Working with human resources can be very rewarding or very disappointing.
How your HR function performs depends on a variety of things.
In the 25+ years of leadership roles in HR, I’ve seen examples of the best and the worst.
As an HR consultant working with small to mid-size employers for almost a decade now, I’ve seen business owners and supervisors who are experts in their specific field who break laws they don’t know they are breaking.
I’ve seen many cases where they are not getting the best from their team which, of course, negatively impacts productivity.
In today’s world, it’s scary to try to go it alone.
In addition to all the other things you must do as a business owner, you need to know you’ve got someone in your corner who stays up-to-date on the latest changes in employment law, teaches you how to lead high-performing teams and prevents employee lawsuits or government audit problems before they start.
Many small businesses don’t have a dedicated trained HR person, and that’s completely understandable. When evaluating who handles the HR, a lot of business owners often opt to do it themselves.
That is like expecting your mechanic to perform open-heart surgery or your heart surgeon to fix your car. You wouldn’t rely on legal advice from your accountant, would you?
The ability to lead the charge is a unique quality, but an essential one for managing human resources.
A real HR leader needs to be strong, empathetic, and willing to put the time into analyzing the problems and assessing how they can be addressed to ensure the business is safe and the employees are at their best.
The overall gist is: a true HR leader knows there are processes involved that must be adhered to but at the same time flexible enough to address various situations and refined over time to reflect changes in the business.
Let’s look at your own HR department so you can spot these four qualities. If you don’t, you may require some professional help with leadership.
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What do they actually do in terms of managing new applicants and current employees?
For the recruitment side, are there available processes to review all candidates based on predefined selection criteria? Do you have templates to use with the right questions you need to ask to know if the candidate has the skills, aptitude an attitude you need?
Or are all resumes and applications simply emailed, stored, and read through passively looking for keywords? Does the person in charge of finding you candidates understand your business enough to know what you need?
If your hiring process hasn’t been defined, then it’s a good idea to set up some rules now. It will allow you to manage the hiring process as necessary but really it will make sure the professionals you rely on are putting their best effort in to deliver the best candidate.
For current employees the same is true. What processes have been implemented to ensure employee’s concerns are treated properly and in a timely and consistent manner?
To keep your best team members, you should be re-recruiting & re-engaging with your current employees all the time because your competitors are using social media and recruiters to contact your best employees to offer them a new position.
Happy employees will tell them “thanks but no thanks” when approached.
You should be able to get an answer right away from your human resources staff or consultant. An HR audit is always a great idea because a report card will tell you where you are doing well and where you need some extra attention.
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How do they manage your expectations?
Again, starting with finding the right people to perform this function, you should be aware of how strong HR looks for them and what they do once they think they’ve found the right person for you.
Sometimes the pressure to find that diamond-in-the-rough places your hiring person in the position of self preservation over delivering the best results.
A recruiter might send on unqualified applicants simply because they promised to deliver X number of good people to evaluate on Y date. If they can’t hit their target, the options are to own the situation or to send on applicants who may be suitable. Choosing the best of the worst is not a strategy for success!
An exceptional HR leader works with you and lets you know if there are problems before the situation gets too serious. So, if you have an internal human resources staff member, they need to be aware that if they’re using a recruiter, they’ll have to comb through every detail before interviews are set up.
When it comes to dealing with current employees, communication is essential. When someone has an issue – do you know about it? What happens once the request/complaint is made? Is there an investigation or a follow-up to close the loop?
Exceptional leading in HR means taking initiative and working to resolve the issue, but it also means keeping detailed records and keeping the business owner aware of the problems.
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Do you trust them?
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Do they have strategic vision?
There are new technologies coming out all the time that are designed to aide human resources processes.
Your business may be able to benefit from these but only if they know about them. You can even do some quick reading on what’s new or has changed and ask your HR leader what they think, or if these solutions would benefit their workflow.
Ideally, they’ll already know about it and have started planning out ways to take your business further before you even talk to them.
It’s very important to listen if they do and treat their advice the same way you would any experienced professional.
Don’t be dismissive if it sounds complicated. Providing you have #3 (trust) covered you should feel comfortable taking their advice and improving internal HR processes and hiring methods.
If your human resources staff member or consultant(s) don’t see their efforts to lead respected then they’ll stop trying and that will result in a stagnant department.
You’ll have unhappy employees and unqualified ones filling the spaces after they quit.
Your HR leader is managing your employees when you’re not. Without trust you’re leaving your staff’s workplace satisfaction in the hands of someone who may very well jeopardize it.
You’re trusting them to follow all protocol to the letter and to keep you informed along the way. So, without trust, you’re never going to be able to relax and count on them to handle both good HR practices and ensure a positive work environment free from harassment etc.
When your employees need help, HR is where they go. When you need new employees to make sure your business is running right, that’s where you go.
More and more, leadership skills are being identified as one of the most critical competencies and HR is responsible for assuring that you have what you need to be your best.
Let me know if you have had any issues with your own human resources challenges in the past. And of course, if you need help with anything HR related get in touch with me.
After more than three decades in HR leadership roles and as a small business owner myself, I know how to help you lead a high-performing team and build a profitable business that you enjoy and are proud to call your own.
To Your Inevitable Success,
Katherine Hartvickson