The HR department can be one of the most valuable functions a business has. This is because HR works with a company’s most valuable assets: its People.
Here are some of the most effective ways in which HR can help drive revenue and boost company performance through employee engagement.
HR Should Be A Safe Space
Understand your People. Make sure people have somewhere they can discuss their concerns private and confidentially.
A HR department should be always ready to listen to people. HR should have a process in place to ensure that they are always prepared to appropriately handle any type of situation. Regardless of whether you think you have an issue or not, it’s important that HR have a process in place so that any situation can be handled properly and fairly.
Supporting Personal Issues
Your HR team can help your employees find out everything they need to succeed in life.
As an example, they can support your biggest earners with financial wellbeing and being smart with their pay, or they can support your junior teams regarding their holiday pay, sick pay and pension contributions.
For example, from my experience, many people know little about their pension. HR can support your People with understanding this more, giving them greater confidence and security about their futures.
When people feel confident about their pay and their money, they’ll be more focused on their role.
Career Development
A business is only as good as its People. A HR department can support you getting the right people, at the right time, with the right skills, in the right role in your company.
HR can help you define a positive colleague life-cycle (watch out for my next blog where I’ll cover this in more detail!) and support your People with their professional development to continue succeeding in their careers.
These actions – when carried out successfully – will result in you retaining your talent, as well as your company and industry knowledge, which will mean better customer experiences and improved results.
Employee Engagement
Get to know your People.
Employee engagement extends beyond the employee at their desk, doing their day-to-day work.
Employee engagement refers to the extent of which people feel enthusiastic about their work. An engaged employee will go above and beyond. Engaged employees deliver results.
The HR department should work with managers to track levels of employee engagement. This can be done in simple one-to-one sessions with their team members, or can be tracked through surveys and questionnaires. Tracking this will help you understand what you do well as a company and what you can do better. This also helps your build your employer brand and employee value proposition, which supports you with your recruitment and candidate attraction.
Employee Wellbeing
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that happy and healthy employees are more productive and efficient that unhappy and unhealthy employees.
Your HR department can support your People and their wellbeing. They can do this through encouraging communication, encouraging healthy work-life balance, encouraging healthy-eating and ensuring that regular wellbeing check-ins happen.
Happier people are more productive and have better relationships with their peers.
But it doesn’t stop there.
What have you seen HR teams do that have helped its People? What more do you think your HR teams could do?
Are you thinking of introducing a HR team, but don’t know if it’s right for your company?
Please like, share and leave a comment.
And watch out for my next blog, where I’ll be talking all things strategy, a good colleague lifecycle and what I think should define your company’s People strategy: attract, develop and engage.
By Scott High, People Director
Scott High, our People Director, is responsible for the colleague life-cycle, including Employer Brand, Recruitment, HR, Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, Internal Communications and Health & Safety. He is an integral part of the senior director level team inputting daily in the direction of the business.
He has years of experience in the People engagement and talent acquisition space and is an accomplished leader who has a collaborative work ethic, driving his teams forward to achieve excellence at all levels.