challenges faced by HR managers Archives

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

What is Family leave

The leave of absence taken to attend a family member is called Family leave. It’s there right in the name. It could be a leave taken to take care of a child, illness of spouse, parents, siblings or other immediate family members. Family leave is usually unpaid leave.

Leave balance will be deducted from the employee’s account; they will face Loss of Pay.

Some companies, however, do provide paid Family leave.

Well, good for you if you are employed in one of these organizations. Paternal leave is an example of paid leave.

Some organizations have finally come to believe that paternal leave should be considered paid leave, and all are expecting mothers are given up to 6 months leave to tend to their new-born.

Some organizations also provide up to a month’s paid leaves to fathers of new-borns. Paid leave is not a facility available in most organization. However, the Human Resource does sanction Family leaves for those who require it.

Things HR Manager Must Consider When Dealing With Family Leave

Now that we are aware of what Family leave is, let’s look at this topic from the Human Resource point of view.

Irrespective of the organization’s policy of paid or unpaid leave, expecting parents will definitely need to take leaves for an extended period.

An emergency in the family would also lead the employees to take up Family leaves on an unplanned basis.

Let us look at how the Human Resource team can possibly prepare for such situations and what the Human Resource team needs to keep in mind which sanctioning the Family leaves:

1. Understand the law

Different countries and different organizations follow a different set of rules for Family leave. It is essential that the Human Resource team is aware of the set rules in the first place.

Multiple employees will have multiple questions when they are planning on taking Family leave. Human Resource team should be in a position to explain the policies clearly to the employees.

There have been cases where organizations have been sued based on incorrect information shared by the Human Resource team. Being aware of the policies and rules is the best practice.

2. Documentation of Family leave policy

How will you explain the Family leave policy to your employees if you have doubts yourself? It is important to have documentation of the company’s approved Family leave.

The Family leave document can be shared with all employees and also used as a reference by the Human Resource while explaining the procedure to employees.

You can always make exceptions to the Family leave policy as per employee requirement if needed; however, it is best to adhere to the policy.

3. Prepare for the workflow

In cases where you know that the employee is expected to go on Family leave, enable managers to distribute work among the other team members.

It is the Human Resource team’s responsibility to ensure that the hand over document is collected from the employee. This needs to be verified with the team manager before the employee is let go on the Family leave.

Human Resource teams can enable managers to cross train each team member to avoid bottleneck situations not only during Family leaves but also during the emergency absence of any employee.

4. Respect the employee’s privacy about the reason for Family leave

Employees may not want the whole firm to know the reason for their absence. Human Resource needs to respect this and be discreet about this information.

All is well and good if employees themselves want to share personal information with their colleagues. Ensure that you are not the one doing so.

5. Benefits made accessible

Explaining the policies and procedures to employees does not mean that they have it all sorted. Employees would have technical doubts even after they go on leave.

How to apply for the insurance, what costs are covered by the insurance, can the Family leave be extended, etc., are some common examples. It is important for the Human Resource to be available for the employees while they are on Family leave to clear their clarifications.

Creating an online portal with consolidated information of all leave policies would also work well for both you and the employee.

Setting up an Employee Assistance Program – EAP is also an idea that will work well for both parties. This will work as a separate dedicated line for employees to contact during crisis while on Family leave.

It is also important that Human Resource does not provide additional information and invade employee privacy or confuse them about what they already know. Additional stress is not something the employees need to go through at the time of an emergency.

6. Flexibility

Being a new parent is a huge change. The Employee would like it if the organization they work in is flexible about their work timings and the other mini little things.

Human Resource can play a huge role in enabling this for the employee. It’s okay if they turn about a little late or if they want to bring their baby to work because their house help did not turn up that day. Don’t sweat about these minor things.

However, it is important to ensure that employees do not take advantage of this flexibility. Human Resource team have to know where to draw the line.

Some companies bring in employees part-time after Family leave. This benefits both the employee and employer alike.

7. Contingency plan

It is often seen that parents may want to switch their job profile or work timings to suit the needs of the children. This includes male and female parents alike. Human Resource needs to ensure that they are prepared for such a possibility when the employee goes on Family leave.

