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Human resource management (HRM)

Human resource management (HRM) is the practice of recruiting, hiring, deploying and
managing an organization's employees. HRM is often referred to simply as human resources
(HR). A company or organization's HR department is usually responsible for creating, putting
into effect and overseeing policies governing workers and the relationship of the organization
with its employees. The term human resources was first used in the early 1900s, and then more
widely in the 1960s, to describe the people who work for the organization, in aggregate.
HRM is employee management with an emphasis on those employees as assets of the business.
In this context, employees are sometimes referred to as human capital. As with other business
assets, the goal is to make effective use of employees, reducing risk and maximizing return on
investment (ROI).
The modern HR technology term human capital management (HCM) has been used more
frequently compared to the term HRM. The term HCM has had widespread adoption by large
and midsize companies and other organizations of software to manage many HR functions.

The importance of human resource management

The role of HRM practices are to manage the people within a workplace to achieve the
organization's mission and reinforce the culture. When done effectively, HR managers can help
recruit new professionals who have skills necessary to further the company's goals as well as aid
with the training and development of current employees to meet objectives.
A company is only as good as its employees, making HRM a crucial part of maintaining or
improving the health of the business. Additionally, HR managers can monitor the state of the job
market to help the organization stay competitive. This could include making sure compensation
and benefits are fair, events are planned to keep employees from burning out and job roles are
adapted based on the market.

How does HRM work?

Human resources management works through dedicated HR professionals, who are responsible
for the day-to-day execution of HR-related functions. Typically, human resources will comprise
an entire department within each organization.
HR departments across different organizations can vary in size, structure and nature of their
individual positions. For smaller organizations, it is not uncommon to have a handful of HR
generalists, who each perform a broad array of HR functions. Larger organizations may have
more specialized roles, with individual employees dedicated to functions such as recruiting,
immigration and visa handling, talent management, benefits, compensation and more. Though
these HR positions are differentiated and specialized, job functions may still overlap with each
other.
Amazon is an example of a large company with multiple types of specialized HR positions.
Amazon's career website lists 15 different HR job titles:
 HR assistant
 HR business partner
 HR manager
 Recruiter
 Recruiting coordinator
 Sourcer
 Recruiting manager
 Immigration specialist
 LoA and accommodation specialist
 Compensation specialist/manager
 Benefits specialist/manager
 Talent management specialist/manager
 Learning and development specialist/manager
 HR technology/process project program manager
 HR analytics specialist/manager

Objectives of human resource management

The objectives of HRM can be broken down into four broad categories:
1. Societal objectives: Measures put into place that responds to the ethical and social needs
or challenges of the company and its employees. This includes legal issues such as equal
opportunity and equal pay for equal work.
2. Organizational objectives: Actions taken that help to ensure the efficiency of the
organization. This includes providing training, hiring the right number of employees for a
given task or maintaining high employee retention rates.
3. Functional objectives: Guidelines used to keep HR functioning properly within the
organization as a whole. This includes making sure that all of HR's resources are being
allocated to their full potential.
4. Personal objectives: Resources used to support the personal goals of each employee.
This includes offering the opportunity for education or career development as well as
maintaining employee satisfaction.

The four objectives of HRM

Within the unit of each organization, the objectives of HRM are to:
5. Help the organization achieve its goals by providing and maintaining productive
employees.
6. Efficiently make use of the skills and abilities of each employee.
 7. Make sure employees have or receive the proper training.
8. Build and maintain a positive employee experience with high satisfaction and quality of
life, so that employees can contribute their best efforts to their work.
9. Effectively communicate relevant company policies, procedures, rules and regulations to
employees.
10. Maintaining ethical, legal and socially responsible policies and behaviors in the
workplace.
11. Effectively manage change to external factors that may affect employees within the
organization.

Skills and responsibilities of an HR manager

HRM can be broken down into subsections, typically by pre-employment and employment
phases, with an HR manager assigned to each. Different areas of HRM oversight can include the
following:
 Employee recruitment, onboarding and retention
 Talent management and workforce management
 Job role assignment and career development
 Compensation and benefits
 Labor lawcompliance
 Performance management
 Training and development
 Succession planning
 Employee engagement and recognition
 Team building
Skills that can add value to HR managers include:
 Employee relations
 Job candidate relations
 Sourcing and recruiting
 Interpersonal conflict management
 New employee onboarding
 HR software and information system experience
 Performance management
 Customer service
 Project management

HRM software
Almost all areas of HRM have sophisticated software that automates varying degrees of many
HR processes, along with other added features such as analytics. For example, job candidate
recruiting has seen enormous growth in the number of software platforms and systems that help
both employers and job seekers to electronically match organizations and candidates with each
other and then help manage the interviewing, hiring and employment processes.
While some HRM software systems started out on premises, nearly every area of HR tech,
especially HCM systems, is moving to cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) platforms.

