Challenges are commonplace in every business and job role. While they’re not pleasant to face, they enable people to develop their abilities to solve problems or manage relationships.

The HR team is not exempt from facing day-to-day work challenges, especially since they form the backbone of every organisation and handle employee management on a daily basis.

HR personnel face a variety of hurdles, from managing employee grievances to onboarding new hires and ensuring that company policies or regulations are kept up to date.

Below we highlight 6 of the most common HR challenges in the workplace and how to overcome them.

1. Hiring the right talent for the role

This is the first thing that comes to mind when the topic of human resources is brought up. It’s an essential aspect of the work mainly because the company’s success depends a lot on its people. Hence, it’s important to have the best hiring strategies to attract the right person for the job.

While looking at a candidate’s competency is important, it is not the only factor to consider. It’s essential to consider the bigger picture: cultural fit, employee persona, and career goals.

Solution:

Look at skills, past work experience, and future goals. Is their personality something the team can get along with? Is their past work experience relevant? What about the candidate’s personal goals? Are they in line with the business’s direction and potential progression pathways in the company?

2. Keeping updated with rules and regulations

One of the top priorities for the human resource team is to be in compliance with government rules. However, changes to policies or legislations occur more frequently than we think, which means the HR team needs to regularly monitor and potentially update internal HR policies.

Failure to do so can result in hefty fines and penalties. It may even tarnish the company's reputation, which can affect the company's ability to attract and retain good talent in the future.

Solution:

Make a conscientious effort to stay up to date with the latest regulations, and look for platforms that can help with this. For taxation purposes, Adaptive Pay’s payroll module could be a solution. Complicated calculations involving taxes are automated in the HR software, reducing the likelihood of the HR team making errors in tax computations that could result in fines or penalties.

3. Communicating updates on company policies

Changes are never easy, but they’re needed in every company to thrive and stay with the times.

However, big changes to existing company policies may not be easily accepted by employees. If this happens, it could cause a disruption in team balance, or even slow down new processes that need to be implemented.

It’s the job of the HR team to ensure that any transitions to processes are done smoothly.

Solution:

Be transparent with employees and share the updates in a timely manner with them. Avoid making abrupt changes so employees have ample time to adjust to the new processes or updates. It’d also be useful to share the benefits of changes and how this will help the employees as well.

4. Providing the right training for employees

As previously mentioned, the success of a company relies on the strength of its people. And the best way to boost the strength of any team is to provide adequate training.

This is vital for every company, as it ensures that employees are equipped with the tools, resources and skills to work efficiently and productively.

It’s the role of the HR team to work with leaders or managers to identify the right courses or trainers to upskill each team of employees. Failure to do so could result in extra costs incurred in the form of inefficiencies to workflows and systems.

Solution:

Having a mentorship system can get new hires up to speed with the processes in the company. This also enables the senior mentor to build on their leadership and communication skills.

Moreover, occasional quarterly appraisals can help both the employee and manager understand each other better. For example, Adaptive Pay’s appraisal module has customisable appraisal templates to encourage transparency and flexibility between manager and employees. This way it’s easier to give employees clearer direction and gain insight into their performance.

5. Determining compensation and remuneration

A big element in ensuring that employees feel respected and valued in the organisation is when they feel their salary is an accurate reflection of their skills and time. Being paid the “right amount” is a factor that affects employee morale and motivation.

Solution:

Compensation doesn't always have to be purely monetary. You can give employee perks in the form of health insurance, travel allowances, or even a flexible working schedule.

Adaptive Pay’s modules can help you manage these elements. On the HRMS, you can easily keep track of employee’s claims and leaves as well as payslips, so you have an accurate overview of your employee’s benefits.

6. Employee Retention

It’s difficult enough to attract the right talent, but it’s just as hard to retain a good employee, especially since he or she will likely have many available options from other employers.

Solution:

The onboarding process is the most crucial as this is where you set the tone for your employee’s perception of the company -- and first impressions are often lasting ones!

An effective onboarding process includes having a structured plan, providing a proper job description, ensuring they’re aware of the company rules and regulations, mentor matching, and even regularly providing feedback on their performance.

Say goodbye to wasted time with Adaptive Pay

Retaining employees, working on employee progress, securing correct compensation, and keeping up with policies and regulations are some of HR’s everyday struggles.

If you are experiencing these, that’s okay -- these are normal to have in every workplace. What’s important is that you find ways to address and alleviate these challenges for yourself or your HR team.

Adaptive Pay can be your all-in-one HR solution to eliminate these difficulties, especially in small businesses. By simplifying and digitising certain processes in your workplace, HR makes more efficient use of their time, which in turn saves the company resources and money.

Ready to get started? Contact us for a demo today.