Employees may want to continue on the same project with different work timings or role or may want to change the project in itself if they feel that the project does not allow them to be flexible according to their need.

Human Resource team needs to identify a backup person for the job, should the employee return with issues in continuing in the role.

8. Change in employee benefit policies

With all the budding excitement of new parents, it is possible that they forget to add their baby as a dependent on their policy. Human Resource needs to follow up with the parents and explain the dates within which these forms need to be filled.

The additional changes in the policies need to be explained to the employees.

9. Being sensitive

An employee returning from Family leave may not always be bearing happy news. Family leave could have been taken due to a death in the family, illness or other unfortunate instances. Human Resource team needs to ensure that the employee’s situation is handled with the utmost sensitivity.

Human Resource needs to guide employees through a difficult time to make them comfortable and have a smooth transition time.

10. Celebrate when needed

Just like helping an employee through tough times, it is also important to celebrate when they have great news. Gifts could be sent to hospitals in case of childbirth.

11. Post birth accommodations

There may be cases where the organization would have to make few accommodations for employees that have a new-born in their family. Human Resource needs that they assist employees in such cases.

Change in their insurance plan, work timings, etc., are some examples of changes that may be expected. Human Resource needs to be prepared for these.

12. Additional childcare benefits

Though not a necessary option, it is helpful when employers accommodate additional child benefits such as in-house daycare or providing subsidies for the employees.

It is seen that organizations that provide one such option so employees can retain these them for longer than in other organizations.

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13. Work-Life balance

It is not right for the managers to bombard the employees with work as soon as they get back from Family leave. Human Resource needs to ensure that these employees have a proper work-life balance after they return to work and don’t spend most of their time at the office and not with their children.

This occurs when there is lack of planning. Having a backup while the employee is on Family leave is essential to ensure that they do not be burdened when that get back. It is seen that attrition is higher in programmes that fail to provide work-life balance to a returning employee.

14. Changes in pay discussion

It is possible that an employee may want an increase in their income, considering there is a newcomer in the family. Human Resource needs to anticipate this discussion when an employee returns.

Most people don’t realize how expensive hospitals can be. Once most of every penny is spent from the savings, they would like to get back to the organization and discuss redefining their pay structure.

15. Connect employees with other new parents

Human Resource does not have to carry all burdens on their shoulders. They can always connect the employees and have them discuss their experiences. A lot can be learnt from such sessions, and this will also work as moral support.

So, these are some of the tips about things an HR must have in her consideration list while sanctioning family leave.

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

A business survives on sustainable work culture. The engagement of employees is decided by the culture you offer them in your working environment. Your employees can only see their future in your company if they feel comfortable in the company culture.

When it comes to creating and maintaining a sustainable company culture, the role of HR professionals is primary. The department of human resources has to work consistently in the right direction to maintain an effective company culture for years.

This role of HR professionals requires a lot of work and a sense of responsibility. Otherwise, things start to slip and the company loses some precious employees in the process.

Here, in this article, you will find 15 effective ways to improve company culture from the HR department. If you are working in the HR department of your company, utilize the following ways to fulfill your responsibilities:

1. Define company culture and encourage communication

A company has to first decide its sustainable culture. The leaders of a company need to find out their definition of company culture. In doing so, HR professionals can answer some critical questionsThey can help to understand the meaning of company culture.

They can recommend best-suited ways to measure them. Since they work with the people in a company, they are capable of predicting the impact of cultural change in that company. This way, HR department can assist in the process of defining a company culture.

After defining, the same HR professionals can ensure the engagement of leaders as well as employees. They create a transparent communication environment between leaders and employees. This approach allows the whole company to achieve the desired cultural goals.

2. Serving as a culture consultant proactively

HR team shouldn’t wait for the leaders to take the initiative towards company culture. It is their job to become proactive and help executive leaders in the process.

So, the leaders of an HR department should access and evaluate the culture that the company is currently following. Using the conclusions, they should work towards developing a strategy. This strategy has to align with the goals and values of the company.

After developing a well-aligned strategy, HR professionals can discuss the plan with executive leaders. This will further enhance the quality of the available plan. The implementation process will require the involvement of the executive leaders as well as the HR professionals.

