How Effective Is Your HR Department?

Effective HR Teams

Whether you have an HR department of twenty or two or even one person with a split role, it is impossible to run a business and employ staff without having some form of HR support.  As your organisation grows, it quickly becomes obvious that to be effective, the HR department needs to go beyond simple recruitment and legal compliance.

An effective HR department plays a vital role in supporting the organisation to meet its goals.

Recruitment – is more than placing an advert. A recruitment strategy will consider succession planning, the needs of the business plan, the culture as well as the core qualities, experience and qualifications needed. If done well, the need to repeat the process should not occur for some time.

Retention – with the average recruitment time being over 50 days, the cost of recruitment can be high not only in advertising costs but with the time needed to manage the process and the impact on productivity and the team. Staff retention is key to growth and profit. It provides stability, improves client relationships and teamwork and increases the knowledge in the organisation. Your HR strategy should encourage high staff retention, minimising the negative impact on costs and productivity which staff changes can bring.

Engagement – essential to performance. An HR department will ensure that employees are motivated, valued and part of the organisation.  Compensation packages, communication plans, supporting line managers and a training programme are just four ways in which the HR department can promote engagement.

Compliance – employment law is forever changing and it can be costly not to be aware of the legal requirements and stay ahead of the game.  Policies must be in place to make it clear to employees, and the employer, what the “rules” are and what behaviour is expected from both parties. This may include health and safety, discrimination, record keeping – and everything in between.

Strategy – having an HR strategy that allows the business plan to be achieved is vital. Having the right people in the right place at the right time will allow goals to be achieved but this rarely happens just by chance.

Employee Handbook – if you are currently looking confused at what one may be or what should be in it, then you need to take action. It introduces employees to the culture, values and direction of the organisation acting as a guide. It makes it clear what is expected of them, and what they can expect in return.  As your organisation grows, the employee handbook is vital to keep everyone focused in the same direction. Not only does it show a new employee that you value them enough to produce a handbook, but it is also a great way for existing employees to stay up to date with policy changes and improvements.

Here at MAD-HR, we understand that SMEs may not have the budget for an in-house HR team but you still need to be aware of the value that the HR function can add if managed effectively. To support you and keep you in the driving seat, we created an online toolkit – a flexible, accessible, outsourced HR resource, even including a legal helpline should you need it. With over 1000 templates, that we keep up to date and legally compliant for you, it is easy for you to create the contracts, handbook, policies and procedures that you need to allow your business to grow and be effective in your HR function.

For those organisations with an HR team, whether dedicated or in split function roles, sometimes support is needed whether to relieve pressure or reduce costs. It may be that the Toolkit can provide that extra support your team needs.

Whether you are looking for online, onsite, strategic or ad-hoc HR support, we can help you to ensure your HR department and resource is effective.  If you would like to know more about how MAD-HR can support you, or have a free demo of the Online HR Toolkit, we would love to have a chat. You can either arrange a free one-hour consultation or call us for a chat about how we can support you on 01473 360160.

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