Having a good HR strategy and providing a positive environment for your employees are among the key factors when building a healthy organization. Just like a house needs a good foundation to endure the passing of time, a business needs the right employees and a capable HR team to manage them.
Unfortunately, when it comes to HR management, major mistakes are still being made. Not all HR leaders know how to inspire their teams to achieve the best results. Here are the most common pitfalls you should watch out for:
Neglecting Adequate Planning
Most inexperienced recruiters need precise objectives and descriptions for each activity. Startups and small businesses might lack these targets at first, so it’s up to the HR team to develop and apply them correctly. One of the key features recruiters tend to ignore when first making plans is the emphasis of external factors on the company’s activities. Lack of quality standards is also an issue the HR department needs to address before hiring. A little research and analysis can help the HR department establish a good basis for numerous activities.
Hiring People with Similar Backgrounds
Another mistake inexperienced recruiters often make is hiring in their own image or simply hiring people with similar backgrounds. Candidates might have gone to the same schools or have similar work experiences, but they are still unique and special in their own way. Similarities are sometimes blind spots that can hide both skills and problems, making it harder for recruiters to choose the right people for the right jobs. Numerous professionals recommend conducting interviews with an open mind, thoroughness, and accuracy.
Being Overly Chatty
While hiring, recruiters tend to focus more on providing candidates with information and details about the company, than listening to what they have to say. The same can be said about training. However, most HR pros already know this is a big mistake, with numerous costs. Being overly chatty with a prospective employee doesn’t just mean that you are wasting time and effort; it can also lead to the development of an overly social work environment. Talking too much in the office is a sure way to diminish productivity, so make sure you don’t encourage this.
Lacking Leadership Training
Leadership training is essential for managers, and recruiters make no exception to this rule. While HR managers seldom make big decisions outside their departments, they are the ones responsible for one of the most important resources a company can have—its employees. Rigid management, with HR managers strictly imposing the rules, is one of the most common mistakes out there. With millennials expected to form 75% of the workforce by 2030, recruiters and managers everywhere may need to up their skills in leadership.
Providing the Wrong Example
Recruiters often expect candidates to be on time, properly dressed, and well prepared for their hiring interviews. But they often forget that it is equally important for them to make a good first impression to prospective employees. After all, an interview is not a monologue on a stage, but a discussion between peers. Recruiters should keep in mind that the way in which they conduct interviews is vital for the company’s future success.
Ignoring Future Opportunities
It’s not always easy for recruiters to see beyond the present and imagine a better future for their company. But they should remember that candidates look for new jobs that can provide them with opportunities for growth and development. If a company fails to provide them with these chances over and over again, employees will eventually look for work elsewhere. That is precisely why recruiters have to make sure that not only are candidates presented with good opportunities from the start, but those promises are kept.
Failing to Conduct Exit Interviews
HR managers everywhere focus on conducting flawless interviews as part of the hiring process, while often completely ignoring exit interviews altogether. However, HR pros know that it is just as important to find out what drives employees out the door as it is to discover what makes them accept the job in the first place. Conducting exit interviews is a key factor in staff management because it gives companies the chance to learn from past mistakes while developing a better work environment for the future.
