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Almost every organization depends heavily on its Human Resources department, which attends to every process in the employee lifecycle. It’s for the same reason that HR mistakes that could appear trivial are actually costlier. Some HR errors are not only a loss of time and effort for the team but also damage the reputation that has been built. Don’t you think HR management is both a science and an art that needs to be prioritized for a company’s successful running? Well, we do!
This article will take you through some of the frequently committed HR mistakes and some tips to prevent them.
1. Failing to document: Paperwork is a crucial element in HR management. Accurate and thorough documentation is required, and reporting all possible facts is vital as these are strong pieces of evidence to handle any discrepancies in the future. It is sometimes optional to document formally, so some organizations will do the simplest form of jotting down the dates and schedules. However, proper documentation and storage of all employee records, files related to their employment and the business’ smooth functioning are vital in ensuring regulatory compliance.
2. Policies that are not up to date: If the policies and procedures adhered to by your organization are not updated, it can affect the mental well-being of the employees and the higher management, causing stress and frustration at work. A company must have up-to-date policies to operate efficiently. Handbooks with policy updates can resolve the issues of policy updates, and sharing the policy changes via email is simple and effective. Giving adequate reasons for policy updates and, if workers are not aware of the update, there will not be any use in creating policy change.
3. Classifying employees wrongly: Several companies hire employees and contractors, and the employer obligations differ in both cases. So the HR department must categorize the employees from day one into exempt and non-exempt employees in adherence to federal regulations and labor laws. Employers who misclassify employees risk facing harsh fines for taxes, withholdings, and overtime pay.
4. Losing potential employees: This issue often occurs when the retention plan is feeble. Both choosing competent individuals and keeping them on board are crucial. Reasons behind the talented employee’s resignation include concerns about job security, financial security, work-life balance, fair treatment, working with people they can trust, physical and mental health, accomplishing professional objectives, being rewarded, having encouraging co-workers, and receiving recognition for work. When these are compromised, there can even be massive quits which exacerbates the situation. Timely analysis of the reasons behind their quitting and taking proper action can help improve employee retention.
5. Hiring and firing mistakes: Many hazards are involved in hiring a toxic employee. This will be one of the significant challenges to be handled with the utmost care if not adequately monitored before recruiting. A few problems associated are work being compromised, recruiting resources being wasted, and it taking longer to discover and train new employees. To resolve the issue, one must find applicants who are qualified for the positions and have the experience, attitude and abilities, and cultural compatibility. You may give appropriate assignments to identify talented candidates while interviewing. Similarly, taking precautions and following the correct method when firing are vital. It would help if you refrained from terminations done out of emotion.
6. Lack of established policies and procedures: A poor formulation of expectations and a lack of instruction on managing typical and unusual workplace events are the leading causes of many expensive HR blunders. Legal obligations, governmental regulations, consistency, and equitable treatment should all be addressed in HR policies, as should any potential areas of uncertainty like personal cell phone use, code of conduct, and dress code.
7. Poor onboarding: Onboarding errors lead to improper functioning of the business or organization. The onboarding procedure includes familiarization with the company, designation, sufficient training, resources required for the employee to develop the skill, and documenting performance to enhance the skillsets necessary for the job. When this is hindered, the consequences can go out of hand. Setting up a proper onboarding procedure is the remedy to overcome it. You may seek the guidance of an HR compliance solution that eases the process.
8. Inaccurate employee records and security: All employee records must be kept secured before the hiring, after the hiring, and during the employee’s tenure. If any retaliation is claimed against the company and proper documentation is maintained, the challenges can be tackled easily. Due to security concerns, data handling must be done carefully to prevent data theft and breaches; failure to do so may result in brand reputation problems. Emails are confidential information that must not be shared with anybody, so proper awareness of storing employee credentials must be passed on to the employees.
9. Breaks, leaves and other employee benefits: Paid time off is considered one of a company’s most valuable employee benefits. Employees can opt for paid time off if they need personal or sick leaves. They get the flexibility of using the leaves whenever they need them. Allowance of required leaves and vacations helps enhance work-life balance because it directly impacts workplace productivity. The employee will have a sense of consideration from the business and become sufficiently motivated to perform honestly. The company must avoid any possible mistakes in not permitting leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act. It can create legal issues too.
10. Disregard and discrimination: Professionalism must be adapted throughout the work, and no favours must be given to a specific class of individuals in the company regardless of where they come from, gender or race. In addition, forget not that employees are people. Listen to their concerns and resolve them, creating a feeling that they have been heard. Any kind of harassment must not be tolerated, and stringent actions must be taken for violation of the rules and regulations of a company.
11. Discrepancies in the pay: There are serious outcomes when wages are improper. This can include even overpaying and underpaying, which impacts the finance of the company and the individual. Companies have devised solutions for the same by implementing system-generated payrolls using software, which is relatively easy to process payments. Monthly updates on the total cost of salary can be advantageous too. Furthermore, freezing a person’s wages for going against any rule is improper and unprofessional.
As discussed, the key to running any organization into success is prioritizing HR management and finding remedies to common HR pitfalls. Correcting these will boost employee engagement, productivity, performance and, ultimately, business growth. We hope the points discussed in this article benefit your organization.
OnBlick, recognized as the #1 HR Compliance software by G2, is an end-to-end HR application that handles processes from employee onboarding to exit. With the help of OnBlick’s features, such as Employee Self Service, Timesheets and Leave Management, you can provide your teams with an excellent employee experience. By integrating with platforms like ADP and QuickBooks, our software eases your payroll management. OnBlick’s cutting-edge features like electronic Form I-9 & E-Verify, immigration case management system, Public Access File automation and SOC code predictor have been a boon to its clients. Interested to know how OnBlick can streamline your organization’s HR compliance? You may book a quick demo here.
