The nature of the changes in the functioning of workplaces has made life considerably harder for HR professionals as they have had to transform their entire working process. Their workload has been divided between employee management and development and navigating their way around the newfound trends such as remote work and digital onboarding.
HR professionals need to understand the technicalities of the challenges they face today to adopt strategies for mitigating them. Identification of challenges is the first step towards managing the workload effectively and bringing their A-game to their job.
In this article, we will identify some of the unavoidable challenges facing HR departments and suggest a few methods of approaching them head-on and finding solutions. HR managers can be well equipped for creating vibrant working environments once they get these challenges out of the way.
1.
Recruitment and retention of employees has
transformed
Recruiting fresh talent and retaining valuable employees are two of the most vital tasks for HR professionals. In the shadow of the pandemic and adoption of remote work culture, both of these have become challenging. HR managers need to identify the causes of employee burnout and take necessary measures for retaining impacted employees.
Talent acquisition needs to be approached with the help of AI-powered tools to ease the process of analyzing the data of applicants for a job position. Not just that, the onboarding process should be aided by capable digital tools to make remote recruits feel at home upon arrival.
2.
The dilemma of a hybrid work environment
amid return to office
As the offices are set for reopening, many employees have suggested in surveys that they would prefer a hybrid work environment, where they are allowed to continue work-from-home on some days of the week/month. These demands create a challenging situation for HR managers because they have to optimize their strategies accordingly.
HR managers need to come up with creative ways for managing their employees as they take up the hybrid work route. They should mix the digital and physical elements to create a seamless work and training experience. Ultimate Kronos Group provides some of the best software solutions to make this job easier for HR professionals.
3.
Learning and development must be
continuous and engaging
As the industry trends have transformed rapidly in the last two years, the need for continuous and up-to-date learning among employees has only gone up. Polishing relevant employee skill sets are one of the top priorities of HR managers, and steady learning is the way to go.
Digital transformation has provided HR managers with many powerful tools to implement learning and development schemes that can be accessed by employees from anywhere. These tools also allow HRs to track the progress of employees in real-time and encourage them as needed.
4.
Maintaining work culture with hybrid work
environments
HR managers are also tasked to ensure that the work culture of an organization is propagated and followed effectively among employees. Unlike in normal working conditions from the confines of an office, remote work makes it a challenge for HRs to implement the work culture.
Therefore, HR managers must utilize digital tools to ensure constant effective communication between employees and themselves so that the working environment stays in sync with the company values, irrespective of the employees working from or the office.
5.
Need for reassessment of employee benefits
In the wake of pandemic-induced changes in the work environment, employee benefits require a fair reassessment for adequate compensation and motivation. With many of the regular benefits like gym memberships, free office meals, walk-in store coupons, etc., losing their value, HR managers need to repurpose the money allocated for employee benefits to more suitable forms of compensation such as online shopping coupons, home delivery of essentials, direct monetary aid amongst others.
Conclusion
HR managers need
to approach these challenges with a problem-solving attitude and not allow them
to overwhelm their working process. If they can do so, they may be better
equipped to manage their work and empower employees and their organization to
achieve desired goals.