HRM career opportunities and requirements

When looking to start a career in human resource management, a bachelor's degree is typically
required. Some colleges offer specific human resource management degrees, which can be one
path into an entry-level HR position. Another way to land a job in HR is to complete an
undergraduate course of study in a related field, such as business administration. Furthermore,
several years of experience in operations-heavy roles may prove valuable when making a career
transition into HR positions. For those lacking a relevant undergraduate degree or translatable
work experience, there are also HR-specific master's degree programs to help build the necessary
knowledge, skill sets and qualifications.

Modern HRM history

The birth of modern human resource management can be traced back to the 18th century. The
British Industrial Revolution, giving rise to many large factories, created an unprecedented spike
in worker demand.
With many of these laborers putting in long hours (often clocking in around 16-hour workdays),
it became increasingly apparent that the happiness of workers had a strong positive correlation
with productivity. Seeking to maximize return on investments, worker satisfaction programs
started to be introduced. Furthermore, factory labor conditions brought worker safety and rights
to the forefront of legal attention.
Early HR departments within organizations in the 20th century were often known as personnel
management departments. The personnel management departments dealt with legal compliance
and employee-related issues, and also implemented worker satisfaction and safety programs
within the workplace. Following WWII in the United States, personnel management departments
looked to the Army's training programs and started to make employee training a point of
emphasis.
HR departments started to assume the name of "human resources" in the 1970s. The primary
factor that differentiates HR from personnel management is the technological enablement of
better communications and access to individual employee information.

HRM trends
Job opportunities for careers in human resource management remain strong. The Wall Street
Journal, in an analysis of data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), ranked the "HR
manager" job title as the 35th (out of 800) most promising prospect, based on median salaries in
2018 and projected job openings in 2028.
Generally speaking, human resources as a field is on the upswing. Companies are increasingly
recognizing the strategic difference a good HR department can make and are investing in them
accordingly. As a result, HR jobs are growing in demand. There is expected to be a 7% growth in
HR manager job titles alone within the United States from 2018 to 2028. Furthermore, salary
prospects remain strong, with the median HR manager salary currently sitting at around
$113,000. For HR specialist positions, median salaries sit at around $60,000. (as of December,
2020)

Total Quality Management

Total Quality Management, or TQM, is a management approach to long-term success
through customer satisfaction. All employees of a company or organization employing a
TQM approach participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture.

Principles of TQM
TQM requires organizations to focus on continuous improvement, or kaizen. It
focuses on process improvements over the long term, rather than simply
emphasizing short-term financial gains. More specifically, TQM puts a
spotlight on the processes that organizations use to produce their products,
and it calls for organizations to define those processes, continuously monitor
and measure their performance, and use that performance data to drive
improvements. Furthermore, it calls for all employees, as well as all
organizational departments, to be part of this process.
TQM's objectives are to eliminate waste and increase efficiencies by ensuring
that the production process of the organization's product (or service) is done
right the first time.
This management framework was initially applied to companies in the
manufacturing sector, but, over the decades, organizations in other sectors
have adopted it, as well.
Moreover, as business needs for efficiency, productivity and quality have
further evolved, many organizations have adopted other, more modern
management techniques. So, although TQM is still influential, other
management techniques, such as Six Sigma and lean manufacturing, which
better address organizational goals for the 21st century, have replaced it in
many businesses.
Benefits of TQM
The benefits of TQM include:
 Less product defects. One of the principles of TQM is that creation of
products and services is done right the first time. This means that
products ship with fewer defects, which reduce product recalls, future
customer support overhead and product fixes.
 Satisfied customers. High-quality products that meet customers’
needs results in higher customer satisfaction. High customer
satisfaction, in turn, can lead to increased market share, revenue growth
via upsell and word-of-mouth marketing initiated by customers.
 Lower costs. As a result of less product defects, companies save cost
in customer support, product replacements, field service and the
creation of product fixes. The cost savings flow to the bottom line,
creating higher profit margins.
 Well-defined cultural values. Organizations that practice TQM develop
and nurture core values around quality management and continuous
improvement. The TQM mindset pervades across all aspects of an
organization, from hiring to internal processes to product development.

Employee attrition is defined as the natural process by which

employees leave the workforce – for example, through resignation
for personal reasons or retirement – and are not immediately
replaced.

