Every company needs hardworking, loyal employees, but getting them in the door isn’t enough. Motivating employees will ensure employee satisfaction and higher morale. Some effective strategies exist for motivating and keeping employees.

The Work Environment should be encouraging, uplifting, and free of unprofessional conduct so that employees feel safe and able to perform to the employer’s satisfaction.

Decent compensation for excellence in performance should be given at regular intervals. Bonuses, rewards, and other forms of compensation offer incentives for employees to consistantly perform better, and the achievement of such compensation encourages self-esteem and a higher overall company morale.

Independence is crucial to the morale of employees who, although required to meet company quotas and policies, perform better and are often more willing to work than employees who feel stifled into a set working condition.

Recognition is an excellent way to support and motivate employees. Employers who recognize the efforts of employees find that employees work harder and are happier in their work.

Supporting employees by addressing questions, issues, or problems promptly lets them know they are a valued part of the company. When employees feel valued, they tend to try harder, do better, and are more willing to go to their limits for the company.

An open line of communication between employees and employers is essential in smooth, well-run operations to allow discussion of problems and issues, and to encourage employees to continue a job well done. Allowing employees to express opinions and suggestions may also improve some company issues.

A Little Humor goes a long way to boost employee morale and encourage longevity in employment. Employees who are able to laugh a little and have a little fun while working are more enthusiastic about their workplace.

Respecting the employee as a person and a member of the team creates a desire to be in that work environment.

The right to choose and be responsible for his or her work causes an employee to take personal pride in the work at hand.
Companies must continuously encourage and motivate employees to keep them working hard and on the payroll. Utilizing these strategies allows an employer to keep happy, hard working, dedicated employees. Not only will the employees be happier and more willing to work, but employers will reap the benefits of better production and less employee turnover.

photo credit: Greg317

Human resource has several levels and professionals in the department may carry different titles. Some of these are Human Resources Director, Human Resources Manager and Human Resources Generalist et al. Their duties are different and defined clearly though in some cases responsibilities do overlap.

Human Resource Directors and Managers may have HR departments falling under their authority. The departments are headed by HR staff that may have different titles depending on the size of the organization and their functionality. Some of these may be Recruiting Manager, Compensation Manager, Training Manager, etc. it is important to note that the HR department is the link between employees and the company and both parties’ interests should be well taken care of.

The role of HR is quickly changing and organizations that keep up with the change have a chance of surviving in a highly competitive global environment. The conventional role of systemizing and being executive management’s policy guardians though still important, is being overtaken by a more involved and dynamic role. The primary focus of an organization is the customer and HR being an important cog in the management wheel has to be part and parcel of this goal.

On the whole, a HR manager’s job will include all or some of the following; sourcing and recruiting employees, hiring and training. Other roles include organization development, ensuring good communication between employees and management and monitoring efficiency and performance. Team building, coaching, team building and policy recommendation among others are also part of the HR manager’s responsibilities.

There are, however, some additional roles recommended by Dave Ulrich, author of Human Resource Champions and professor at the University of Michigan. These are being a Business and Strategic Partner, an Employee Advocate and a Change Champion. As a business and strategic partner, the HR manager should prove his mettle as a person worthy of sitting in the executive table of the organization, be responsible and accountable for all processes and programs in the HR department as well present themselves as partners and not roadblocks to other departments for the overall good of the organization.

As an employee advocate, the HR manager will seek to ensure that employees are working in environments that are conducive for optimum performance. Assistance, training and coaching and employee development are vital in ensuring the employees are satisfied. The final role of change champion is in line with a changing global business environment. The HR manager should come up with new and improved ways of doing things to enhance productivity.

photo credit: nigelpepper
With today’s ever changing job market, competition for higher paying jobs is on the increase. One role in particular is none more competitive than the role of the Human Resource Manager. In any business, the human resources department plays a key role to the success of the organization and they are faced with many challenges every day.

The human resource professional or HR person as they are often called has to be ready to change with the surroundings. They have to be adaptable, resilient and focused on the customers or the clients in order to succeed in business. An HR person must be driven and be able to look at the big picture and be able to influence the other employees with key decisions and company policies.

One challenge of the HR professional is that they are looked upon not just as employees, but as coaches, counselors, mentors and succession planners. Their job is to motivate organizational members. Help to make their fellow employees loyal followers.

They do this by promoting values, ethics, beliefs, and company spirit throughout the organization. However, managing workplace diversity also comes with its own challenges for the HR professional.

The companies continued success depends upon the HR manager’s ability to bring about ideas, perspectives, and different views from a diverse group of employees. Any problems or challenges that arise in a diverse work environment can be turned around through strategic organizational planning.

If everyone’s talents are put to good use and their ideas are heard, than they can work together peacefully, rapidly and creatively. The most important thing to remember about diversity is that if the company doesn’t support diversity, it runs the risk of losing its talented employees to its competitors.

This is when HR professionals come in handy. They can employ people of different countries to make sure that the company is diverse and this allows new opportunities for people with different ethnical and cultural backgrounds. One challenge that the HR professional has when hiring employees with different cultures and backgrounds is that they themselves have to go through specific training to strengthen their abilities and become more diverse.

