With so many responsibilities to juggle as an HR officer, it can be difficult to know what to focus on and prioritise, especially as they are all important tasks. However, you need to establish some goals to work towards as a department, to make sure that the most important aspects are always covered. Here are three that we think should be at the top of every HR officer’s list.
Employee Law
HR officers need to have a thorough understanding of employee law. This allows them to protect employees and make sure that their rights are being met, and this also, in turn, helps them to protect the employer from lawsuits being brought against them by disgruntled employees.
As well as having a thorough knowledge of these laws, HR officers need to be proactive when it comes to making sure that there are no gaps between what is happening and what should be happening, for example, they need to make sure that staff are taking enough breaks, that working conditions are satisfactory, and that any disciplinary procedures being carried out are done so by the book.
Staff Welfare
Staff welfare is a top priority for HR employees for a number of reasons. Firstly, employers have the power to affect their employees’ day to day lives and therefore have a responsibility to make sure they do so in a positive way. Happy employees are often far more productive than those harbouring grievances, as they will want to see the company succeed.
Progression is key when it comes to staff welfare; investing in training and offering staff new opportunities makes them feel valued, as well as making them more valuable to the company. There are a lot of American businesses leveraging mentoring too which enables employees to help each other overcome various obstacles. Retaining staff, rather than having a high staff turnover, makes for a much easier life in HR too, so it’s a win win!
Talented Staff
And finally, another important responsibility of HR staff is to hire the best people for the job. A company’s workforce is its best asset so it’s crucial that it is made up of talented individuals who will be able to contribute a lot to their roles.
As HR officers are in charge of the entire hiring process, from writing the job descriptions to carrying out the interviews, and eventually deciding who will get the job, they carry the full weight of this responsibility. Therefore, it is important that they pay close attention to the criteria they use to make their decision, and amend it based on previous successes or failures.
As an HR officer, as well as juggling lots of different responsibilities, your main focuses should be on making sure that a workplace is protecting the rights of employees, making sure that every employee is content within their role and their wider working environment, and that the best applicants are hired for the roles they apply for with the company.
Nerdynaut.com has plenty more advice for employers, such as the technology you could be using to improve your business’ operations, to help make sure you are always on the right track.
