How Can HR Make Its Impact Truly Felt Across the Entire Organization?

Hi all,

What should an HR do so that the importance and presence of HR are felt throughout the entire organization?

Sarah

Just as the way HR works in the organizations you are very familiar with...[:P] @ Sarah If you are determined and have that zeal, you can imprint your existence in your organization. Hiring the right talent, training them, formulating employee-friendly policies, having a right comp-ben module, are more subtle ways to make our presence felt. Maintaining good employee relations, engaging employees in decision-making and other activities, adding a "fun" factor to work are more direct ways. The more innovative you are, the more recognized you will be. Cheers, Nikhil

Hi Ezekiel,

I felt very sorry for Anurag Sharma who commented that there is nothing HR can do. This is how people without any passion for the HR job end up in HR as a last resort! These types of answers definitely make the newcomers disillusioned in HR. My question is - What can HR not do?

Firstly, the people who are in HR should believe that they can contribute to the organization in a very big way and HR is not just a Personnel Office or Labor Office that does recruitments and fires people whom the organization does not want. It all depends on the attitude of the HR Top Boss as to how the department should work. The whole atmosphere in the organization can be changed by HR. Some of the things HR can do actively are good employee relationships, which really contributes to the productivity of the organization and hence its growth, participation in the annual growth and planning of the organization, employees' personal and professional growth, etc. More than anything, being in HR can guide and help them grow in the profession. There are a lot more things... but before I spell it out, I want to see what my other friends say about this.

-Srinaren

My views:

1. Devise and implement HR systems.

2. Nowadays, employees look at career growth. HR has to devise and implement career development plans for all employees.

3. Retaining talent and controlling attrition rate.

4. Recruit the right candidate for the right job - use good recruitment practices.

5. Have a good performance appraisal system with KRAs and goals.

6. Control HR costs of the organization.

7. Help employees with their Income Tax matters.

8. Implement innovative reward schemes.

9. Provide counseling for employees.

These are just a few aspects of HR functions. Even though it may sound basic, the effectiveness depends on how we approach these functions. As rightly said by a member, an HR professional with passion will seek avenues to contribute effectively to the organization.

Nowadays, organizations look to HR for various roles beyond HR. In addition to core HR responsibilities, I handle Administration, coordinate for the IT department and PR department. I am also involved in employee taxation matters as I am responsible for their TDS.

Such involvement makes an HR person prominent in the organization as Management holds that person with respect. Simultaneously, it helps in building rapport with the employees.

HAVE PASSION. THAT IS THE MANTRA.

Regards,

BHAVAN

Nothing :)

Because whatever HR does, there is something fishy in it, as seen by employees.

Dear HRs,

Fun ideas in the office hamper the work of employees. It takes an hour to arrange a cricket match for HR, but for employees, it's a waste of the whole day. HR terms it as employee engagement, but who will compensate for the time lost by employees wasted in fun, as the work will be pending there. Then overtime, frustration as the HR always leaves on time and the employees can't.

Hi Tejesh,

I work as an HR professional in a pharmaceutical organization. I was disappointed by the comments made by Anurag Sharma. If he were a true HR professional, he would not have expressed such sentiments.

HR professionals play a crucial role in organizations. They are responsible for fostering positive relationships across all departments, recruiting the right individuals for specific roles, designing growth strategies in collaboration with department heads, developing incentive programs, conducting performance evaluations, advocating for salary increases, coordinating with various departments, creating innovative policies, providing employee training, organizing recreational events, parties, and team-building activities.

These tasks represent just a fraction of the responsibilities that HR professionals undertake in every organization.

Regards,
Tejesh

Hello Sarah,

I saw in many of the replies to your question very good advice, but I have not seen the most practical one: Show your HR's impact on the bottom line. Although I am now an academic in HR, I worked for 15 years in the industry. Therefore, allow me to recommend a book that tells you how to measure HRM results and inform top management (and employees) how effective HR really is. Here is the book:

Jac Fitz-enz: How To Measure Human Resources Management, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Kind regards,
Hermann

Hi Sarah,

The answer to your question is very simple; once you are in HR, you are not supposed to be noticed. Not being noticed just means that you are doing your job quite well.

If you can compare HR to an automobile, the function of HR is as simple as that of engine oil: to reduce the friction between different parts and ensure that the entire machinery runs smoothly.

Now, if you are looking to be appreciated, the following pointers can be used.

The only way HR cannot be noticed in a firm is if it doesn't exist. I guess your problem lies with interactivity or communication problems within the rest of the firm. What you have to do is ensure that the next time you hire an HR personnel, get someone outgoing and who can be more involved with the employees (someone with a problem-solving attitude). Also, for your current problem, make sure that more events are organized, or if your firm allows, try to be funny. Start putting up posts on your board or on your door about what you did for someone each day; make it as funny as possible so that you don't hurt anyone.

The rest of the technical solutions given have to be handled by HR, anyway.

Hope the above helps you sort out your issues.

Regards,

AJ

Hi,

If you want to become a good HR person, be a Business Partner. Post your HR representative in a Line function and be an Advisor, Strategic thinker. Involve in the business meeting and advise on the impact on manpower. Concentrate on soft aspects like behavior, attitude, and how that links to retention, and how this contributes to the bottom line in terms of benefits. If you talk about hard aspects like recruitment, payroll, admin, etc., they will say this can be outsourced. Most big organizations are successful not because of the money power but because of people, and that is our strength. We have to take care in a nice and professional way. HR can make the difference if you plan it properly and if you get recognition and blessings from your top officials, that lies on you.