Is
Your
Small
Business’
Human
Resources
Department
Failing
You?
No
one
wants
to
admit
failure,
but
if
you
want
to
see
improvement
in
your
small
business,
you
need
to
take
a
closer
look
at
your
human
resources
department.
While
some
businesses
have
tried
to
cut
costs
by
eliminating
their
human
resource
departments
altogether,
it’s
a
critical
component
to
the
success
of
your
business.
Of
course,
if
you
don’t
want
to
deal
with
having
an
internal
HR
department,
you
can
always
outsource
human
resources
to
a
professional.
As
we
get
closer
to
a
new
year,
now’s
the
time
to
work
on
improving
your
HR
policies
and
procedures.
Start
2015
off
right
with
human
resources
that
produce
the
best
results
with
the
most
cost-­‐effective
solutions
for
your
business.
Here
are
a
few
points
to
consider.
Find
the
Faults
You
cannot
improve
your
human
resources
department
without
finding
out
where
it
is
failing
you.
This
requires
you
to
do
an
in-­‐house
audit
of
your
HR
operations
and
procedures.
Chances
are
that
you’ll
discover
many
areas
that
could
be
improved
with
a
few
adjustments.
A
specialist
can
help.

Improve
Communication
How
does
your
HR
department
communicate
with
employees?
Do
they
send
out
pointless
newsletters
with
boring
content
that
employees
are
unlikely
to
read?
Your
HR
communications
should
be
clear,
regardless
of
how
they’re
delivered.
Make
sure
they’re
interesting
to
read,
but
still
convey
the
vision
and
values
of
the
business.
Align
Your
HR
Department
With
the
Rest
of
the
Company
Yes,
your
human
resources
employees
work
for
you
and
they
are
technically
part
of
the
company,
but
do
they
act
like
it?
When
HR
departments
act
like
their
own
business
entity,
it
automatically
creates
a
rift
between
employees
and
HR.
Your
human
resources
department
should
be
an
active
participant
in
the
company,
employees
should
know
them,
and
approaching
an
HR
staff
member
shouldn’t
be
like
approaching
a
vendor.
Create
a
Budget
For
Support
or
Learning
As
a
small
business
owner,
you
have
a
responsibility
to
monitor
how
your
HR
department
sets
its
budget.
It
should
allocate
funds
for
learning
and
support
programs
that
help
advance
employees
in
their
current
positions.
There
should
also
be
funds
for
continuous
training
for
your
human
resources
staff—such
as
sending
them
to
seminars,
conferences,
and
morale-­‐
boosting
activities.
Also,
paying
for
their
membership
in
a
professional
organization
such
as
SHRM
demonstrates
that
you
care
about
and
value
their
development
in
the
field
of
human
resources
management.
Ask
For
Feedback
Your
human
resources
department
designs
the
policies
and
procedures
that
your
employees
must
follow.
But
how
often
are
those
policies
reviewed
and
how
often
do
they
include
employee
feedback
when
revising
those
same
policies?
HR
should
talk
directly
to
employees
and
help
analyze
the
root
of
any
inefficiencies
in
the
workplace.
Also,
by
discussing
it
with
employees,
you
can
help
pinpoint
specific
policies
and
procedures
that
hinder
employee
performance
and
lead
to
disengagement.
Lead
by
Example
Employees
will
respect
human
resources
a
lot
more
if
they
see
them
doing
what
they
demand
of
employees.
If
HR
isn’t
willing
to
demonstrate
the
same
level
of
commitment,
it
cannot
expect
employees
to
comply
nor
penalize
them
for
not
toeing
the
line.

Embrace
All
Generations
It’s
unlikely
that
your
workforce
is
compromised
of
just
one
generation.
If
your
HR
department
treats
your
employees
all
the
same,
you
won’t
see
favorable
results.
It’s
important
that
HR
recognizes
the
different
generations
of
staff
(e.g.,
Baby
Boomers,
Millennials,
etc.).
Make
separate
goals,
policies
and
procedures,
and
even
ways
to
manage
those
team
members
so
that
everyone
experiences
job
satisfaction.
An
inefficient
human
resources
department
is
a
common
cause
of
employee
turnover.
It
is
responsible
for
talent
acquisition
and,
more
importantly,
retention.
If
you
are
noticing
high
turnover
rates,
it
may
be
time
to
look
at
your
human
resources
department.
Learn
more
about
how
you
can
prevent
costly
turnover
and
improve
your
HR
department
by
ordering
your
copy
of
Practical
Tools
to
Manage
Costly
Employee
Turnover
today.
Visit
www.MJMS.net.