No matter how effectively a human resources manager may operate, they are tasked with managing exactly that – humans – and we are prone to making mistakes and all manner of problems can be expected to occur, even at the highest level. Let’s look at some common HR Problems:
Discipline
Despite being a relatively touchy subject for most, due largely to it being difficult to find a resolution in a mutually beneficial manner between both employer and employee – not to mention the process of evaluation that would ultimately lead to the employee being legally and ethically disciplined – these situations do arise.
It’s vital that a thorough record of the actions and communications of all employees be kept in order to provide sufficient evidence should a disciplinary course of action be required. A basic integrated HR system should allow for this to be done easily and efficiently, so as to make the process run as smoothly as is possible.
Outsourcing
It is almost essential these days to employ freelancers, contractors, consultants, and payroll outsourcing services, and it can offer a wide array of benefits in a timely manner that might not be immediately available from your current staff, particularly in cases where (potentially expensive) specialists are required.
As expected, such situations also present HR with a whole new set of potential problems that will need to be overcome – they might not be well-versed in your obligations to clients, they may lack certain legal requirements, and so on – but the problem can actually be quite easy to solve. If they are approached as though they are permanent members of staff, with regards to the accurate and thorough collection of the appropriate employment details, this will provide you with both the opportunity to handle them as you would your regular contracted employees, and also make it far easier to hire them again in the future should you need to do so.
Payroll
Both HR and accounting departments are more-often-than-not called upon when it comes to running payroll, so with even more people involved the potential for problems to occur increases.
Any problems that do occur with payroll inevitably lead to a considerable disconnect between employer and employee, negatively affecting morale and potentially even productivity. Dedicated payroll solutions – in the form of either payroll outsourcing services or high-end payroll management software – allow for the simple bringing together of all the parties involved to ensure that no such problems occur, thus leading to a motivated and satisfied workforce (not to mention that fact that external payroll outsourcing services can allow both your HR and accounting departments time to focus their attentions elsewhere).
