10 Ways To Improve HR Performance

It is essential for all businesses, large and small, to acknowledge the value of HR to their business. This article looks at 10 ways to improve HR performance to boost efficiency and productivity throughout the workplace. People are at the centre of your organisation’s success and therefore, they should be your prime investment. We believe creating value and investing in your employees is as fundamental as looking after your customers. HR has a vital role to play in this by curating a strong company culture and ensuring workers are given opportunities to flourish by adopting a Agile HR Operating Model.

But beyond basic admin and employee paperwork, do you really know how to make the most of your HR department?

10 ways to improve HR performance

Standardised Workflows to Elevate HR Performance

One of the key factors in improving HR performance is the implementation of clear and standardised workflows. A well-defined HR workflow ensures that critical processes such as recruitment, onboarding, employee development, and performance reviews are handled consistently and efficiently. By setting up Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), HR departments can improve communication, minimise errors, and foster a culture of accountability.

Key HR Workflow Areas:

1. Recruitment and Onboarding: Automating job postings, application tracking, and onboarding ensures a smooth and consistent experience for new hires, reducing time to productivity.

2. Performance Reviews: Structured performance review workflows help ensure timely and objective evaluations, promoting fairness and transparency.

3. Employee Development: Establish a clear process for tracking employee progress and delivering training, ensuring that growth opportunities are well-managed and aligned with organisational goals.

4. Compliance and Documentation: SOPs for maintaining compliance records ensure that the business adheres to legal requirements while reducing the risk of fines or penalties.
   

Action Steps:

• Map out key HR processes and create a step-by-step SOP for each one.

• Incorporate digital tools to automate routine tasks, allowing HR to focus on strategic initiatives.

• Regularly review and refine workflows to adapt to changing business needs and improve efficiency.
  

By implementing workflow management techniques into HR operations, you can reduce bottlenecks, ensure consistency, and ultimately enhance overall performance.

1. Improve your employee recruitment & selection process

Ensuring the recruitment process is managed effectively is one of the first steps you should take to improve your organisation. Employing the wrong people can cost you in both time and money. A bad candidate who fails to fit in with the team can disrupt the company culture and create a loss in productivity.

• Spend time perfecting the job description.

• Promote your company and make it sound like an attractive place to work.

• Don’t just list skills - these can be enhanced with training. Consider hiring candidates based on the attitudes and qualities you value in your staff.

• Use all of the tools available to you to find the best talent, including LinkedIn and networking events.

• Ask for feedback from candidates on your recruitment process and implement their suggestions for improvement.

• Finally, ensure that your recruitment process is fluid and adapts well to changing workplace needs.

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2. Improve communication in the workplace

Effective internal communication is central to all business goals. It avoids confusion, encourages teamwork, allows for collaboration, provides purpose and creates a positive company culture.

However, communication in the workplace is often insufficient. According to Entrepreneur, 46% of employees leave a meeting unsure what they are supposed to be doing next.

The evolution of technology has given us many opportunities to improve communication through email, instant messaging and video chat services but using these tools is only the first step.

Improving communication needs to come from the top – employees need effective and clear briefs that relate back to the business goals. They need to be given the opportunity to provide regular feedback and ask questions.

Alongside clear business communication, employees should be given the opportunity to communicate socially at work too.

3. Invest in employee health & wellbeing

A study by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, in collaboration with BT, found that workers are 13% more productive when they are happy. Professor De Neve, who conducted the survey, found that there is ‘considerable room for improvement in the happiness of employees while they are at work’. There is much more emphasis placed on a good work/life balance today than there was 50 years ago.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on our mental health and wellbeing and employers need to consider ways to help their employees navigate these struggles. It can no longer be seen as a ‘personal issue’ that is entirely separate to work.

Employee Wellness Programmes can be a great way to improve happiness, reduce absenteeism and boost productivity.

4. Offer employee training & development opportunities

In a rapidly changing business environment, ongoing training is key to success. Often companies hire the right candidates and then the nurturing stops there. Five years down the line, that staff member is no further on in their career than when they started and they experience low job satisfaction.

Ongoing training and career opportunities are vital to retaining your staff. Plus, staff with updated skills are confident and more engaged with the company, therefore increasing productivity rates. Ensuring your staff are trained and kept up to date with the latest developments in the sector can ensure you stay ahead of the competition.

5. Ditch the annual appraisal process

Many companies still rely on the outdated annual appraisal to address employees’ strengths and weaknesses. No one looks forward to these arduous meetings that involve lengthy forms and awkwardly formal procedures. Twelve months is a long time in the business world and achievements that happened last year have become irrelevant and mistakes forgotten about.

Ongoing, regular meetings help to focus on objectives, address issues as they arise and ensure achievements don’t go unnoticed.

6. Act on employee feedback

The employee feedback process shouldn’t work one way. We often get caught up in telling our staff what they need to do to improve but we never ask what we need to do to be a better business.

Your staff are in the perfect position to help you improve. Involve your employees in decision making, they have seen first-hand what does and doesn’t work.  Ask them how you could improve company culture and employee satisfaction; what training they need and what processes could be executed better.

7. Recognise and reward employee achievements

Everyone responds well to praise and appreciation both inside and outside of the workplace. Thank you always goes a long way. Putting a reward and recognition scheme in place improves productivity, increases job satisfaction, boosts happiness and creates loyalty.

In a survey by Perkbox of 1,532 UK employees, 42% said receiving greater recognition for their work would make them happier in 2021.

There are a number of ways to recognise staff, this could include social media recognition, awards for meeting core values, end of year awards, colleague thank yous and long service awards. 

8. Develop and share your company’s purpose and passion

Your HR department is perfectly positioned to share the company vision and value with all employees. Firstly, you must identify your organisation’s purpose and ensure everyone in the company is actually aware of it. Are you articulating it clearly? Do they understand how their role contributes to the organisational goals? Regular communication is key in sharing your message.

9. Empower your team and build trust

Business success relies on a whole team of people collaborating and sharing their ideas, success is not due to one single person at the top barking orders. Micromanaging can demoralise your employees, result in frustration and limit their creativity.

You need to listen to your employees, challenge them to think outside the box, implement their ideas and trust them to make decisions.

Being ordered to do something tends to negatively impact on our motivation. However, when we’re included in the decision-making we feel part of the bigger picture and our productivity improves as a result. Empowered employees are more likely to go the extra mile for you.

10. Redefine the employee experience & workplace

COVID-19 has profoundly changed the face of the workplace and encouraged businesses to adopt more flexible approaches to working. Gone are the days of long commutes and 9-5 structured workdays.

Prior to the pandemic, flexible working was still a privilege reserved for the select few, with many still cramming soullessly onto the tube for the morning commute. Flexible working allows for a better work/life balance with increased childcare opportunities, less time wasted travelling and helps prevent employee burnout.

As things begin to return to normal over the next year, it is essential to consider the new face of the workplace. Allowing a blended approach to office and home working could help increase workplace productivity and improve employee wellbeing.

Summary:

Happy, skilled and valued employees boost workplace efficiency, look after your customers and witness increased productivity levels. At Awardaroo, we believe employees should be at the core of your business and therefore Human Resources should be your most valued department. By following these 10 ways to improve your HR performance, you should begin to see increased efficiency, productivity and overall business success.