What do HR teams do and why is it critical?

HR had always been focused on hiring, firing, and then having a formal pay review during annual time. Yet recently HR has successfully been recast and it now covers a broader employment domain. Below, you’ll find a thoroughly discussed HR team function (what they would be doing or should be doing) and why it is critical.

What is an HR team?

So what is an HR department? In essence, the HR (Human Resources) team is the one who is reliable for the maintenance of the employee life cycle (that is, recruiting, recruiting, onboarding, training, and firing the employees) and for benefits administration of the employees as well.

Why is the role of an HR team critical?

HR plays a crucial function for several reasons.

Talent management: The HR team is tasked with hiring, retaining, and seeing to it that there is a steady supply of quality staff within the company. This makes it possible for the business objectives to be realized and the organization to remain competitive.

Employee well-being: The HR team performs the key function of employee well-being and a pleasant work atmosphere organization that may create high productivity, morale, and job satisfaction.

Compliance and risk management: The HR team monitors the working about the compliance of the organization with the employment laws and regulations used which reduces the risk of legal issues and penalties.

Organizational culture: The HR team is important and reinforces organizational culture creation within the organization which deeply impacts employee behavior, work performance, and of course, organizational prosperity.

Strategic partner: Senior management views the HR team as a strategic partner that helps to align HR practices with the organization’s strategic goals by offering HR knowledge and insights on people-related matters. 

In general, the HR team provides a stable platform for boosting the performance as well as involvement levels of employees in the organization they are working in.

 What is the purpose and what do HR teams do in an organization?

Indeed, the HR team is probably the most echoic part of the whole organization- everybody knows their role is essential; however, not many employees know why. However, an HR team’s role is not just about keeping track of paperwork for payroll and employee records. A strong human resources department that supports the expansion of the firm is very different from a distant HR team that lurks someplace near the basement archives and shows up just once a year for the company holiday party. Any employee will tell you that the HR team handles the most awkward parts of the job, such as firing, layoffs, and HR infractions. However, the reality is that human resources exist to assist workers. It truly serves as a resource for people. 

Recruitment and staffing

The HR team is in charge and is responsible for the employment and staffing of skilled employees in different departments in a given company. They conduct requirement assessments, make job descriptions for company job postings, and then publish them on Indeed, their company’s website, and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for future applicants to know they are hiring. They scrutinize applications then analyze the resumes, conduct interviews, and background checks working alongside recruitment staff and department managers to hire the ideal candidates. Hiring the right people can be or should be the main indicator of a company’s performance as all operational efficiency would be determined by it.

Onboarding

Onboarding is the stage where an employee learns best practices, personalities, and skills along with the performance goals into the cohesive groups and communities from the members of the team and department. Once the hiring process is over, the HR team guarantees support to new team members as they join their new work environment. This is the time to build and develop the skills they need for their future professional journey and they can ask for advice from people who are already working with the organization. Moreover, they shall create a plan for the onboarding process which will enable the recruits to assimilate into the company naturally and also provide them with the necessary resources for their duties. By doing so, the HR team gives a solid basis for the newcomers to cope with these new unexpected surroundings easily, and clear any questions they may have.

Training and development

Continuing and career development options are a necessity for most staff members to help with advancing their careers and performing competently in their straightening roles. The HR team helps and slices practices so that every employee’s job every year gets prepared in workshops related to the latest skills and career growth to compare industry trends and market demand. Such training programs are subject to the requirements and preferences of every different organization and department to address the facilities required by the job holders.

Compensation and benefits

HR teams interact very closely with executives and CEOs to define an organization’s compensation principle, a formal document that spells out the company’s position on the compensation of employees. HR professionals undertake market research to know the latest rates for competitive jobs among other types of jobs and this helps in developing the compensation structure. They further consider the development of these professionals in offering health and welfare benefits for employees, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as others. Employees can use their time to seek answers from HR teams precisely related to the advantages, leave planning, financial incentives, and other matters where the experts are sufficiently trained to assist them.

Employee well being

HR teams are on their toes in terms of creating strategies and structural measures to uplift the mental health of the employees. To maintain employees’ engagement in the company’s context, different interactive activities and programs concerning the counseling, health, and happiness policies are arranged which result in the growth of employees’ performance, and productivity, and further increase the organizational productivity. In doing so, they craft policies for their employees to have sufficient time for relaxation or taking leave to prevent them from being tired, in good health, and satisfied. The HR team furthermore endeavors to detect and garner feedback from the employees about different dimensions related to their satisfaction. 

Employee relations

The HR team acts as a bridge that helps to develop stronger communication and relations between employees and the higher management to avoid disputes in the company working environment. This arrangement aims to help employees when they incur any problems or issues since they can be in contact with the HR team and discuss their issues to obtain guidance or just address them. HR teams, by having this skill, can exercise quicker action to settle any type of quarrels and/or legal disputes. Their job depends on their capabilities to resolve conflicts.

Promotions and performance reviews

The HR team organizes the appraisal of daily or monthly performance for all employees either annually or semiannually. An evaluation of the performance review will help managers conduct regular formal check-ins with employees and guide them on how to enhance their job performance, convey performance standards and metrics, and communicate expectations, growth objectives, and corporate goals that ensure company performance and expansion. These meetings will ensure that the process of communication of staff strengths and weaknesses is a fair and transparent method and that there is an involvement of staff’s feedback to improve the overall evaluation process.

Record keeping

HR teams deal with many employees’ information and data every day, thus the tremendous responsibility of attention to detail and file keeping is highly necessary for effective management and organization of the information. As people management is one of the major HR tasks, employee management requires professionals to manage an entire employee database. Since they work with confidential information quite often, they must update, organize, and regularly supervise contracts, wages, job responsibilities, disciplinary measures, and performance reviews. Amongst these performing roles, the HR team is required to be organized and meticulous in delivering their jobs and observe employee confidentiality as needed.

Legal compliance

The HR team is responsible for making certain that the organization it belongs to adheres to all the labor laws at the state and federal government levels. Such strategy guarantees the business’s core values such as fair labor, workplace safety, and equal opportunities compliance. It is, however, one of the basic functions of the HR team to address any grievances of employees on matters of safety or unsatisfactory working conditions as these affect also the company’s reputation and employee morale. The HR team also tries to see that there are no criminal records of new intake and they can be employed within the company policy. They also resolve any complaints by employees regarding discrimination or abuse.

Corporate image

The HR team makes an actual corporation’s corporate image richer by explaining company policies and values to the staff. A competent HR team can lead a business to a positive image and become a great employer that talent will flock to, which means recruiting top-notch employees for the company. They strive to do positive PR by working to overcome negative public relations as well as taking the initiative to help the organization build up, maintain, and protect its positive image.

Workplace safety

The focus point of the HR team is to provide relevant workplace safety training and record any injuries or illnesses that occur in the workplace so that they can take safety measures and avoid future similar instances. The HR team along with the organization’s medical and health department develop training materials and devise policies to maximize the safety and guarantee the well-being of workers within the organization. They also handle severance pay for employees after violations of safety policy.