What does not kill you makes you stronger!' What are the biggest challenges of working in HR in 2020 and 2021?
Highlights:
📌 Read the article to the end to find out what nightmares HR managers see at night.
HR specialist is a trendy profession nowadays. According to IJARAFMS, anemployee’s level of performance 79% depends on the HR department and their work.
Consequently, the selection and development of personnel should be carried out by professionals. About half of the company's success depends on the effective work of the HR department.
The functional duties of an HR manager are not limited to the search and selection of new employees.
Creating a real team, developing practical development principles, and improving existing personnel's skills – an effective HR manager should do all this. Quick and comfortable integration of a new employee into the existing team is also his concern.
The HR manager almost becomes the company's superhero. But every superhero has his own fears. Let's take a closer look at them.
We conducted our own research 👀 We interviewed several HR experts from different countries about what difficulties they usually face during their work. So read the article to the end to find all their answers.
1 Fear – Staff separation
Not every HR specialist is ready to say with a confident voice: "You're not right for us." Someone prepares for a long time to tell the person that the company can no longer continue to work with him.
Firing can lead to even more unpleasant consequences than discomfort in a psychological sense. There were cases when dismissed employees filed a lawsuit against HR because HR managers did not consider their potential and employees were fired.
Mitali Ghosh, a Senior HR Business Partner at HCL America, with 10+ years of experience in HR says, "I definitely do like challenges and believe that you cannot really enjoy your work unless there is a fair amount of challenge in it. Some of the challenges in recent times for me have been:
- Managing a diverse and remote workforce – We were all forced to take this head-on this year due to the pandemic situation across the globe. Strategies for engaging your remote workforce have definitely been a challenge this year for most HR managers.
- Rewards and recognition that cater to all – In today’s diverse workforce, definitely what motivates one person doesn’t motivate the other. So finding an R&R platform that is flexible enough and can cater to all is a challenge.
- Retaining top talent and pruning your organization off underperformers is a challenge as well due to the competitive labor market. "
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2 Fear – Deadlines
Most HR managers, like other specialists, are afraid of not finishing the project on time. Even though the number of job seekers has grown significantly due to the crisis, it is not easy to find the right specialist.
Salary expectations increasingly exceed the capabilities and offerings of companies. People grab onto any job without the skills needed. This makes the work of the HR department very difficult.
3 Fear – Not the right person
A major risk for an HR department is hiring the wrong candidate. Today, when there are many specialists in the labor market, HR managers increasingly ask why they were fired from their previous jobs?
In some cases, people lost their jobs, as the organization ceased to exist due to the crisis, or it was sold, and the new leaders completely renewed the staff. In other cases, an employee could be laid off for poor personal performance. It can be challenging to understand the real reason for dismissal.
An Enrollment manager/Human Resources at Brightside Academy Mohamed Eldin tells, "There have been many difficulties in recent times, such as the constant changes in a company's rules and regulations. Something that is extremely important is to make sure one stays compliant with state and federal laws.
Technology has been a strong point in terms of having to make sure you are up to date with the newest forms of technology and being able to adapt. Benefits have been a bit of a challenge because of the high amount of health insurance premiums."
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4 Fear – Interviews
Today, candidates are paying more attention to interview preparation than before. Some turn to specialists for help in the correct preparation of answers. Others undergo special training or simply have experience. Those who have attended more than ten interviews know the questions and answers very well.
During an interview, it cannot be very easy for HR managers to distinguish a good specialist from a person who is simply well prepared for the interview. An effective presentation is increasingly beginning to be on the alert, and avoiding answering about the weaknesses can even become a reason for the refusal.
An HR professional with more than 30 years of experience along the employee life/work circle Petra Ehrlicher tells, "One of the greatest challenges is to gain appreciation and acceptance for HR among the management.
HR must be perceived as valuable and effective and create the transformation from a shared service center to a member of the management. I tried and tried and tried and the key is communication."
An HR manager of Inabia Solutions & consulting Inc. Pooja Motiramani says, "The biggest challenge of working as an HR is that there are varieties of problems and queries from various employees. So it’s essential to be aware and be updated with all the latest rules and regulations to be able to help them out."
Regardless of the industry, each specialist, sooner or later, faces a number of difficulties. This is a natural process and is part of your experience. There is no single solution to a particular problem, but the more a person develops and faces various challenges, the more he will grow professionally.
Angelina Jolie once said, "I do believe in the old saying, 'What does not kill you makes you stronger.' Our experiences, good and bad, make us who we are. By overcoming difficulties, we gain strength and maturity."
Learn more about LMS 2.0, The Future of Employee training and onboarding.