3. Involve employees in the creation process

Creating a company culture shouldn’t be a textbook strategy. You can’t take something from a seminar and apply it to create your plan for company culture. The correct approach would be to involve employees in the process.

HR department can collect feedback from the company employees. This allows a sustainable company culture development, which lasts for a long time successfully.

The culture of every company depends on a variety of factors. So, there is a uniqueness about every company and its employees. This is the reasons why employees’ involvement matter to define and implement the process of company culture development.

4. Make sustainability a company message

The company culture is not just about improving everything internally. The visibility of your company’s brand from the outside perspective should also seem sustainable. This means that your company culture should impress potential employees looking for a job.

Sustainability should be a part of your company’s message to all the candidates. This is another responsibility that HR professionals need to fulfill.

In doing so, HR professionals can welcome suggestions from the employees as well. An incentive for such employees will motivate others to indulge in the process of building a sustainable culture in the company.

5. Align multiple company goals with each other

The process of building and maintaining your company culture will require a strategic approach from the HR department. This time, HR professionals need to find ways to align multiple company goals with each other.

First of all, the HR department can consult and collaborate with the leaders. This collaboration should be about finding a connection between company’s mission, vision, core principles, values and performance management.

With that, HR should motivate leaders to integrate reward programs and recognition efforts to boost quality and productive work.

Also, HR should work as a coach for both the employees as well as the leaders.

6. Set a good example for others

The HR department can’t ignore what they preach to the employees. They should also follow the decided company strategy and culture. Even if a single person ignores and goes against the strategy, it can damage the efforts.

Almost every company has the capacity to talk good things and come up with wonderful planes. But the implementation process is the time when the leaders start expecting only employees to follow the guidelines. Which is what leads to a crumbled company culture.

7. Concentrate on the ground reality of the company culture

It might impress you on paper, but you need to ensure a positive vibe of the culture. For that, HR professionals need to actually feel the environment and talk to employees as well.

In the same approach, HR professionals should point out the potential outcomes of business decisions. Even the most senior partner can give a candid remark or idea. That is when HR professionals need to take the front and shed light on the ground reality.

8. Find company culture focal points

The HR department can work as the authority that looks at the focal points that require assessment and upgrades. A desired development of culture requires careful concentration in the correct areas.

HR professionals can find out these focal points in the work culture and find ways to motivate best practices.

9. Prevent an adverse impact on the culture

The basic idea of a sustainable company culture is that it should make sense to everyone. Every stakeholder including the managers, subordinates, customers, and others should reflect the culture in their daily behavior.

The HR department can work as a watcher of this. The professionals can prevent stakeholders from negatively impacting the defined and implemented company culture.

10. Reflect the promoted culture in every way

Every company has a core culture, which the HR department promotes internally and externally as well. However, there is no point to all this if the organizational departments and processes don’t reflect the culture.

Whether it is the people or the hiring process, everything should justify the talk of the leaders. Demonstration is the key. For instance, if a company culture promotes positivity and transparency, then, the hiring process should actually be transparent and positive.

11. Find correct people and retain them

The sustainability of a company culture depends on its people. Strategies won’t turn into realities if you don’t have the correct people. Ideas turn into action when the HR department finds the right people to hire.

They can evaluate the compatibility of candidates and collaborate with managers to hire the right ones. This protects the company culture in the long run.

12. Let company values be a part of your training process

Before new employees take the steering wheel of multiple departments, they need to be trained. Usually, new employees are trained regarding their responsibilities and work. But these new employees also take the company culture forward.

Which is why you should ensure that they get training regarding the company culture and values. HR professionals can integrate the values of the company in their training process. This will help in reinforcing and maintaining the required culture.

13. Commit and believe in the company culture

It all comes down to the commitment after a while. A culture can stay for a long time, if all associated parties believe and commit to maintaining it. This includes company executives, employees and HR professionals as well.

The commitment is a gradual process, which requires help from HR. Human resource managers need to remind every department about the goals and lead towards that mission.

14. Don’t forget about the ongoing maintenance

HR department of a company creates the structure of the culture. They analyze the landscape of the corporation and come up with a plan to establish a sustainable culture.

