The human resource department is one of the most critical departments in any organisation. The HR department handles a range of different as well as responsible tasks such as hiring and firing employees, ensuring workplace safety, and the most critical job – handling and managing of employee relations.
Managing a workplace is not an easy task because there are people with various backgrounds and personalities within an organisation.
The HR department plays a significant role but their job is quite tricky, and every HR department has some unique challenges which affect their productivity and overall business.
Every HR team faces a lot of issues in the running of their department and in handling the organisation in general, and the advancement of technology has also contributed some significant technical changes in the human resource department.
In this article, we will discuss some of the critical challenges faced by the HR directors of an organisation. It is essential for HR directors and professionals to understand these issues so that they can take measures and prevent them.
Following are some of the critical challenges faced by HR directors in 2022:
Talent acquisition problem
Attracting and finding the right talent has been one of the most challenging parts of an HR professional. A tight labour market has made this task even more challenging in 2019. Therefore, HR directors and professionals must reconsider their recruiting strategies.
HR directors should switch from traditional methods to new modern ways of recruiting plans. Switch from outbound to inbound recruiting process and start focussing on recruiting marketing.
There has been an increase in the use of technology such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Therefore, as an HR professional, you should make use of all these technologies and plan your recruiting strategies to reach out to the target consumer bases.
The need to improve employee engagement
Employee engagement is not about employee happiness. It is an emotional connection and an attitude that shows how much employees feel passionate about their job.
Employee engagement is one of the most important aspects of any organisation as it can affect the wellness, productivity, and success of any organisation. Employee engagement is essential, and it is vital for HR directors to understand and design how they can drive more employee engagement for the success of their company.
Focus on improving internal connections and boost employee engagement. Support and involve employees in volunteering the projects. Conduct a sports day or a dress-up day every month and always encourage your employees to take a 5-minute break and give a rest to their eyes from computers.
Flexible working hours will continue to be a challenge
Technology has made an enormous impact on the whole industry. Now, we have the option of working from home or working on our mobile phones and laptops while travelling. Working from home is a great option, but it has its cons too.
Technology has completely transformed the working patterns. However, the demands and expectations around the good-work life balanced have also changed in this industrial age.
Flexible working hours is still one of the biggest challenges. Even after doing a shift from 9 to 5, managers and employees have to do their tasks on their mobiles while travelling or when at home. Mobiles have increased productivity but have also brought a change in the working hours.
Employees now have the opportunity to work according to their timings. Many people prefer freelancing because of this reason which is even creating a challenge in the whole process of recruiting. Therefore, it is vital for HR directors and professionals to introduce more flexible working hours with permanent employees as well as contractual employees.
Maintaining privacy and managing business information
We are living in this digital age where privacy and cybersecurity is one of the main challenges. As an HR professional, you should make sure that no information about any employee becomes accessible to the people outside the authority. Take cyber-attacks seriously and take measures that can help in preventing cyber-attacks.
Hire the right talent and establish awareness sessions and train all the employees. You should also focus on creating relevant policies that can help in managing vital business information and in maintaining the privacy of the employees.
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Adoption of AI in HR
Artificial Intelligence or AI is an incredible technology which has revolutionised every industry. AI plays a significant role and can do wonders for your brand and organisation. The use of AI can increase efficiency in candidate assessment and can help you detect if the candidate is the right fit for the role or not.
It can also help in improving relationships with employees which is another great benefit of AI. However, AI comes with its own set of drawbacks and challenges.
AI software saves time and increases productivity. But to use the technology the right staff and skills are required. More and more companies are now experimenting with artificial intelligence.
However, the proper and smooth functioning of these technologies needs the team to acquire these skills. As a professional, it is essential for you to know these technologies. If you know how to use this technology, start using it in conducting interviews and in engaging the employees. And in case you don’t know, learn and find out how you can experiment with artificial intelligence.
Dealing with employees drug addiction
Addressing and dealing with employees drug addiction is an increasing concern for companies. It is crucial for human resource professionals to deal with this issue as the usage of drugs will affect the productivity of the employees.
Not only productivity, alcohol and drugs can drastically change a person’s behaviour. These negative changes affect their personality which lowers their workplace morale. A single spoilt apple can ruin the entire bunch; one ruined employee can turn the morale of the entire workspace.
Consider making a drug-abuse policy that condemns taking drugs and alcohol at work. If you suspect someone, never get involved all alone. Get the right person to deal with it. Be prepared with the documents showing the performance issues.
This is the right protection against a defensive response from the employee. Emphasise more on your expectations about your employee’s performance improvement. Be positive and support your employee to make changes to become successful in achieving this goal.
Proper supervision and the right way of dealing will it makes a great change for both the organisation as well as the employees.
In Summary
Every year has its challenges and this year; these are some critical challenges faced by the HR directors so far. Now that you know these challenges create and design the right policies. Implement the policies and procedures in place now and stay ahead of your competitors.
Think of ways that can help you fight these challenges and meet your business goals.
About the Author
Aditya works as a Growth Assistant at AirTract.Com, a social platform wherein people ask questions, get answers, share knowledge and experience. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Engineering and has been working in the field of Digital Marketing for the past two years. He is also a voracious reader and a big sports fan.
