Streamline your HR to put your people first
Every business is a people business. Here are common HR mistakes that can cost you time and money, but that you can fix quickly.
It’s impossible to do business without people.
Even if you don’t have an autonomous HR department, organizing, managing, hiring and monitoring those people are essential parts of any company’s process. That means, of course, that the more people you employ, the more work you’ll have to sink into those functions.
Something many businesses struggle with, however, is balancing effective HR practices with their bottom line. With so much involved, it’s easy to let HR become a major time sink, but it can be avoided with some careful planning.
Here’s how you can begin to streamline your HR function and make sure your efforts are working for you and not against you.
Step One: Digitize
It might go without saying, but these days there’s no excuse for not having a digital records system. It’s not just important to store HR records digitally — such as pay details, employee histories and contracts. It’s also important to be able to see them at-a-glance.
Step Two: Develop a filing system
Make sure all of your records are stored in the same way. You can waste hours over the course of a year if all of your folders are organized differently, and if you’re tracking employee information in different ways.
Step Three: Keep track
No matter who is in charge of the HR function, that person has to be constantly aware of information including benefits, vacation time and pay schedules. Most importantly, though, that person has to communicate with the accounting department to ensure that everything meshes.
If you need to pay your employees (or contractors) on a certain day, you’ll need to know that you have the funds available to do it. That also includes managing your cash flow cycle, which you can learn more about in this handy resource.
Step Four: Get Help
There are numerous new software solutions on the market today for businesses looking for a top-of-the-line HR management portal. Look for one that suits your size of business and your income, and you’ll be able to supervise all of your HR tasks in one easy platform.