Some forms of attrition are unavoidable, like if an employee is retiring or is

moving to another city. But after a certain threshold, attrition can make a big
dent in your company’s bottom line as well as its culture. In this primer, we
tell you all you need to know about employee attrition, and how to measure it
accurately.

Attrition is an inevitable part of any business. There will come a time when
an employee wants to leave your company – for either personal or
professional reasons.
But when attrition crosses a particular threshold, it becomes a cause for
concern. For example, attrition among minority employee groups could be
hurting diversity at your organization. Or, attrition among senior leaders can
lead to a significant gap in organizational leadership. Do you know where
your company stands on the employee attrition curve?

What Is Employee Attrition?

Employee attrition occurs when the size of your workforce diminishes over
time due to unavoidable factors such as employee resignation for personal or
professional reasons.

Employees are leaving the workforce faster than they are hired, and it is often
outside the employer’s control. For example, let’s say that you have opened a
new y designated as the Sales Hub for your company. Every salesperson must
work out of this office – but a few employees cannot relocate and choose to
leave the company. This is a typical reason for employee attrition.

But there are other reasons for attrition as well, including the lack of
professional growth, a hostile work environment, or declining confidence
in the company’s market value. Weak leadership is another factor that
often drives attrition among employees.

What Are the Different Types of

Attrition?
There are five types of employee attrition that you need to know of:
1. Attrition due to retirement
If two or three people have retired from your company this year, this is
statistically too small an employee group to count under attrition. However, if
a sizable chunk of your workforce retires at the same time, this can cause
attrition.

Attrition due to retirement shouldn’t be swept under the rug – your senior
professionals may choose to retire early or become independent consultants
due to factors other than age.

2. Voluntary attrition
This is the most common type of attrition, where employees decide to simply
quit their jobs. There can be many reasons for voluntary attrition (more on
that later) and most of them are in your control.

You should proactively try to curb voluntary attrition among high-value

talent, as this can bring down your productivity over time. For example, if a
company sees its marketing experts moving out of different business units,
it’s a clear cause for concern.

3. Involuntary attrition
In this scenario, it is the company and not the employee that initiates the exit.
For example, the employee may have shown instances of misconduct in the
workplace – a common reason for involuntary attrition. Structural reasons
could also cause attrition. Mergers and acquisitions are often followed by a
wave of involuntary attrition.
4. Internal attrition
Here, employees are quitting their jobs in one department to join another
department. In some cases, internal attrition is desirable, as it routes talent
towards more profitable areas. It also ensures better employee-job fitment.

But if a specific department has witnessed a high rate of attrition one year, it
merits an investigation. Is there something missing in the job? Is the manager
inadequately skilled? These are questions that HR needs to ask and find
answers to.

5. Demographic-specific attrition
This is a significant concern for progressive companies trying to build an
equal-opportunities workplace. Demographic-specific attrition means that
employees from a single group – women, ethnic minorities, people with
disabilities, veterans, or older professionals – are leaving the company in
droves.

You need to immediately deploy employee surveys to identify the root cause
of demographics-based attrition before it affects your workplace culture. A
positive culture can be the antidote to the quitting epidemic.

What Is Employee Attrition Rate?

Attrition measures how many people left a company/office/department
compared to the average number of people employed in that year. This takes
into account fresh hires as well. Here’s a simple formula to help you calculate
attrition:

 Conduct a headcount to know how many employees you started with

at the beginning of the year. Let’s say this number is 1,000.
  Keep track of how many people leave throughout the year. Let’s say
200 employees left the company due to voluntary and involuntary
reasons.
 Keep track of the employees you hire across the year, and conduct a
final headcount at year-end. Let’s say that you hired 400 people that
year – this means your final headcount is 1,400.
 Now, calculate the average number of employees for that year. In our
example, this will be (1000+1400)/2 = 1,200.
 Finally, calculate the number of employees who left as a percentage
of the average number of employees. This will give you the attrition
rate: (200/1200) x 100 = 16.66%.

Simply put,
Attrition Rate = Number of Attritions/Average Number of Employees
x 100

As you can see, the impact of attrition cannot be negated by going on a hiring
spree. This is what makes it such an important metric for companies.

4 Factors Affecting Employee

Attrition
Fig 1. The factors that cause employee attrition

By now, you already know the top reasons for employee attrition. Let’s look
at the reasons for voluntary attrition:
1. Personal motivation
There has been a change in an employee’s personal life that compels them to
switch jobs. New parents might want to move to a city with better schools, a
mid-career professional may want to return to school – these reasons are
endless.

