Hi. I am the owner of a growing start-up in Cairo. Our small company has been growing consistently over the past few years, and we’ve decided that now is the right time to add a full HR team to our company structure. Before beginning the interview process, what do I need to know about effective HR professionals and teams, so that I can ensure that the professionals I hire are high performers? Thanks, Mostafa B.
Hi Mostafa. An HR team will bring a lot of added value to your company. Not only will they take over the entire recruitment, on-boarding and training processes, but they can also be employees’ advocates, as well as brand ambassadors, to ensure an all-around happy workforce and successful business. Here are four of the most important elements that Bayt.com recommends every HR team to adopt in order to succeed:
1. Mission
Every successful company has a precise and compelling mission statement. In line with that, every successful HR team must have one too. For your HR team to be as effective as possible, its mission must be specified prior to building the team and it must also be aligned with the company’s mission and values. All efforts and strategies of the HR team must, to a great extent, be supportive of your overall business goals and work towards achieving them. HR practices are not cut-and-dry, and to reach success, the newly added HR team needs to mold its goals according to the company’s unique needs.
2. Strategy
Every HR team needs to build a clear and comprehensive strategy for all aspects of the job, such as a strategy for hiring top talent, a strategy for employee engagement and motivation, another for talent retention and so on. These strategies are built according to the team’s mission, and the company’s requirements, and can be amended with growth, experience, and new trends in the workplace. Playing these HR activities by ear will not work. It is not effective, it is not efficient, and it certainly is not professional.
3. Automation
HR professionals have many hats to wear and many duties to fulfill, from recruitment and on-boarding, to administrative responsibilities and payroll coordination. There is simply no time to manually organize and track all of these different functions in today’s rapid work environment. This is why it is essential for an effective HR team to streamline their workflow by using automated platforms and charts, such as this free recruitment tracker smart sheet from Bayt.com, specialized HR software, applicant tracking systems, online payroll and attendance tracking resources, and many other HRM systems that take away the time-consuming redundant tasks, allowing the HR team to utilize their valuable time more efficiently and devote it to the more crucial matters.
4. Learning and implementation
Just like any other position, continuous learning is fundamental. New HR trends develop daily, and employees’ needs change depending on their age, positions, experience, and industry. HR teams may indeed be in charge of training other team members at the company, but this does not mean that they themselves don’t need to be trained as well. So when you are hiring, look for HR professionals who are committed to personal excellence and for whom learning continuously is a way of life. Enable professional development opportunities that are specialized for HR. Always encourage them to attend seminars, read more resources and research reports, keep up with the market and hiring trends to always be one step ahead of the industry and ready for any upcoming changes.
However, you must keep in mind that simply providing learning opportunities for your HR team will not suffice. What is the use of all that learning if none of it is ever applied? Always make sure your tools and your strategies are up-to-date with the current direction of market trends and changes and that your HR teams have the capability of applying what they learn and develop for the success of your team and your company.
