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What are the most common human resources issues that HR managers deal with?
I'm writing an article about the top 10 most common issues that HR managers deal with, and I'm curious to know what you think. What are the top HR issues in your company? Are they payroll related? Are they related to particular departments? What changes could be made to reduce the number of these occurrences?
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6 Answers
One key issue that HR managers deal with it the ever growing use of FMLA and how it impacts headcount, especially in an economic downturn that we are still in as a country today. Most operations units cannot increase headcount without approval from the chief operating officer, yet employees on approved FMLA leave may dramatically reduce staffing requirements to manage service levels or sales levels. These levels are usually directly tied to performance management benchmarks for bonuses of your management and executive management team.
Having a well trained and FMLA certified staff that handles FMLA and other Leaves (Military) is the fastest way to be proactive. Help inform your management team that they may want to get approval to go above headcount on job positions that have higher turnover rates (customer service reps, call centers, etc.) - when the employee returns from leave, they will be brought back in at their same job and schedule, but the department will not have suffered for those 6-12 weeks of not having anyone in that seat doing that job. When HR is notified that an employee is returning from leave, you can assess headcount and determine that your recruiters will need to hire one less person for this department/job classification. I have found by doing this, I am not only able to manage headcount, but also assist my executive team in managing productivity. This shows HR as proactive and responsive to business needs, and the need for employees to use the FMLA benefit.
A key issue we deal with constantly (trust me; I'm not exaggerating) are calls from HR professionals about ill-trained or abrasive managers who are either not managing their employees or alienating them and, as a result, HR has become the employee complaint department. I guess this would fall under employee relations but it's amazing how specific this issue is.
One of the largest systemic problems for HR Managers -- and in fact HR Departments on the whole -- stems from a misapplication and or misappropriation of their talent and time.
In HR Operations "where the top performing companies saw their HR staff members devoting their time to the most value added of tasks and routinely deploying best practices. Spending valuable staff time on strategic HR issues, and workforce management processes, made the most significant contributions to company growth and performance. Where HR staff spent more than 40% of their time on Administrative processes, there was no material contribution to company performance." (1)
When HR is not aligned with the greater company's business strategy, Human Resources is pushed to the peripheral. This both alienates the members of the department and undermines HR's purpose, effectiveness and value within the organization as a whole.
(1) Focus Brief: Benchmark HR
http://www.focus.com/briefs/human-resources/benchmark-hr/
A common (and scarey) favorite of mine: "does employment at will mean I can fire anyone at any time?"
Other common questions involve our paid time off policy and its interpretation and I would have to agree that employee relations issues between an inept supervisor and an employee.
Top HR issues:
1. Attendance
2. Keeping track of PTO
3. Hiring the right people
4. Making sure that the benefits are up to date
5. 401k loans
6. Office space
7. Keeping people informed
8. Knowing what info the owners of the company want to know
9. Knowing what info the owners NEED to know
10. Hiring practices
In no particular order...
1. Defining and maintaining the company culture
2. Balancing the needs of the business and the needs of the people who work for it
3. Keeping on top of legal requirements and legislative change
4. Ensuring the availability of appropriate development opportunities
5. Recruiting and staffing
6. Compensation and Benefits
7. Payroll
8. Disciplinary action
9. Strategic Alignment
10. Organisational Development
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