By conducting detailed exit interviews, you can keep in touch with these
employees and ensure that they consider your company in the future,
whenever they have an opportunity.

2. Professional motivation
This is where HR could play a massive role in controlling attrition. An
employee might leave because they felt there simply aren’t enough
opportunities for career progression in your organization. This is the case in
several technology companies, where technical talent is forced to fight for
managerial positions as they move up the ladder. Take inspiration from
Microsoft, which created a long-term technical track to prevent
professionally-motivated attrition.

3. Challenges with the workplace

This is another common reason for attrition. Challenges in the workplace can
range from uncollaborative leadership to the lack of requisite tools for work.

This type of attrition is relatively easy to fix. Ask for regular feedback, listen
to the voice of the employee, and address any gaps in their employee
experience. Typically, someone who is happy with their job won’t quit if
most of their workplace requirements are met.
4. Poor employee-to-job fitment
We have all seen employees who join a company full of enthusiasm, only to
leave a month or two later. This could be an indicator that the job was not
right for that candidate, to begin with.

You can address attrition arising from this factor by finetuning your job
descriptions as well as the onboarding process. Employees will know
exactly what to expect, and you are less likely to witness new-hire attrition.

Can Attrition Be Beneficial?

Interestingly, attrition isn’t always a bad thing. In many cases, turnover can
actually be good for business for the following factors:

 Poor-performing employees leave your company, reducing overheads

and making room for new talent.
 In one-dimensional workplaces (for example, tech companies
employing a disproportionately large number of men), attrition can
enable diversity.
 It roots out employees who aren’t a good fit for their job and probably
shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.
 It helps to create a dynamic workforce, as the same employees with the
same perspectives aren’t running the company for decades on end.
 It is required in times of structural alterations, like when you’re
pivoting towards a new business direction or have insufficient funds.

Keep these possibilities in mind when analyzing your employee attrition rate.
It will depend on the kind of talent lost, and why they left to figure out the
impact of attrition on your business. You can analyze this using HR
analytics.

Best Practices to Reduce

Employee Attrition Rate
There is an apparent downside to attrition – your workforce shrinks in size,
you lose out on valuable product/domain knowledge, and you risk damaging
your employer brand. That’s why, in 2020, companies should:

 Assess for job and culture fitment right at the time of hiring
 Offer learning and employee development opportunities to accelerate
career growth
 Regularly solicit feedback on employee satisfaction questions
 Ensure a competitive pay package compared to other companies
 Conduct detailed interviews after an employee has exited to spot
attrition trends

Now that you know the definition of attrition and its various nuances, you
can approach this metric from a clear, informed point of view. Remember,
there is no one-size-fits-all model that defines the causes of employee exits.
Segment the workforce into specific groups, use cutting-edge people
analytics, and measure improvements year-on-year to stay ahead of the
attrition curve.

Quality Circle
A quality circle or quality control circle is a group of workers who do the same or similar work,
who meet regularly to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems. It consists of minimum
three and maximum twelve members in number. [1] Normally small in size, the group is usually led by
a supervisor or manager and presents its solutions to management; where possible, workers
implement the solutions themselves in order to improve the performance of the organization and
motivate employees. Quality circles were at their most popular during the 1980s, but continue to
exist in the form of Kaizen groups and similar worker participation schemes.

Re-engineering in HR
12. Shaping the process:
Although senior management may lay down the general guidelines and direction the
reengineering effort will take, HR often can play a major role in determining whether it
will succeed. At many companies—including Minneapolis-based IDS Financial
Services, Monterey, California-based CTB and Palo Alto, California-based Syntex—HR
helped create the selection criteria for members of the steering committee. HR also
can interview and evaluate candidates. Even as the process filters down through the
organization, HR can play a key role in determining how team leaders and team
members are selected.
13. Creating job statements and role descriptions that reflect the new corporate order:
It isn’t enough to plug existing job descriptions into new positions created from
reengineering. It isn’t enough to use existing methodology to create new positions.
Reengineering requires serious introspection about what the company is trying to achieve
and what job and role responsibilities will help realize the goals. “It’s a whole new way of
thinking. The idea is to write job statements instead of descriptions, to outline roles vs. tasks,
and to structure work around the customer rather than a specific function or department,”
says Mary Layman, vice president of HR for CTB.
14. Working out compensation issues:
Pay scales and rewards must be structured to create the desired results. For example, a
company that wants to focus on customer service must measure and compensate the work
force based on that criteria. Likewise, HR must think about whether it should pay employees
for specific tasks they should perform from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or offer skill-based or
knowledge-based pay. “Too often, there’s a disconnect between the basic strategy and what
HR actually does,” says Caldow.
15. Training the new work force:
“A company may have award-winning training programs, but they probably aren’t going to
have a lot to do with the overall reengineering strategy,” says William A. Wheeler, a partner
at the consulting firm of Coopers and Lybrand in New York City and co-author of Business
Process Reengineering: Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance. Experts agree that it’s
important to provide plenty of training on specific skills employees will need in the newly
reengineered company, but that teamwork, decision making and trust building must also be
heavily emphasized over a period of time.
16. Molding the new corporate culture:
Stories, ceremonies, awards and rituals all have a major impact on how people behave.
Caldow insists that human resources can alter thinking by helping form a new ethnography.
It must be consistent throughout the organization, and it should be backed by plenty of
symbolism. Yet, the change won’t occur overnight. It may take weeks or months before a
real breakthrough in thinking takes place.
 17. Facilitate communication in the work force:
Nothing is as frightening to a work force as change, and nothing changes a work force as
much as reengineering. Newsletters, videos, letters, E-mail messages, and companywide
and departmental meetings are all useful tools in quelling anxiety. Moreover, good
communication can help a work force understand how reengineering may benefit it in the
future.

