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Traditionally, being in charge of HR meant that you had to take care of payroll, hiring and make sure that all employees abide by the rules. With time, things have changed. Yes, you still have to do all that with a blend of other things. Things that may include company culture, business strategies, and employee development.
An all-rounded HR manager knows what to be for a specific person in the company. What if you are not a huge corporation that can afford to hire a whole team to work in human resources? All you have to make sure is that the person in charge of that has all the necessary skills needed for things to run smoothly.
The following are useful tips that will come in handy as told by the pros in the field.
Communication
Communication is key in every industry and you have to have a good grasp of effective communication. If you do, it will be seen in the type of conversation you have with the other employees. In talks with employees on private matters, make sure you are discrete. Whatever you are told is for your ears only.
Everyone will want to know what is going on in the company. How is it doing? What is the company doing to increase the rate of employee and customer satisfaction? You have to communicate this information in a way that will not leave employees with more questions than answers.
Find ways to be in constant communication with the employees. Organize in-person meetings, newsletters, memos, and email updates. You can go further and have an open-door policy for all employees.
Be Organized
This is key in the day-to-day running of any organization or business. Organize your desk, sort your task list, process your emails and the in-tray and check your resources often. This will reduce the time that you take to look for things in your office and keep track of what needs to be done. It will also spare you from the shameful moments of scrambling for answers to simple questions.
While the idea of being organized is not the same for everyone, you have to develop a system that works for you. There are people with an office that looks messy, but they know where everything is.
Lead by Example
You have to provide an example for the rest of the employees to follow, that is good leadership. By following the rules, you will earn the respect of other employees. If employees are not following some rules, you can explain to them how you follow them and provide a learning opportunity for them.
The regulations and policies of the company apply to every employee, which includes you. There is no way that you can admonish an employee for doing something and you are doing it too. It will only create resentment between you and the employees. In a bid to avoid this resentment, you may have to think of outsourcing your HR team. Most people go for this as the last option.
Open to the Opinions of Others
When new rules and guidelines are introduced, give employees a chance to say what they think about it. The feedback they provide will let you know if the rules will work, how they can be tweaked, or if they are bound to fail. This will also give them a chance to air grievances on issues that you need to address that will help in building your brand.
You do not have to agree with all the opinions. However, you should not discourage any employee from airing their opinions.
Be Tough
Being tough does not mean that you are the guy who does not smile or say hi to your coworkers. Being tough in this context means that if an influential manager does something that is against company regulation, you will call him/he out. You have to deal with employee conflict and employees who do not perform their duties. You have to be tough and fair when dealing with all issues.
You must know how and when to enforce policies. What happened that made the employee breach the policy? What consequences can the breach bring? While choosing to be understanding is good, do not let anyone take advantage of it.
For these tips to work effectively, you need to have all the tools and resources that they require for things to run smoothly. Make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to do and how it will affect the daily running of the company. However, you can save yourself all this work and outsource your human resource team.