But the responsibilities don’t end there. The HR professionals are key to maintaining the culture on an ongoing basis. They have to work with staff and management to ensure that the existing culture stays strong.

15. Become a protector of company values

The position of HR professionals is very critical. They have the ability to bring the biggest impact on the company with their efforts. Which is why it should be their responsibility to ensure the consistency and transparency in the company values.

They don’t just define, implement and maintain a culture. It is their responsibility to advocate the values in front of the employees, executives, leaders, and other stakeholders.

With a responsible HR department, a company can build and maintain a sustainable culture. And the above-mentioned points will help you establish the desired culture in your company.

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

When it comes to managing a team, a manager must possess several skills so that he can manage the team effectively. He needs to be able to quickly identify those who can add value to the whole team.

Essentially any management and/or leadership require several skills and you may want to quickly review the same listed below so that you can fine-tune the same.

1. Integrity

The first thing that you need to know is that a good leader leads by example. You need to maintain a high standard of integrity and work ethic.

Chances are that the rest of the team are already looking towards you as a peer role model and you need to make sure that you set an example, for the rest of your team to follow.

2. Team building

One of the marks of any good manager or leader is the innate ability to form inclusive teams irrespective of gender or any other metric other than skill set.

You must have the ability to identify valuable skills in all those you come across irrespective of any difference and make them part of your team. It is vital that you support them at every stage of their work and work with them to get it done on schedule.

3. Positivity

You need to make sure that team knows that you back every decision that the company makes and that you believe in the company’s goals and priorities. This mark of positivity should help enthuse and even motivate the team to perform better.

4. Communication

It is important, that as a manager, you are able to communicate all your goals, priorities to the rest of the team and even repeat it at times so that there is no miscommunication on the same.

You need to ensure that everyone is on board and understands their role and what’s expected of them, as you move ahead with the rest of the project.

5. Listening

Any good leader would know that it is important, to say and, equally vital to listen as well. While it is true that you do have to communicate all project related information to the rest of your team or employees, at times, you would also need to listen to what they may have to say on the issue as it can help you streamline your performance and help you achieve your targets faster.

6. Motivated

Every leader needs to be self-motivated; this is not just another job but an opportunity that you can use to redefine your own career goals. To that end, you need to stay motivated and try and accomplish all you possibly can.

7. Confidence and optimism

In this case, both confidence and optimism go hand in hand. Just remember that the rest of your team is looking towards you for cues and you need to be optimistic and confident at all times – as this should help the rest of the team remain confident about their chances as well.

8. Accountability

When it comes to sharing the blame, the buck stops at the top man and that happens to be you. You need to be responsible enough to take responsibility for any mess up and try not to shirk the same by passing the buck to someone else.

9. Courage

As a leader, you may be required to take a decision which may be highly unpopular. But these decisions have to be taken nevertheless and a mark of any good leader is one who does not shy away from the task at hand.

10. Engaged

One of the best ways to get the most out of your team is by staying engaged and that means involving yourself in the process and not sitting it out by the sidelines shouting directions at others.

11. A healthy sense of humour

When working on various projects, things can go wrong as they inevitably do – but it is important to retain that healthy sense of humour, and refocus on what’s positive, at all times.

12. Passion

It goes without saying that every employee needs to be passionate about his work as it can help propel them up to greater heights.

The same is true of any leader or manager, you must believe in the goals you set as this can help motivate the rest of your team.

13. Respectable

Any good leader would know that being respected by others can go a long way to make yourself heard; at the least, the others pay attention to what you are saying and try to understand the reason ‘why’.

14. Likeable

A good leader is always feared, respected and liked by the rest of his employees. The same cliché holds true for any team that you may manage since being liked enables you to easily build a rapport with others and build a closer relationship with those working under you.

15. Ethical

It goes without saying that you need to maintain a high standard of ethics, otherwise, the rest of your employees may not have the same respect they once had for you.

16. Loyal

While it is true that you can and should expect loyalty from your employees, you should also show them the same loyalty towards them by helping them with their work and even supporting them on various personal issues as well.

17. Charisma

Every good leader needs to have a magnetizing persona or charisma that can help them stand out in the crowd.

18. Drive

Any good leader or manager would have the necessary drive and motivation to succeed in all their key goals; doing what you love doing can help motivate you and give you the drive you need to achieve your goals.