Contingent Work force

A contingent workforce is a labor pool whose members are hired by an

organization on an on-demand basis. A contingent workforce consists of
freelancers, independent contractors and consultants who are not on the
company's payroll because they are not employees of the organization.
Organizations can hire a contingent worker directly or from a staffing agency.
Such workers are usually added on an ad hoc basis to a company's workforce
and work either on site or remotely. They generally receive fewer, if any,
benefits and less pay than full-time workers, according to the U.S. Department
of Labor, and are less likely to be protected by labor and employment laws.
What is a contingent worker?
A contingent worker is a worker who is hired on a temporary or fixed-term
contract basis to provide specific services for a specific project or period of
time. Contingent workers are not employees and, therefore, do not receive the
same rights and benefits as permanent employees. A contingent worker does
not receive paid time off or health insurance, pays their own taxes and Social
Security and often has limited interaction with the services and
communications provided to employees.
Once a contingent worker's contract ends, they will leave the organization,
unless they are given a new contract or contract extension. Any extension or
new contract will be similar in nature to other contracts issued to them.
Examples of contingent workers include the following:
· Independent contractors. Individuals who operate through a company
and provide specific work products, such as construction workers or
accountants.
· Freelancers. Self-employed individuals, such as journalists and
photographers.
· Consultants. Individuals who operate through a company and provide
specialized or expert advice and services, such as IT consultants or
management consultants.
Contingent workers vs. employees
Contingent workers are not employees, although they do form part of the workforce.
Employees work directly for the organization with an employment contract and are
paid through payroll. The organization also pays Social Security taxes and often
provides benefits. In contrast, contingent workers work for the entity that contracts
with the organization, although some contingent workers contract directly with the
organization, but they use a Statement of Work or other contractual agreement that is
not an employment agreement.
Because contingent workers are not employees, organizations can't control or direct
how they do the work. The contractor defines how the work is performed, which can
sometimes clash with how the organization wants it to be done. This is a key
difference between contingent workers and employees and influences how the two are
classified.
Why hire a contingent workforce?
Hiring a contingent workforce can help alleviate staffing issues, such as when no one
is available to hire for a specific role, to cover short- or long-term absences or to
provide a specific set of skills for a limited time and where the organization does not
have a long-term need. Hiring a contingent worker can also be cheaper than hiring a
full-time employee, especially if the organization doesn't need their skills after the
engagement ends.
Contingent workers are usually hired through vendor management system (VMS)
software. However, sometimes they are hired directly or through a staffing agency or
consulting firm. Organizations sometimes build up a talent pool of temporary workers
that they can use when specific needs arise.
What are the advantages of a contingent workforce?
Cost savings is one of the major benefits of hiring contingent workers. Organizations
save on the administrative costs associated with hiring and maintaining full-time
employees. By hiring contingent workers, they do not have to make contributions to
Social Security and unemployment compensation or pay payroll taxes. They are also
not required to provide contingent workers employee benefits.
Flexibility is another benefit of a contingent workforce. Organizations can hire
contingent workers on an on-demand basis and then terminate their employment once
the work requirement is met.
A contingent workforce also helps businesses offset a skills gap. Contingent workers
provide a large pool of experienced candidates who are already equipped with the
skills required to execute a project efficiently.
What are the disadvantages of a contingent workforce?
There are challenges associated with hiring contingent workers. It can be difficult to
find a contingent worker who can not only do the job, but adapt quickly to the
corporate culture. Companies are also often skeptical of sharing inside information with
these non-permanent workers.
Organizations can also face legal and compliance issues from worker misclassification.
If an organization declares someone a contingent worker when they should be
classified as an employee, the company runs the risk of paying hefty fines.
Organizations must be aware of their industry's regulations on contingent workers
before developing a strategy for hiring them.
With more organizations relying on the contingent workforce, businesses must be
prepared to meet the challenges and demands of managing it. It is therefore important
to implement standardized processes for hiring and developing a contingent workforce.

