Humans have always been complex, having to manage people has always been bit tricky and some may compare it to a minefield. Human resource departments face obstacles like never before combining all of those traditional challenges faced in the past along with our ever-increasing digital age, increasing distributed workforces, generational differences and social media. As Employees are the greatest asset a business can boast, overcoming HR challenges time, effort and money well spent.  Having years of experience and interviewing HR professionals, I’ve managed to narrow down a list of seven challenges being faced by current HR professionals with some practical solutions.

1. Attracting top talent

To attract the right individuals, you need to understand job and organizational requirements as well as an eye on the future. As job roles, technology and expectations continue to change at a lightening pace, at times it can be difficult to have future organizational structure and culture in mind.

Therefore, I suggest that you start with how and where you market job vacancies. Use platforms that are most likely to be frequented by your target talent, depending on skill requirements, industry and position level. Attracting the right candidates means you’ve got less work to do during your screening process. Of course, make sure they possess applicable skills for available positions, also keep in mind their fit within organization rather than with a specific job. Look for evidence that they enjoy learning, they’re up for a challenge and they’re comfortable with change. Find out how technologically savvy they are and how they deal with feedback.

By looking out for these qualities, you’ll be creating a team of employees who are likely to achieve a business’ training and development objectives, even as these transform over time (which can be more important than knowing they can perform the job well today).

2. Embracing change with grace and ease

Change is a constant, influencing our environment, competitors, customers and workplace. No matter if its managerial, structural, procedural or technological; many employees are afraid of change. The unknown brings about feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. This makes adapting employees for change, one of the most recurring challenges faced by HR professionals. Human resources are tasked not only with managing employee morale, happiness, and cooperation through change but also with constantly training employees to meet challenges of our changing business.

The solution? There’s no single right answer. But an effort to communicate frequently and transparently before, during, and after times of change is a good place to start. Provide fair warning of future changes and equip staff with competencies they’ll need to deal with change.

By providing training on hard and soft skills they’ll need to cope with change, employees will feel more secure and capable, and be more likely to embrace change.

3. Developing the leaders of tomorrow

Some extremely talented teams simply don’t achieve their full potential, and this is usually because of the team leader. Many employees consider leaving their jobs because of a poor relationship with their direct manager. That’s why it’s critical to source and develop talented and inspiring leaders.

This is easier said than done. Because grooming current employees for leadership positions doesn’t work when “leaders in the making” keep leaving – which is a regular occurrence in a Millennial-heavy workforce. That’s why this is one of the most common human resource challenges today.

Of course, you could handcuff your future leaders to their desks (I’m joking, you can’t do that), or, you could find ways to motivate them to stay. Like providing regular training that aligns with a clear career progression path. This shows talented employees that you value them, see their potential for leadership growth and are actively investing in that growth.

4. Fostering a culture of continuous learning

Today, crowds of employees leave their jobs with a key reason being a lack of development opportunities. Yes, training can be a golden drawcard for keeping employees stimulated, engaged and loyal.

This is only true when training is relevant to their jobs or future career direction. It must include engaging content and available in formats that enable flexible learning. Training must happen continuously for businesses to remain competitive, so employees can often become bored or overloaded.

Of all the human resource challenges, this one is arguably simplest to address. Because Learning Management Systems (LMS) enable us to train with eLearning courses. Online training can take place at home, on the weekends, or even on a mobile device while waiting for a taxi.  And it gets better. Some LMSs, like eFront offer advanced gamification and micro learning features, so that employees remain engaged in their training and enjoy the flexibility of consuming bite-sized chunks of learning at times that are most convenient to them.

5. Managing diversity with local in mind

Globalization. It’s affecting every business, in every part of the world. Our customer reach is expanding beyond the traditional Head Offices and talent can be sources across seas and borders. This not only means more sales, it means more diverse customer and employee experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

However, with this diversity comes with a few human resource challenges like managing diverse cultures in a local team. While adhering to local policies and procedures, HR must also create a workplace that is comfortable, welcoming, and free of conflict – for everyone.

Cultural awareness programs can help employees recognize benefits of diversity, like better ideas and innovations, and a wider customer reach. Team building activities are also an effective approach for integrating employees of different cultures and uniting them towards a common business objective.

6. Looking After Health and Safety

Health and safety standards are probably one of the more obvious human resource challenges. Not only does labor law govern these concerns, but they’re also of great importance to general employee wellbeing. Because workplace health isn’t just about hygiene and safety.

Today, psychological well-being of employees can deteriorate due to high demands, compressed time schedules and general employee burnout. Sure, periods of stress are normal, and under times of pressure, employees can often produce their best work. But high levels of stress cannot be sustained.

This means that HR professionals need to keep a close eye on escalating workloads and stress levels. An open-door policy to discuss anxiety, working hours and unfair expectations is critical.

Training your management team in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) can help them recognize the benefits of a healthy mental state. Training in mindfulness and general stress coping techniques can help build a resilient workforce. And then, there are those extremely progressive companies that allow mental sick leave when employees are feeling burnt out.

7. Creating a Quality Employee Experience

It’s not uncommon to find high staff turnover in fast-paced companies. Even though you might manage to hire the best employees, keeping them around becomes the next obstacle. Therefore, one of the greatest human resource challenges we see today.

When your employees are satisfied with their job, workplace and peer/associates, then they’re far less likely to consider other employers. We’re talking about a modern concept of employee experience. So, focus on creating an employee experience that’s a notch above the competition. You can do this by offering higher wages and/or bonuses, engaging online training, gym facilities, flextime, work-from-home arrangements or other incentives. Build a culture that is inspiring, welcoming and encourage your leaders and managers to lead by example.

Face Your Challenges

Understanding the corporate landscape of the future is the ultimate challenge for HR professionals. As industries and technologies evolve, new generations enter the workforce, and globalization creates increased competition, it will be human resource issues that make or break a company.

 
The millennial workforce is definitely not an easy one to please. With employee retention rate lower than ever before, and the modern worker being completely unafraid to leave a steady job in search of better opportunities and a more appreciative work environment, it’s no wonder that modern entrepreneurs and business leaders are struggling.  

In an extremely competitive job market, managers are having a difficult time finding, attracting, and keeping top talent in the industry from leaving the company for an appealing counter-offer, but that is just a single problem the modern business leader has to face. Here is why it’s important to think outside the box when looking for new team members and how to successfully effectuate the strategy.

Many job descriptions require a combination of concrete knowledge, education, and experience, and a unique set of soft skills that a person either does or does not possess. You might come across a “perfect” candidate based on their resume and education, but if that person doesn’t possess the necessary attributes to interact with others in an effective, harmonious way, then hiring them might not be a wise long-term decision.

Instead, you should consider alternative resumes for the job description and give everyone a chance to showcase their skills and personality traits. You might find that an English major has more interpersonal soft skills than an experienced HR manager applying for the same position, so keep an open mind and let people from various branches apply for the job – you just might find the diamond in the rough you were looking for.