Creating the right policies, procedures and practices in HR takes a lot of time and thought. It’s something that you need to keep up to date as the law changes and times change too. As employees start to want different things and behave differently, you need to pay attention to how to get the best from them. Staying in touch with what’s important and what the best practices are is essential, but what if you don’t know where to look to find out what you should be doing? There are a few things that you can do to make sure you’re keeping up to date with what’s happening in HR.
Keep Up with Changes in the Law
The most important thing to do is to keep up with the law. Before you start thinking about how best to relate to employees or how to monitor performance, you need to make sure that you’re operating within the law. Employment regulations can change, so it’s essential to know what you can and can’t do. Some of the things you should pay attention to include health and safety, laws relating to discrimination, and any responsibilities that an employer has to their staff. Don’t assume that you have this covered, and keep up with the news.
Pay Attention to People Who Have Something to Say
Sometimes, the quickest way to know what’s happening in your field is to listen to the most informed voices. They do all of the reading for you, all of the keeping their finger on the pulse, and sometimes some of the influencing too. If you want to know what’s happening in HR, follow the top HR tech influencers and others in the industry who have something to say. They can be your link to what’s happening in the world of HR and what you should be doing to stay current. Not everyone has time to be so involved in how the industry is changing, but others can help you out.
Review Your Current Procedures and Policies
When you create HR policies and procedures, they can’t be set in stone. You need to make changes when the law changes or when trends in the industry start to shift. If you review your current policies and procedures regularly, you can check that everything is as up to date as it should be. An audit of your HR department will give you the opportunity to look at everything from your employee handbook to recruitment policies and the software that you use. A thorough review means you can identify anything that might be out of date or any areas of improvement.
Get Feedback from Staff and Job Candidates
One of the smart things that you can do if you want to keep your HR practices up to date is to get feedback from the people who matter most. Asking both current employees and the people who you deal with when recruiting can help you to understand what really needs to be changed. If you want to make sure you receive genuine, honest feedback, give people an anonymous way to give their opinion. If they can fill in a survey or make a suggestion without having to give their name, they’re more likely to be honest.
Understand How Employees Are Changing
As the world changes, employees change too. They have different needs and wants, and their age can make a big difference. You only need to look at the differences between generations now. The way that people apply for jobs has changed, and what they look for in a job and an employer has changed too. It’s important to understand not just how things have changed up to now but also how they’re going to continue to be different in the future. You need to keep up with what employees are looking for from their employer so you can give it to them.
Take a Look at the Latest Trends
Another smart thing to do is to watch out for the latest trends in HR. You don’t always have to be at the forefront of best practice. In fact, you probably won’t be. Watching other businesses to see what they do to improve their HR departments and recruitment should give you a good idea about how you can make some positive changes. It’s a good idea to watch other businesses test out new things to see if they’re successful before you decide to try them yourself.
Keep up with what’s happening in HR by connecting with the industry and watching what others are doing and saying.
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