Work force diversity

Workforce diversity means similarities and differences among employees in
terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race,
religion, gender, and sexual orientation. No two humans are alike. People are
different in not only gender, culture, race, social and psychological
characteristics but also in their perspectives and prejudices. Society had
discriminated on these aspects for centuries. Diversity makes the work force
heterogeneous. In current scenario, employing diversified workforce is a
necessity for every organization but to manage such diversified workforce is
also a big challenge for management.

Downsizing
Downsizing is the process of terminating multiple employees at the same
time. There are three major reasons that organizations conduct downsizing:
18. Cost reduction
 19. Adoption of new technologies that reduce the need for a large number of employee
20. Relocation of the business (such as moving a factory from one country to another).

Downsizing may occur through the elimination of positions or via

organizational restructuring. As opposed to termination for cause, downsizing
is typically not due to any misconduct on the part of the employee.

Employee involvement:
Employee involvement can be defined as:
The direct participation of staff to help an organization fulfill its mission and meet its
objectives by applying their own ideas, expertise, and efforts towards solving problems
and making decisions.
Employee involvement gives employees a sense of belonging to the organization.
As a result, they become more dependable. They accept greater responsibility for their
work and achieve better results. This increases the possibilities for creative thinking and
problem-solving in the workplace.

Employee involvement happens when employees participate in key

management meetings. It is the process of keeping employees in line with the
values and work ethics of the organization.
Hiring the best talent is not enough. It is important to form them to your
organization’s needs. Employees’ skills, expertise, and experience add
significant value to any organization. However, in order to bring the best in
them, it is important to involve your employees and create a positive culture.
In this article, we will figure out what employee engagement is and why it is
important for your organization.

What is Employee involvement?

Employee involvement is the process of allowing employees to give their
opinion on decisions that affect their work. This could be done through
company meetings, committees, and so on. Employees have more control
over their work and workplace when they participate in decision-making.
This means that employees aren’t just going through the motions of their daily
tasks. They’re also actively involved in the management and decision-making
processes of the company.
Importance of Employee involvement
Any workplace benefits greatly from employee engagement. But what does it
mean, and why is it so important? Here are some of the causes why
employee engagement is so important.

1. Productivity Growth
Productivity growth can be an important component of employee engagement.
Employers want productivity from their employees first and above all. So, it is
important to press the buttons, which can boost productivity.
It’s a scientific fact, that when we dedicate more time and effort to a task or
job, we become more visible in our thought processes. We increase
awareness, manage the situation with comfort, and keep our minds at ease.
Employees make calculated decisions when they are involved. They may plan
their work. They may bring more passion and commitment to their jobs. This
enhances the organization’s productivity and growth.

1. Improved morale
Employee morale refers to an employee’s attitude, mood, and satisfaction with
their employment. Achieving these goals will involve a work culture that values
employee engagement. Employees who have high morale are more likely to
stay inspired and work hard to achieve the company’s goals. They keep a
positive attitude toward everyone they come into contact with. They work
quickly and efficiently to fulfill their tasks.
Employee engagement improves employee morale and psychological
involvement. Employees that are confident in themselves are more engaged,
joyful, and like their jobs.

1. Good Relationships
Having a positive and friendly relationship with your employees is one of the
most important keys to success. Miscommunications are unavoidable in an
organization without a transparent relationship. As a result, progress toward
success is hampered.
Involvement allows everyone to share their knowledge. This creates a strong
bond between managers and employees. It also introduces the concept of
accepting each other’s ideas. And it improves the working environment.
1. Employee involvement with the organization
The following are elements of a learning environment:
· Excellent training programs
· Branding of employees
· Employee advocacy
· Employee skill-building modules
However, it also includes an interactive exchange of ideas in the workplace.
Employee feedback is one method for allowing your employees to participate
in organizational decisions. This will assist you in understanding the changes
that they require in order to perform well. They become more loyal and
dedicated when you listen to them and motivate them to work better. And they
assist you in creating a bright future.

