New to HR? Seeking Ideas to Boost Work-Life Balance and Career Growth for Employees

I have recently shifted to the HR function and am working as a Generalist. I have identified three key areas in HR to focus on that would be beneficial for my employees. Can anybody provide some ideas to work on the following:

1. Work-Life Balance.
2. Career Development.
3. Connect & Communicate.

Thanks,
Chitra.

Dear Khadir,

Thanks for the inputs. I tried Googling as well. However, I ended up seeing a lot of presentations on all the above three. I am unable to find ideas/programs to use as a sample model in order to work on new initiatives in the above focus areas.

Regards, Chitra.

Could you be kind enough to help us understand what exactly you are looking for? Please try your best to provide relevant inputs.

Questions to Consider

1. What is your role?
2. What are the main objectives for creating a sample model using these three topics?
3. Who is the target audience?
4. What is the expected outcome upon successful implementation of your model?
5. Are you happy/satisfied with the information you found online? If yes, to what extent can you use it for creating a sample model?
6. Did you discuss and seek inputs from your colleagues, peers, or friends about the model you wanted to create?

With profound regards,

As quoted earlier, I am working as an HR generalist for my organization, taking care of payroll, insurance, MIS reporting, and attendance. This year onwards, I would be taking up some sort of employee engagement activity. For that, I require some ideas/models on the above focus areas that can be implemented so that employees can benefit from it.

Career Development

For example, under Career Development, I have decided to arrange a Career Development Session for all employees in our organization. The facilitator would be one of our leaders from the organization. Similarly, I would like to have some ideas on other areas such as Work-Life Balance, Connect & Communicate (to increase free and open communication with employees and management).

Regards,
Chitra.

Thank you for your inputs. Let me share my practical insights with you.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

The most important skill every professional must embrace and practice to live a peaceful life. It starts with self-management, where one has to understand oneself:

- Caliber/Abilities
- Strengths & Weaknesses
- Peers, Co-workers, and much more.

Time & Stress Management, Intra & Interpersonal Skills contribute to managing and living a better personal & professional life where emotional intelligence plays a vital role. Make your employees deliver their best within 8 business hours and focus on the core activities rather than mixing everything with everything. Business days - five days a week can also help your employees enjoy their weekends with their family members.

If your company can afford to organize get-togethers, local city tours, games, or some internal/external activities that can serve a better purpose, once every 6 months, kindly discuss with your management and proceed.

I truly love the concept of operating or offering our services in the form of "I" & "We". Your employees must understand this concept to play an effective & efficient role because "I" & "We", if promoted effectively, can produce the best results.

CONNECT & COMMUNICATE

Your top management must be in a position to demonstrate situational/ethical leadership skills; otherwise, this strategy - Connect & Communicate will fail. The majority of the problems in the workplace are either due to lack of effective communication or no communication. Train your employees on "How to Communicate Effectively" and "What Exactly Needs to Be Communicated". Your employees must believe in effective & positive communication and focus on the core rather than wasting time sharing or exchanging information that cannot contribute positively.

Besides a positive attitude, a happy employee will never complain about anything. Hence, employee grievances must be studied carefully, and employees must be counseled whenever required. The best way to study grievances is to allow your employees to submit their suggestions in writing.

Current market trends are promoting mentoring & coaching techniques/strategies. This could be done by your senior/top management for better employee performance. Promote an open-minded professional approach in your organization where everyone has the freedom to express their views/opinions and ample scope for submitting their suggestions.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Employees need to be motivated to pursue higher education proportional to their profession and correlate this with your organization's business objectives. Your company can sponsor 50% of an xyz professional program. Those who have completed their xyz certification/course/program successfully, activities like internal seminars promoting sharing of knowledge base, transfer of knowledge in the workplace, and implementing it successfully can yield the best results.

An organization must disclose and make all its employees understand company policies & operational strategies. It must be a fair deal. See to what extent your management can help your employees unleash their hidden talent and promote the same.

Since I am not an expert, I may have missed a few points. I keep sharing many things with my employees because it's my job not only to train them but also to mentor and coach them for outstanding results/performance. I shall post it in the near future. Please do share your views.

With profound regards,