19. Emotional intelligence

More often than not, people often lack in the same. The fact is that emotional intelligence can help any good leader or manager performs better since they retain better control over their emotions and can gauge the reactions and emotions of others around them.

20. Emotional control

As a mark of a good leader, you must be able to control all emotions within yourself. Sure, when you are at home, you can let go but doing so at the office is a big no-no.

21. Opportunity cost

Any good leader would know the value of opportunity cost and while the opportunity is often realized in USD, it takes everything into consideration such as resources, man hours etc.

22. Humility

As a leader, it is important to remember that humility can help transform you for the better, so do not forget asking other team members for their feedback regarding your own performance as a manager as it can help you identify problem areas you need to work on.

23. Discipline

No one’s asking you to be a hard taskmaster but as any leader would be aware, it consists of you of retaining an inner discipline and being resolved to attain those goals.

24. Perspective

At times, as a leader, you must have the ability to seek out a fresh perspective since you may well be missing the forest for the trees.

25. Risk management

As a leader, you must be able to identify, evaluate and address risks so that your team can perform better.

26. Time management

You must be adept at managing time since it can help you multi-task various tasks at the same time.

27. Self-assurance

As a leader, you may need to chart a new road ahead for your company and need to be self-assured to overcome the various challenges you are bound to face.

28. Maturity

As any good leader knows already, maturity rarely goes hand in hand with age; maturity is when you know how to communicate with others effectively when you listen to others and take their feedback seriously.

29. Serve as an example

Before you have high expectations from the rest of your team, it is important that you set an example for others to follow and emulate as well.

30. Network building

Often it is important as to who you know, as this can help you with your career and any decisions you make. This is why most leaders often try and build a network and keep in touch with people from various walks of life.

31. Sociable

It is important for any leader to be sociable and outgoing as it can help you communicate better with others and even help in building a relationship as well.

32. Public speaking

A good leader must be an effective communicator and that often includes speaking in public, at large gatherings. You must be able to convey your ideas adroitly and with the right amount of panache.

33. Reasonable

As a good leader, you must know your limits and that means that you cannot make unreasonable demands from the rest of your team as this can result in you being disliked by everyone.

34. Boldness

As a leader, you would often be required to take tough decisions and you need to boldly take the same, in the interests of the company.

35. Empathy

Often, a good leader who stays too focused on his goals can lose sight of all those around him. While it is good to be focused on the task at hand, you need to empathize with all those around you, and especially with the rest of your team.

By being empathic to their current plight and needs, you can help bridge any gap and build a better relationship in the process.

Conclusion

Leadership skills can help you win over your subordinates and colleagues. All one needs is passion for learning such skills and inculcating them in his or her life for getting maximum results.

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Human Resources takes care of the most valuable asset of your company – its people.From employee hiring to employee exit, there are many responsibilities that HR managers must carry out smoothly. Similarly the challenges faced by HR managers are plenty.

Unlike machines and financial resources, human resource is ever-changing and dynamic. In this blog we will discuss the 10 most common challenges faced by HR managers and how you can tackle them.

1. Employee Engagement

A motivated workforce is what separates a great companies from the average ones. According to Aon, current employee engagement levels were 65% in 2017.

Thanks to growing focus on employee engagement, the number is only growing every year. In an era when each company is outdoing others in employee initiatives, you cannot be left behind.

How to Tackle Low Employee Engagement

Employee engagement activities like events, contests, competitions and outbound activities are good ways. However this is not a sustainable way towards employee engagement.

What happens when the employee comes back to his day to day job from a vacation? The key is to make sure you hire right people for the right job. People are engaged in tasks that are challenging and require learning.

They like jobs that give them a sense of achievement and worthwhile results. Matching the job responsibilities and authority with each individual’s potential is the best way to ensure employee engagement in your organisation.

2. Employee Attrition

Unlike the baby boomers, millennials easily switch from one job to another in their career.

There are plenty of opportunities in the market for employees looking for a shift. In fact more than 80% of workers are either actively looking for a new job or are open to one (Ajilon).

Loss of star performers and successful team leaders is one of the biggest challenges faced by HR managers. They not only have to deal with the the loss but look for a replacement and train the new hires.

