What Does HR Do All Day?

Summary

In this video, Janika clarifies the misconceptions about HR's daily responsibilities, emphasizing that HR is much more than just handling terminations and layoffs. She outlines HR's crucial roles, including ensuring compliance with regulations, resolving employee conflicts, managing payroll, overseeing training, enforcing fair disciplinary actions, engaging in talent management, analyzing workforce data, and facilitating effective onboarding. Janika also stresses the importance of HR as a strategic partner, communicating the organization's goals to employees and fostering a culture of engagement and ethics.

Takeaways

• 👩‍💼 HR's daily responsibilities include handling compliance issues, resolving conflicts, and addressing employee complaints to ensure the company adheres to rules and regulations.
• 🔍 HR investigates complaints diligently to maintain compliance, covering a range of issues from safety and harassment to performance-related concerns.
• 📈 HR is involved in recruiting, dealing with candidate no-shows and dropouts, and ensuring a smooth hiring process.
• 💼 HR manages payroll, ensuring timesheets are approved and payroll is processed on time, whether in-house or through an outsourcing company.
• 🏢 HR oversees employee training, ensuring compliance with state, local, and federal requirements, and tracking training completion for reporting purposes.
• 📊 Training completion can be tied to performance metrics, potentially influencing merit increases or other incentives within the organization.
• ⚖️ HR is responsible for fair disciplinary actions, conducting due diligence and investigations to ensure legitimate reasons for any penalties or terminations.
• 🤝 Talent management is a key focus for HR, ensuring employees have the resources and engagement needed to excel in their roles and understand their impact on the organization.
• 📊 HR performs analytics, analyzing data such as benefit participation, candidate drop-off rates, and employee retention to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• 📚 Onboarding is crucial for HR, ensuring new hires have all necessary paperwork, training, and documentation to successfully transition into their roles.
• 🔭 HR acts as a strategic partner, communicating the organization's goals and big picture to employees in a strategic and eloquent manner.

Q & A

What is the common misconception about HR's daily activities?

The common misconception is that HR only interacts with staff during terminations or mass layoffs, and their daily activities are not well understood by employees.

Why is it important for HR staff to be familiar with compliance and regulations?

HR staff need to be familiar with compliance and regulations to ensure the company stays in compliance with safety, harassment claims, and performance-related issues, among other things.

What types of issues does HR deal with on a daily basis?

HR deals with a range of issues including resolving conflicts, investigating employee complaints, managing recruiting matters, and ensuring payroll compliance.

How does HR ensure that employees are properly compensated and taxed?

HR ensures proper compensation and taxation by overseeing timesheet approvals, payroll submissions, and working with outsourcing companies if necessary.

What role does HR play in employee training and development?

HR is responsible for ensuring employees receive required training, tracking training completion, and sometimes linking training to performance measurements and incentives.

Why is it crucial for HR to handle disciplinary actions fairly?

HR must ensure disciplinary actions are fair and based on legitimate causes to maintain a just work environment and to avoid potential legal issues.

What is the significance of talent management in HR's responsibilities?

Talent management is significant because it involves ensuring employees have the resources and engagement to excel in their roles and understand their impact within the organization.

How does HR use analytics in their daily operations?

HR uses analytics to critically analyze data such as employee participation in benefits programs, candidate drop-off rates, and employee success and retention rates.

What is the purpose of onboarding in the HR process?

Onboarding is crucial for ensuring new hires have all necessary paperwork, training, and documentation to smoothly transition into their roles within the company.

How does HR act as a strategic partner between the executive suite and employees?

HR acts as a strategic partner by understanding the organization's goals, communicating them to staff, and ensuring alignment between company initiatives and employee actions.

What are some challenges HR faces when managers use them for 'dirty work'?

When managers use HR for 'dirty work', it can lead to unfair disciplinary actions, a lack of consistency in treatment of employees, and a potential breakdown in trust and ethical practices within the organization.