by Flex HR

The Top 5 Most Demanding HR Functions

The Top 5 Most Demanding HR Functions Illustration GraphicHR is Simple, Right?
Unfortunately, no. The capacity of today’s Human Resources department is anything but simple. Over the last fifty years, the body of knowledge that is Human Resources has exploded – technical content has proliferated and best practices have evolved as the workplace and employees have progressed. Today’s workforce is often global in scope and contains contingent and international workers, but even if your company is a local small business, HR is very different today than when America first landed on the moon.

 

The top 5 new and broadening demands made on HR in today’s work environment include:

1. Knowing the laws that impact employment:

  • HR laws are constantly changing, so it’s important for organizations to stay current on the most up-to-date rules and regulations to maintain compliance and decrease their risk. There are several areas to be knowledgeable about:
  • Pre-hire do’s and don’ts
  • Engagement/hiring do’s and don’ts
  • Best practice day-to-day HR administration
  • Day-to-day legal compliance across the alphabet soup of federal and state laws. Note: These laws are detailed; constantly changing, and worse of all they may differ in many cases from state to state.
  • Termination practices that prevent and defend against legal complications

2. Participating in the best practices employee relations and employee development practices

Unfortunately, only about a third of all workers are passionately engaged in the success of their employers. The other remaining balance are working for a paycheck or worse, accepting a paycheck while actively sabotaging their employer.

  • Organizations with strong HR departments that have periodical performance reviews with their staff make a real difference.
  • Companies that select and develop great supervisors acquire the best results and achieve the highest levels of employee satisfaction and engagement.
    – Organizations and the work environments are rapidly evolving. The winners will be proactive in driving their business structure and employee choices and development based on market demands. Companies that do not have a plan for the future will be delegated to remembering their past glories as they will not succeed in the future.

3. Remaining agile and being able to change quickly and effectively to match changing conditions

  • The right person in the right job position is the winning formula.
  • People who know how to deliver results today, and are willing and able to evolve based on changing conditions.
  • Businesses that are structured based on the markets they serve and the resources they require.
  • Organizations that are always evaluating and upgrading their people through effective selection, training, and mentoring programs.

4. Selective outsourcing of work

Many HR skill sets in today’s fast changing environment are critically needed today; however, these may not be needed at all a year from now. Non-core work is therefore outsourced to outside organizations (such an janitorial and construction work). Thorough utilization of contractors and contingent employees is central to agility. HR professional’s must advise management on these issues and skillfully execute a corporate staffing strategy.

5. Pay and benefits

The Pay and benefits burden for most companies is well over half of their total cost structure. The HR expertise in these areas differs greatly by organizational level (non-exempt, exempt, and executive). Getting the compensation and benefits equation wrong will cost the organization greatly; therefore this must be done correctly to drive performance and agility.

The bottom-line is that the field of Human Resources is immensely more complicated today than fifty years ago. Only the most seasoned HR experts are truly prepared to assess and direct the HR function within various businesses.

To assist in these critical areas of HR, Flex HR, Inc. is a leading HR Consulting and HR Outsourcing company with in-depth expertise in all areas of HR. Our model supports every business need and wants that exist, and in the most cost effective configuration possible. According to the Fiscal Times, nearly 85% of all organizations outsource at least some of their HR tasks, which is why we pride ourselves on our flexibility, reliability and affordability. We supplement existing HR departments or even become the HR department. Below is a pictorial of the Flex HR Services Wheel, which showcases all of our many services we support. We view HR as a continuum of services each relying on the effective presence of the other for best results.

HR outsourcing and consulting solutions chart