Deadly HR Mistakes that you Need to Avoid

A key driver of success in any business is its people, and the responsibility of attracting and retaining those people is on the Human Resources Department. HR mistakes can cost you a lot and the expenses associated with finding or replacing the best candidates are relatively high, that’s why you need to build a team of professionals who can take care of your HR processes in an efficient way. You also need to keep a sharp lookout for the below HR mistakes in order to protect your brand.

Mistake 1: Vague Job Descriptions and Hasty Hiring

The most important step in the hiring process is the initial step which is writing and posting a clear and well-defined job description. A poorly written and vague job description will most likely result in attracting irrelevant applicants, which can push you to hire candidates that don’t fit the role or the company. This will consequently result in lower retention rates and high turnover.

Mistake 2: Absence of Goal-Based Performance

A common HR mistake is a performance process that is not based on clearly defined goals and objectives. Setting clearly defined individual goals will help you divide your organizational goals into smaller chunks that are then assigned for each one of your employees. Cleary defined goals and objectives will help your employees monitor themselves throughout the year and as a result they can alter their efforts accordingly. This provides your people with clarity about what success looks like and an accurate direction for how to get there.

Mistake 3: Over-Confidentiality

Building a healthy relationship with employees should be a top priority for the HR departments, and one of the top mistakes that can destroy this kind of relationship is over-confidentiality and not being honest and transparent with employees. Employees should have access to their leaves and vacations records, salary data, attendance records, and performance process details in order to feel reassured that management decisions are based on actual data. Having an HRMS in place like ZenHR can help with that!

Mistake 4: Failing to Align HR Goals with Company Goals

Another fatal HR mistake is being isolated from the company and its goals. HR goals should not revolve only around hiring candidates for vacant positions, they must be aligned with the company’s goals, and the specific actions that are needed to achieve each departmental.

Mistake 5: Lack of Data Analytics

It’s a fact that HR is a people-driven department and not so much about data and numbers; however, in today’s world of big data and analytics, HR data is more valuable than ever. When it comes to major HR decisions such as recruitment decisions, salary scales, promotions and raises, etc., you should never rely on your gut feeling. Every decision should be based on hard numbers and analytics. HR nowadays should be able to obtain data and turn this data into rich insights that can help in making better HR decisions that affect the overall wellbeing of the organization.

Mistake 6: Technology Phobia

Many HR people are still ignoring the fact that technology can empower HR operations and that automation in many HR related areas is highly needed in order to ensure timely, accurate, and quality information flow. HR people in all industries and sectors should not shy away from adopting technology as it will help streamline their mundane tasks and allows them to focus on what really matters and that is “their people”.