Sometimes the cost of replacement can be as high as the annual CTC of the position. Therefore, its best to retain your employees.

How to tackle employee attrition?

There are many tools and strategies to control attrition. Measures like, identifying employees with risk of quitting, open discussions, grievance redressal, regular and just appraisal are some of the ways to decrease your attrition.

Use data analytics to identify attrition trends and patterns in your organisation. This will give you a list of high- risk employees you should focus on.

3. Leadership Training

According to Udemy, nearly half of employees said they have quit a job because of bad manager and 60% think managers need managerial training. Poor managerial skills is closely linked to attrition and poor culture.

How to improve Leadership?

Leadership training is the obvious answer here. Another way is to launch a mentor-ship program for your managers so that they can learn it from the best in your organisation.

Also Read : Why Is Organizational Planning Important For Your Business?

4. Change Management

Change has always been a part of business no matter what your industry is. With the digitalization of all processes the rate of change has become rapid.

Agile companies adapt to this change quickly and become market leaders. For many companies driving change among its employees becomes a challenge. Humans are naturally resistant to change and do not want to let go of their old ways.

Breaking the mould and getting employees and management out of their comfort zone is one of the humongous challenges faced by HR mangers.

How to drive change?

One of the way to make change easier for everyone is to show them what’s in it for them. Identify the early adopters in your organisation and drive the change through them.

Once others see the success for these employees, they would want to adopt it too.

5. Productivity Tracking

How do you track employee productivity without breaching privacy? After all, your business outcomes are ultimately dependent on employee productivity.

How to track employee productivity?

There are plenty tools available for tracking employee work and impact. Work scheduler tools, GPS tracking and productivity summary sheets are some tools you can implement to track efficiency of your employees.

6. Attendance Tracking

Old attendance tracking applications have pitfalls and make accurate attendance a challenge for HR. There are many problems like buddy punching, proxy attendance and incomplete attendance data that HR have to tackle.

How to track attendance accurately?

Wi-Fi enabled attendance tracking systems can solve the problem here. These apps operate only within the company premise and also allow attendance for complete day to be tracked.

Always choose an app that integrates well with your other softwares like payroll, appraisal and leave management etc.

Check out WiFi attendance app and it’s features.

7. Grievances

Employee grievances must be given due attention at the right time.

Not doing so often leads to attrition, office politics or even legal cases. These are tricky situations for HR and can poison the healthy culture of the company.

How to handle grievances?

Establish a grievance cell in your company that looks at employee complaints and feedback in a neutral manner. Encourage employees to route their grievances through this method.

This gives issues a formal channel and keeps situation under check.

8. Employee queries

Every executive level HR manager knows the number of daily queries that come from employees.

These could be regarding leave management, appraisal, employee portals, employee policies etc. Answering them takes up a lot of time and leaves little time for core HR activities.

How to tackle employee queries?

If you segregate the queries based on topic you will see that most of the queries are repetitive.

HR manager can remove the need for queries by giving clear instruction beforehand in portals or mails. Many companies are also using chatbots to answer these repetitive questions.

9. Training Need Assessment

Learning and career advancement are important for the millennial workforce. A survey by Bridge found out that offering career training and development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their current position.

Here the challenges faced by HR managers, is to know which training to give to which employee and implement proper learning cycles.

How to assess training assessment need?

The best way to find out is to ask the employees and their managers where they think they can use some training. There are also tests and tools available to identify training requirement of each employee.

10. Trade or Employee Unions

Perhaps the most stressful part of HR manager’s job is to deal with trade of employee unions. Not all industries will have these.

But where they exist, negotiating work and compensation terms with these unions can be very tough.

How to deal with employee unions?

Maintain good relation with union leaders. There is no easy way to deal with this situation. Managing relation with trade unions is a matter of maintaining delicate balance or power.

HRM is a major responsibility as it involves dealing with the dynamics of company resources. Human resource is the most complex as there is no one size fits all approach that works with it.

There will be resilience pertaining to company policies and usual dilemmas and conflicts involving leadership unions.

Meeting business goals will be a lot more easier once you catch up with the challenges of employment and leadership.