1. Innovative Thinking
You will be able to keep your employees informed if they participate in your
executive meetings. It will assist them in keeping them up to date on
developments.
Employee involvement gives employees a sense of belonging to the
organization. As a result, they become more dependable. They accept greater
responsibility for their work and achieve better results. This increases the
possibilities for creative thinking and problem-solving in the workplace.
As an employer, you need to provide freedom and space to the employees.
This will assist in the generation of new ideas, which will keep you
competitive. In addition, it will provide you with new ideas that will have an
impact on the organization.

1. Better adaptation to change management

As an employer, you need to be open to change and ready to face the
challenges that come with it. In today’s competitive and dynamic environment,
you need to be unique to maintain an opportunity, and the organization that
adapts to change is likely to be at the top of the list.
When you involve employees in critical company issues, you open yourself up
to new ideas and perspectives. It assists you in anticipating future changes,
and how to deal with them more effectively when the time comes. You get to
know everyone’s points of view. It extends your vision, which benefits
everyone.
Rather than rejecting change, involving employees in decision-making will
assist you in welcoming it.

Outsourcing
Outsourcing in human resource management, or HRM, is the act of hiring an external firm to
handle part or all of your human resource needs instead of relying on a dedicated internal HR
department or employee. But what is human resource outsourcing? Human resource outsourcing
can include HRM tasks such as managing payroll and benefits, recruiting and onboarding,
navigating labor regulations, and more.
There are several different types of HR outsourcing models. Human Resources Organizations
(HRO) typically serve organizations of more than 1,000 employees and have a range of services
from which clients can choose.
Advantages of outsourcing-
One advantage of outsourcing is having expert advice and experience that a small or mid-sized
company might not otherwise have from a small or solo HR department. Another advantage is
that the business owners can rest easy knowing their HR is compliant. Employment regulation is
vast and ever changing, hiring an outsourced accounting firm can mean the business owners have
confidence they are in compliance as they hire and fire employees. Depending on the company
and situation, outsourcing may result in cost savings over a full-time employee salary.
Disadvantages of outsourcing-
A disadvantage of outsourcing HR could be a disconnect from company culture with an offsite
outsourcing company. However, the recent shift to remote work has shown that strong,
collaborative relationships can still be built even when teams aren’t in the same room.
Companies may also perceive a loss of control when outsourcing important and sometimes
personal HR functions, such as succession planning. For this reason, it is important to choose an
HR outsourcing company that is also a good cultural fit.

Technological change in HR
Technology changes the way HR departments contact employees, store files and
analyze employee performance. Used well, technology makes HR practices more
efficient. When used poorly, it can get in the way of managing the company's human
resources. Good HR practices maximize the benefits and minimize the problems.
6 HR Innovation All HR Managers Must Use
1. Recruitment Tools
Recruitment is one of the primary HR practices of all human resources personnel. You
can even say that the job of HR starts with hiring. For this reason, you must have the
best hiring strategies in place to begin your work.
In this case, all must understand that recruitment is no child's play. In a work-hungry
world, the applications are in hundreds, and the vacancies tend to be nowhere near the
former mark. In such a scenario, HR needs all the help to shortlist candidates and get the
best hire.
It turns out to be quite tiresome to go through the heaps of resumes, profiles, and cover
letters. In this regard, recruitment tools are the lifesaver of professionals everywhere.
They help set bars, shortlist resumes, conduct tests, schedule interviews, and make the
final hire.

2. Employee Engagement Platform

Employee Engagement is the new norm of sustaining and attracting top talent into a
business. There are even dedicated employee engagement platforms in the market to
help you maintain this engagement. These platforms do everything from rewards and
recognition, peer-to-peer recognition, employee feed, and whatnot.
In short, employee engagement platforms are a collection of tools that nurture a
workforce towards better job satisfaction.

3. Corporate Wellness Platforms

In the wake of COVID-19, growing health concern is a pressing issue for corporates with
their employee health. In tackling the problem of health, businesses are spending
millions on their corporate wellness programs.
These tools encourage your workers to lead a healthy life, which is tougher than it
sounds. In a competitive business world, workers are more concerned about their targets
than their health. Unfortunately, this shift in priorities takes all the wellness activities
out of their daily life.
Employee wellness platforms are here to fight this aspect and many more. These tools
get the workers back to a fitter lifestyle through engaging feed, fun challenges, exciting
gamification, and ever-motivating rewards.
4. Gamification
Often, work can get stale. In moments like this, it is the job of HR to make things exciting
and keep employee morale high. Corporates now have games at various stages to keep
things fun and enhance employee experience to make things interesting. It can be in
recruitment, daily health goals, monthly target, etc. These games help with the
workforce's engagement, turn up the fun in an office, and churn out the team's best
efforts.

