A company’s employees ie its human resources are its greatest asset and how they are managed can be the key to growing and improving a business; this should always be a strategic objective regardless of company size.  HR management can include recruitment, induction, performance management, health & safety management, pay and benefits, wellness, diversity, employee motivation, communication and training to name but a few aspects.  Providing leadership and promoting culture whilst adhering to employment law are also essential.

Better HR management starts with making good recruitment decisions so that you are recruiting the right quality of individual with the key skills your business needs.   A structured recruitment process is required that incorporates ability and psychometric tests along with the traditional interview.  Providing a competitive pay and benefits package will attract the right calibre of applicants in the first place; benefits can be both financial and non-financial eg flexible working is highly valued by employees with minimal costs to introduce.  A well designed, structured induction process will then settle your new recruit  into their job so they begin to quickly start performing well.  Consideration to an ongoing varied training and development plan is essential to keep the momentum going and develop key skills which will benefit both the individual and the business.

   

Employees should be managed fairly and equally by trained line managers who encourage them to get involved in the work environment through two way communication.  They should be provided with interesting work that provides job satisfaction.  Recognition for successes is important and can be provided financially or through feedback and praise so that employees feel valued.  This will stimulate their motivation to work harder.  Employees can therefore become an engaged workforce which leads to higher productivity with a huge impact on the bottom line allowing a business to grow and improve.