Set your company up for success with a strong HR department

The Human Resources department at any company wears a lot of hats — its representatives are responsible for creating company policy regarding hiring, helping the company avoid expensive discrimination lawsuits, and saving the company money by making sure employees are hired for jobs they are qualified for and are able to retain for the long run. Unfortunately, human resources is not often considered to be as important as the sales, marketing or manufacturing divisions, but setting up a strong HR department can save your business a lot of wasted time and money. HR is a valuable asset to any company. Hiring If your company lacks a recruiting department, finding new employees to fill job vacancies typically falls to human resources. This can include announcing job openings, handling incoming job applications, recruiting potential candidates, and searching out the best talent available for any given position. Not to mention their role in interviewing and negotiating offers! HR representatives are also in charge of making sure the company has a good hiring policy in place that doesn’t allow for any type of discrimination that could get the company sued by an individual or the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. That can include avoiding discrimination on the basis of age, race, gender, ethnicity and, in some cities and states, criminal history, among other things. Because a lawsuit can easily cost a company more than $500,000, having rock-solid hiring policies can save your business hundreds of thousands of dollars. Human resources must also ensure the company hires the best possible candidate for any role, not only so the company gets the best possible worker for each job, but also to ensure high job retention. Retention Once you’ve successfully hired a new candidate, it’s the company’s job to hang onto that person. It is not uncommon for individuals to look for new jobs every two to five years, but it is in the company’s best interest to retain each candidate for as long as possible; this cuts down on the costs of repeatedly needing to hire and train new employees, as well as the costs of paying existing employees significant overtime if jobs go unfilled. However, in order to retain employees, the company will need to invest in individuals. This means things like training programs to help them do their jobs better and expand their knowledge of their field, and wellness programs to help keep employees healthy and stress-free to reduce healthcare costs. By putting your human resources department to good use, you can save money in the long run and ensure that your employees have a good, healthy work environment that they are happy to come to every day. photo credit: SalFalko via photopin cc]]>