5 Most Common HR Mistakes

Just like any other jobs, HR professionals are prone to making mistakes too. These are the 5 of the most common HR mistakes organisations are making. If you find some of them familiar, it might be time for you to take action.

1. Outdated employee handbook

Some employers think that the employee handbook doesn’t really matter, especially if you’re a small company. However, no matter how many employees you have, the employee handbook is a very important part of HR, especially in the onboarding process (read: Stop Wasting Time Onboarding New Hires, Try These Instead)

An employee handbook educates employees on expected workplace behaviour, how key company processes work and a great place to expand on the company’s vision and culture. An effective employee handbook ensures that everybody is working towards the same goal.

Look at your handbook and ask yourself: “If I was starting a new job at this company, how would this handbook make me feel?”.

2. Are the employee records complete?

Many countries have laws in place requiring you to keep certain records and details about each of your employees. But even if it’s not a legal requirement, it’s a good practice to ensure all employee records are not missing important information, if for no other reason than to help you organise your workload.

It’s also easier to ensure your employee records are fully-completed and up to date if you use a digital personnel database. If you’re still using the filing cabinet, it might be time to keep up with the times.

3. Rushing the recruitment process

A very common mistake in HR is rushing the recruitment process. We get it, sometimes you are urged to find someone fast, but unless you are lucky, rushing through a recruitment process will always lead to so many troubles down the line.

Before you hire, at least make sure you write down the particular role you’re hiring for and the skills you need. You can then use this to create a clear and compelling job description. A well-crafted selection process can thoroughly screen each applicant for the qualities you’re seeking.

It is also very important to plan. Even when the hiring process is complete, it’s worth retaining the details of any skilled individuals who didn’t quite get the job. They might be useful in your next recruitment campaign.

4. Not training your employees

Training your employees is a good way to increase the overall skill of the workforce and its benefits are obvious. But taking the time to provide them with high-quality training doesn’t just improve their people’s skills, it also improves their motivation and engagement too.

Providing employees with training will make them feel as if you value them because you are willing to invest in them. This can lead to a huge upswing in performance.

5. Incomplete and unclear policies

Policies and paperwork can be complicated. If your policies are messy, over-complicated or incomplete, they won’t be much use to anyone. Ensure that each of your company policy is clearly written.

Though it’s recommended to review your company policies, it does not mean you should start creating new ones. You have to figure out if your company needs the policy in the first place, first.

Further reading: 3 Mistakes Employees Make When Hiring Millennials

Are You Short on Staff? Reach millions of job seekers on Maukerja, Ricebowl, LinkedIn, Jora, Trovit, and more when you post a job on AJobThing.com

Register today!

This article is adapted from How Many Common HR Mistakes Are You Making by Rudi Dalman