5. Peer-to-peer Recognition
Recognition for the work done is one of the most self-satisfying elements for a worker. It
reflects on the hard work of the employee and gives them the confidence to do more.
Recognition also helps HR ascertain employee development and employee promotion.
For reasons such as, you must use the best system for employee recognition.
Here, recent developments suggest that recognition should be done at all levels and by
everyone. Traditionally, while recognition was only at the hands of senior management,
now team members should commend themselves for a job well done.
This is called peer-to-peer or peer recognition, i.e., recognizing an employee's work done
by other office employees. A holistic employee engagement platform comes in handy to
undertake workplace recognition as they include this system in their platform itself.

6. Employee Survey Tools

As workplace policies get magnified everywhere, it is crucial to get your employee
feedback. After all, it is for them that the policies are made, so it is only fair that they get
a say in it as well. In doing so, employee survey tools are of great help.
These tools help get the viewpoints of the workers effectively and efficiently. In
addition, it will help you know more about your performance in setting policies and their
implementation. Here, pulse surveys are beneficial as they keep the procedure short and
to the point.

Balancing Work & Family

At work, you are expected to be on time, to perform specific tasks and carry out
certain responsibilities. At the same time you have very real and pressing family
needs and responsibilities.

Work: What's In It For You?

 Each of us has different reasons for working.
 Work fulfills a variety of needs.
  Create a list of the rewards and benefits you obtain from working.

Sources of Work and Family Stress

Stress, in general, comes from change and the pressure of too many demands and
desires. It can arise from the high expectations we have for ourselves. We want to
do well at our job, we want to be a good parent, to help our own parents when they
need care, and to spend quality time with loved ones. We all want to excel. But
given the limits of time and energy, it's easy to feel as if we're not "making the
grade" either at home or at work.

Barriers to achieving balance in our work, family and personal lives fall into two
broad categories:

 External Factors: the demands created by our involvement in the world, and
 Internal Factors: our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Identifying Your Stressors

 Look over the lists and note any sources of stress that apply to you.
 Think of any others that affect you.

EXTERNAL
 Requirements of the workplace
 Community involvement
 School conflicts
 Household and family obligations
 Unpredictable events

INTERNAL
 Unrealistically high expectations for our personal performance
 The need to do it all and have it all
 Ineffective behaviors
 Poor health habits
 Negative attitudes and feelings

Skills and Strategies for Achieving Balance

Interestingly, the same skills that contribute to your success on the job and make
you a valued, productive employee are the skills you need to manage your home
life and to achieve that healthy balance. These skills include:

 Planning - Setting goals and priorities and establishing a plan of action.

  Organizing - Saving time and energy by making "to do" lists, combining
activities and errands, and easing transition times between home and work.
 Communicating Effectively - Building and strengthening relationships.
 Setting Limits - Deciding what you can and cannot do and learning to say
"no". Saying "no" is actually saying "yes" to the things that are important to
you.
 Delegating - Sharing the load with friends and family, hiring help when
feasible.
 Establishing Support Systems - Reaching out to others both professionally
and personally.

Cross Cultural Training

Cross-cultural training means any training that helps people overcome cultural
challenges in work, or in life, when interacting with others whose culture, values and
beliefs we are not fully aware of.

The benefits of cross-cultural training are many:

 It helps people overcome bias and prejudice, which can otherwise prevent them
from making good decisions.
 It improves communication skills and softer skills such as emotional intelligence.
 It increases trust between people, which helps break down barriers, seal business
deals and get things done.
 It drives sales by helping business people understand a new market and
appreciate how to articulate their pitch.
 It promotes synergy and drives trusting team relationships which frees people to
concentrate on the more important matters.

There are many types and variations of cross-cultural training. Sometimes

they come under different names such as Intercultural Training, Cultural
Competence, Diversity Training or Cultural awareness.
Generally, cross-cultural training can be divided into two different areas - Country
focused vs Skill focused.
 Country focused training will only look at one (or a few) cultures, i.e. Chinese,
Japanese, Turkish. The content will look at specific areas of the culture whether
that be etiquette, communication or negotiation.
 Skill focused training on the other hand is a more generic type of course that
looks at areas such as communication, management, persuasion, leadership,
negotiation, sales, etc and then addresses cultural differences within that
framework. There very well may be country-specific information or there may
not, as these courses are more about developing rounded skills as opposed to
focusing on one culture.