friendly. Automate your processes as much as possible. Ask your customers what management data would enhance their ability to manage business better and produce regular people and business dashboards which are easy to understand. These might include, cost of recruitment, sick pay costs, lost time rate and FTE days lost. Introduce Employee and Management self service wherever possible, to automate leave applications, learning event requests, vacancy applications, and to provide a virtual HR office for employees.

How effectively does HR sell & market its services & successes to the business? (communication) Ensure there is a clear HR strategy and/or action plan linked to the Business Strategy. Communicate this to the business. Present a clear case for HR in the business. Proactively seek out and engage with key stakeholders. Understand their issues and concerns and proactively find ways to achieve quick wins. Pilot initiatives and use the success to promote HR activities to other parts of the business. Use managers who have had positive experience of HR to promote HR to other business people. Use them as champions.

Coordinate with people 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Encourage communication with your employee. Emphasise his previous good performance. Clarify the facts with him to establish whether he really is responsible for the mistake. Listen to his excuse or response. Point out to him the consequences of his inappropriate behaviour. Assess the facts and if necessary, issue a warning. State precisely what you expect from him in the future. Find a positive conclusion by expressing your hope for future trouble-free co-operation between yourselves.

Salary Problems Your employees are one of your most expensive overheads. However, the more you reward good employees, the more profit they will make your company. On the other hand, it is true that the cost of personnel and social contributions are increasing continuously. Its important for you to know, Which parts of salaries are exempt from taxes Which incentives could be more effective than money How to respond to excessive salary demands How to get out of a remuneration agreement thats unfavourable for you How to change to performance-oriented rewards How to also pay employees who dont work in the sales department, profit-related wages How to explain to all employees that income and career advancement are not related to age and length of service

Achieve more flexibility in terms of wages and salaries 1. Clearly state in writing that no increase or bonus is guaranteed it is dependent on the profitability of the company and the employees performance. 2. When you give an increase to your employees, often a large percentage of it will go to taxes. For this reason, you should change to tax-free or tax-preferenced remunerations like increased pension, motor vehicle or cellphone allowances. 3. When one of your employees has successfully finished a long and difficult project, hell probably ask you for an increase.Rather offer a once-off bonus. If you offer him a straight R5000, this might prove more attractive to him. A salary increase of R300 will work out to be more expensive than the R5000 after 11/2 years. And hell start negotiations from a higher level next time. Depending on what objectives you want to achieve, there are 4 types of incentives, 1. 2. 3. 4. Money has the advantage in that the amounts can be graded and everybody can use it. Status rewards (certificates, trophies, etc.) stimulate self-esteem and prestige. A prize can be selected individually to always remind the winner of his excellent performance. Free trips provide a pleasant experience, but they can be expensive

Motivate your employees Do you have the following problems? A high or higher than normal staff turnover Your star performers want to jump ship (and because of pushing, not pulling factors) People are taking long breaks (and there is a lot of negative talk in the coffee or smoking area) People arrive late for work and/or leave early A high or higher than normal level of absenteeism A general low mood in the company, no commitment and no passion for making a difference Presenteeism and go-slow - staff is present but their souls arent Performance and productivity are down and accidents up People are taking shortcuts Unethical behaviour is on the increase People are blatantly sabotaging the system or organisational efforts

Tips to motivate your staff Involve employees in problem-solving and make them part of the solution Treat employees as customers or potential customers and nurture the relationship Treat people as individuals and not as part of the herd. Each individual has different needs and aspirations you need to address Look for a cultural fit when appointing new employees Offer possibilities and opportunities for growth and development Offer flexible work arrangements (e.g. flexitime, work from home, salary structuring) Limit the number of rules, regulations and policies, and rather focus on a few core values and principles that will guide behaviour Provide a clear sense of purpose and role clarity for each team and employee and feedback on their contribution Regularly communicate in an open and transparent way Reward, recognise and praise outstanding performance in a fair and consistent way Nurture a cohesive organisational climate where every employee feels part of and wants to work for your company Nurture relationships with employees core family and make them supporters of your company, e.g. recognising the importance of a balanced life and involving family members in events Demonstrate an inspirational leadership style, especially in times of change and uncertainty Provide employees with the support and resources necessary to do their job Lift your staff morale - Hold a quick anonymous praise session. Ask your employees to list what they admire most about their co-workers. Summarise these highlights and send them to each employee.

When, why and the reasons you're allowed to dismiss 1. Before you act Check if there are regulations in the employment contract, in a union agreement or company agreement, that might deviate from the legal requirements. 2. Formal regulations You're required to give notice in writing. Tip: Let a written notice be given by two messengers: one to hand it over, and one to act as a witness. Avoid sending a notice by registered mail, or even registered with recorded delivery; if the employee is not at home and discards the notification, he can claim he didnt receive it. 3. Periods of notice and deadlines When the employee has been working with you for a long time, extended periods of notice will be applicable. Look at the table below for the notice periods you must give, depending on length of service. When the first day of the notice period is a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday, you must ensure delivery before this day. 4. Protection against wrongful dismissal Only if the worker is a genuine independent contractor does the law on protection not apply.You may only give notice to employees who are not on leave (maternity, sick, holiday) or who are not about to go on leave.

5. Notice for operational reasons You must first check, in consultation with the employees, if you could secure employment by cutting overtime, transfers, retraining or short-time work. If thats not possible, you will have to select possible retrenchees based on agreed or fair and objective criteria, i.e. you need to consider, for example, retaining employees with many years of service or those who have the skills necessary for jobs in the organisation. Remember: Through careful retrenchment planning and expert negotiation you may be able to avoid losing your most valued employees due to job cuts. 6. Notice for reasons of illness or disability You may only consider giving notice because of frequent, short illnesses if theres a negative medical prediction for the future. You must meticulously record all working hours lost through absenteeism. In the case of an extended illness, its always assumed the employee requires a high degree of protection. Only concrete facts and figures can prove that the illness of the employee caused excessive damage to the company. 7. Notice for reasons of improper conduct Before you give notice for reasons of improper conduct you must as a rule have warned the employee previously, perhaps more than once. Exception: Extreme offences like violence, betrayal of company secrets, acceptance of bribes, etc. may not require prior warnings depending on the circumstances. Frequently occurring breaches of duty include reporting late for work, violation of non-smoking or no-alcohol regulations, sexual harassment, political agitation in the factory, etc. Discuss the incident with the employee without delay and issue a letter of warning (where merited) no later than two days after the incident.

How to reduce absenteeism in 2 easy steps In smaller companies, one day of absenteeism costs an average of R400 and in larger ones, R800. If, for instance, in a company employing 500 people, you were able to reduce absenteeism due to illness from 5% to 4%, this would save the company R730 000 per annum. As the first step, record meticulously: The cases of absenteeism of each person each year The duration of the individual cases of absenteeism The reasons for absenteeism.

Secondly, follow up on each case of absenteeism: pay visits to the sick employees, in extreme cases write letters recording absenteeism to be given to the relevant employees conduct interviews with returning employees.

TIP: Simply announcing these proposed measures alone, will normally reduce the rate of absenteeism. If you doubt the employees reasons, you should contact his doctor to check the validity of the medical certificate. If the certificate proves to be false, this could merit dismissal after a fair disciplinary hearing.

Here's your chance to increase your company?s profitability Develop a human resources strategy. People are your companys greatest asset. By developing an HR strategy you will ensure you have the right people, with the right skills and show you develop them in the right way for your company to exceed its targets. The Practical Guide to Human Resources Management will show you how to address: Workforce planning Succession planning Workplace skills plan Employment equity plans BEE initiatives Motivation and fair treatment