Human Resources
There’s something every single company needs to operate, regardless of the industry or product, and that’s people. Just as there are professionals who specialize in managing products and services, there’s also a need for human resource management. Learn what it is and the key functions every HRM needs to operate. What is human resource management? 5 Main Functions of Human Resource Management Recruitment and Staffing Employee Relations Learning and Development Performance Management Company Culture Recently, we’ve heard the term “People Operations” used much more frequently than human resources. Are they the same? Not exactly. People ops is technically considered a subset under HR. However, in many companies, they are used interchangeably. While human resources focus on the structural and legal pillars such as hiring, compliance, compensation, and benefits, people ops look at the cultural implications and focus on things like employee satisfaction, productivity, and diversity and inclusion. 5 Main Functions…
It’s never easy notifying someone that they didn’t get the job. This often leads to generic emails, or worse, complete silence – that’s where a rejection letter template can come in handy. While it’s never fun to do it, there are kind yet professional ways to reject an applicant that preserve your employer brand. How to Write a Rejection Letter You might not think twice about a rejection letter once you send it. But the truth is, your rejection letter is a reflection of your company. If it’s poorly written, that leaves a negative impression of your company that could easily spread to other candidates. This is why writing a thoughtful rejection letter is key. It allows you to maintain a good relationship with the applicant, even if they were not a good fit for a particular role. Who knows, you may want to circle back to them if another…
It can be difficult to find the ideal candidate for a specific position — in fact, in 2021, 69% of companies have reported talent shortages and difficulty hiring – a 15-year high. Regardless of the state of the economy and your talent pool, to succeed long-term, your business should be able to hire and retain the best, most talented employees. But hiring can be a daunting task, which is why you need a talent acquisition strategy. To succeed long-term, it’s critical you attract and retain talented employees regardless of vacant roles. Talent acquisition can help you do this, while solving for long-term organizational needs. Now that you understand what talent acquisition is and how it differs from recruitment, let’s dive into the most effective talent acquisition strategies. Here are eleven critical talent acquisition strategies to ensure you’re finding the best people. 1. Align with your business goals. Consider your business…
Finding qualified candidates to fill your open positions can be challenging. Job posting sites claim to make the process easy by connecting you with hundreds if not thousands of potential employees. But having such a large pool of candidates can be overwhelming. Just thinking about the sheer volume of work involved in reviewing applications, narrowing them down to good fits, and then vetting those potential candidates is enough to make anyone’s head explode. You work with or run a solid organization with wonderful employees. How do you make sure that you don’t get a bevy of potential candidates, but rather the right candidate? Look at this like finding the perfect place to take your significant other on a special occasion. Sure, you could do a Google search for random restaurants in your neighborhood. You could even check a review site for recommendations. However, you don’t know any of those people,…
Imagine it’s 2005, and a small drinkware business opens up in the center of town. Although they have a simple website to provide store information and field online inquiries, their collection of customized mugs, shot glasses, and more continuously grow in popularity due to loyal customers and word of mouth. Now imagine it is 2015. The small team has done well for itself; however, its online presence is suffering. Underestimating the shift to online shopping, the company cannot handle the influx of questions, feedback, and requests to create an eCommerce platform. Once they’ve identified this problem, how do they implement changes to field this issue and stop it from happening again? Successful businesses require systems and processes. If situation A happens, what are the steps in response? Organizational development (OD) enables companies with a systematic approach to identifying issues, implementing changes, and evaluating the success of the process. What is…
Whether they have an issue they want to be resolved or ideas they think would improve the company or better serve clients, employees just want to be heard. When you don’t create an open line of communication with your team, they may feel discouraged, leading to poor morale and ultimately lower production. Not to mention that employees who feel undervalued are likely to take their time and talents elsewhere. But an open-door policy can help employees bring fresh ideas to the table and make you aware of small issues before they become major problems that affect everyone. Here’s what an open-door policy entails, how you can create one yourself, and some examples of open-door policies in action. This workplace standard should foster communication and trust throughout the company, and employees should not have to fear retaliation should they raise issues with the company or their work with any managers. Instead,…
Happy employees are the key to a successful business. According to the University of Oxford, happy employees are 13% more productive. High employee satisfaction can go a long way towards your bottom line. Of course, when your employees are not happy, that shows too. You’ll likely see a slowdown in productivity, a change in the work environment, and you may start seeing an increase in employee turnover. What have you noticed in your own organization? Are employees loyal and in it for the long haul, or are they leaving in droves? If you’ve been seeing more and more employees leaving the company in a short amount of time, it might be time to calculate your attrition rate and examine what’s really going on in your organization. There are a variety of metrics that you can use to determine how your employees are doing. Many of them focus on productivity metrics…
Peter Drucker once described customers as the “most important stakeholders.” While this may be true, your customers are dependent on one thing. No, it’s not your product (though that’s definitely important). It’s actually your employees. Without your employees, products won’t get made, customers won’t learn about those products, and there will be no one there to sell or deliver those products, or provide customer service to them after they’ve purchased. While your customers may be your most important stakeholders, in a business or organization, your employees are your biggest asset. Their performance, mindset, attitude, and loyalty can make or break your company’s performance and determine whether or not you will have any customers to sell to. Because of this, you will want to ensure that your employees are meeting expectations, and improving in necessary areas. Performance management aims to foster the best possible employees so your organization can thrive well…
From the moment someone applies for a job, to the moment they send their resignation letter to leave the company, they’ll experience plenty of connections and moments that determine their employee experience. Employee experience (EX) is not far from customer experience (CX). Just as a stellar CX drives loyalty and revenue, an excellent EX attracts top employees and increases employee engagement, commitment, and productivity. Many employers know how important it is to improve the EX to adapt to a post-covid reality and to reduce employee turnover and address employee engagement challenges. But there’s still work to do in employee experience to ensure it becomes a critical part of every business’ strategy. What is employee experience? In short, employee experience includes all of the touchpoints people come across when they work for an organization. This includes hiring, onboarding, performance management, and day-to-day interactions. Improving the EX is a top priority for…
As a manager, your ability to inform your teams about the successful high-impact behaviors they exhibit or skills that need further development is a critical practice in determining your business’ overall ability to reach its goals and find success. In this post, learn how a performance appraisal will help you give employees direction, the different types of performance appraisals, and example comments to include when you schedule those 1:1 sessions. Businesses use performance appraisals to understand employee progress, give raises or promotions, create paths for further development, or, sometimes, discuss terminations. These appraisals typically happen multiple times per year at different intervals, like quarterly, annually, or specific periods that make sense to your business. The goal, however, is for managers to conduct them regularly enough that employees always understand how they are doing. Performance Appraisal Methods There are different ways to conduct performance appraisals that can depend on your business’s…