As you can see the HR manager’s job is complex. HR professionals are people that should not be taken for granted. They help to keep the organization running smooth. Even though they are faced with challenges, they do their job and do it well.

photo credit: Paul Veugen

No doubt you’ve heard the expression that says something about blaming the process not the people when things go wrong in an organization? Unfortunately it rings true, and preventing process failures starts right at the beginning – hiring the right people, with the right skills for the right job. And that too, is where the process focus must begin – as soon as the resource need is identified.

So how does this work? Let’s take an example. You need an Accountant. So you send your HR department the following request: I would like to hire an Accountant, with a degree in Accounting and 4 years of experience.

Check, that’s done!

When HR sends you the pool of candidates, they all meet those “qualifications”. But as you interview what you think are the top three candidates, you are shocked to find out two of them have never used an automated accounting system and one does not know how to use Excel – all requirements of the process to perform the monthly reconciliations this position is responsible for.

Being the astute Manager that you are though, you quickly realize you should have focused on the process to perform the monthly reconciliations, which would result in HR sending you a more qualified candidate pool. (Thank goodness you didn’t make a huge hiring mistake)! So you pull out the process documentation, which defines the monthly reconciliation process from inputs to outputs, (updating it since no one has done so in some time), and prepare the following recruiting request for HR:

I would like to hire an Accountant with a degree in Accounting, and 4 years of experience performing monthly reconciliations or similar analysis. The process to perform the monthly reconciliations includes pulling data from XYZ system on customized reports, transferring the data to Excel spreadsheets using pivot tables, and then analyzing and resolving differences by pulling source transactions from the XYZ system.

Now HR can send you a more qualified pool of candidates, with the same basic degree and experience, but now with knowledge and experience performing montlhy reconciliations using automated systems and report writing tools (maybe even those used by your company) along with Excel skills, analytical and reconciliation experience.

And as a bonus, after you hire that highly qualified candidate, the documentation they need to perform their processes is complete and up to date.

Process Focus = HR Success!

photo credit: Anthony Quintano

In an increasingly competitive human resource market globally, a HR specialist that can survive the cut-throat environment is one that has tabs on organizational trends when it comes to staffing. To become an effective human resource specialist, there are some skills that you need to have and exhibit them to increase you chances of being hired in a top organization. Some of these skills are explained below.

An effective HR specialist needs to have basic skills in developing job descriptions. This helps in giving potential employees a glimpse into what is required of them when they submit their applications. Closely tied to this is the knowledge on how to go about advertising the job openings.

The specialist should be conversant with different advertising means especially in times as these when new media is gradually becoming a force to reckon with when it comes to advertising. The HR specialist ought to have a clear understanding of the organization’s needs which they should consider when choosing how to advertise for any available positions.

There should be a well laid out hiring criteria to help sieve through numerous applications and finally be able to get the exact minds that the organization needs. Hiring will involve going through resumes to determine who qualifies for a formal interview.

The interviews part is very important and you as the human specialist should have in mind or in written form the type of questions to ask, as you engage the potential employees on their resumes and experience to determine their eligibility to be inducted into the organization’s workforce. If need be, you should able to determine if an applicant needs a test to check their skills.

You should also be able to deal with the qualified applicants. If its company policy to have drug tests before being inducted, let them know how to go about that. Have in mind orientation sessions to help the new member(s) fit better and boost their confidence in the new environment. Depending on the evaluation of the new employees, the HR specialist should be able to advise the organization on the best salary scales and job classifications.

The HR specialist is the custodian of the company’s interests in term of ensuring the workforce is at all times productive and in line with company code of conduct and behavior. You should come up with mechanisms to give existing and new employees refresher training to keep their performance optimum all through. Come up with ways to monitor performance from all levels of employees under your jurisdiction.

One of the most wonderful gifts in the world is to have a job that you truly love. Most people work in many occupations until they find the perfect job, but there are others who go to work every day to make a living for themselves and their families, regardless of it being their “dream job”. It’s up to you to be content and thankful for the job you have. Let’s talk a little about career pros and cons.

Few vocations exist that don’t include a fair amount of stress. Factors that lead to tension in the workplace are:

* Lack of chances for promotion
* Fear of losing job through outsourcing/downsizing
* Inappropriate pay for job performed
* Conflict with co-workers, supervisors
* Lack of necessary resources to promote your success

If boredom on the job is part of your problem, you may not have sufficient responsibilities to correspond with your capabilities. Don’t let your mind drift to the point that you put yourself or others in danger. If your job duties involve being a caregiver, or operating equipment or machinery, boredom could be deadly!

You may need to seek a new challenge at your workplace; ask your supervisor to assign you to a different task. Watch for new job opportunities that are posted from time to time at your place of employment, and go for it!

If you are given a low evaluation from your supervisor, or hear negative comments from coworkers, turn that into a plus, not a negative. Who hasn’t thought at one time or another, “I’ll show them, I’m outta here!” Slow down, and think about it; make this a learning experience. Keep in mind: there’s always someone out there ready to take your position; we are all replaceable.

Be thankful that you have that job, and look around at the work “family” that you have: folks that you greet each morning and spend 8 hours or so with. Show them the appreciation that you have for them, and it will pay off in big dividends for you.

This is a guest post form Pat of Blog4safety.com