Five most common mistakes companies make with their HR strategies.

Hiring the right people and maintaining top talent is one of the toughest jobs companies have to do. But having the right people on board is something that can make or break a business.

That’s why a company should invest in HR and develop strategies that can help hire the top talent.

Technologies related to HR can seriously help there. But, no matter how big and successful a company is, some mistakes are a common thread among all of them.

Even with limited resources, the importance of good HR for any business – especially small business – cannot be overstated. However, there is no training for this.

But approaching HR as a serious matter from the get-go is crucial for success. It can reduce the number of issues in the future and the severity of those issues. You need to develop processes and policies immediately, adaptable enough to work for years and years to come. In order to understand what you need to change, you should understand the mistakes first. Learn from them and grow from them.

Here are some of those mistakes:

1. Hiring wrong people

Scouting for top talent is a serious matter. Just hiring anyone who seems skilled enough isn’t really enough. You need to find an employee that has knowledge, skills and motivation to work and improve in the industry. So, the hiring process is never to be rushed.

For instance, an employee should have the right mentality and fit into the corporate culture. He should also have the right personal skills in order to work with a team and so on. All of this results in fewer issues in the future.

When you hire a wrong individual, you expose yourself to issues with them and with the rest of the team. The newcomer, if he is not a good fit for the company, might be bad for overall productivity, he might cause disagreements or simply discontent with the rest of the team. It could potentially cost you a lot of money and time to deal with these issues and fix them.

2. Failing to build a strong culture

The strongest companies in the world have their strong and identifiable cultures to thank. But these don’t develop over time and as the company grows. They’re there right from the start, otherwise you might fail. They’re created by the business owners and demonstrated through specific decisions.

They’re important even in small companies. The right way to build the company culture is to choose the right policies and processes which are aligned with the culture that you want to build. Your team’s interaction with the staff members also represents your company culture.

Another way to build a great company culture is to launch an internal content hub that will help your employees to keep up with the company news and share key insights with their colleagues. Also, invite them to create their own posts that they can share internally. That way you show them that their expertise and thoughts are valued.

“The corporate culture should always be in your mind, no matter what you are dealing with. It’s a crucial part of your company and it should be involved in every action you take”, suggests HR consultant Farah Ford from Big Assignments and Academized.

3. Not onboarding newcomers

The onboarding process is one of the most important things when it comes to recruitment. This is a process that will help you immerse your employees in your company culture and allow them to understand your mission, vision and goals. You can also test their experience and knowledge on practical examples from your company.

4. Not supporting employee’s personal brand on social media

As a company, your employees are your biggest resource. They are the most important element of your company. But just like you have your own brand, so do your employees. The best way to motivate them and support them is to support their personal brand on social media. Show how much you care about them, feature them and praise their best work.

5. Not investing in employer branding

“There are companies out there for which everyone wants to work with without actually knowing them or the type of business they do. Think Google or similar. How do they do it? Your answer is employee branding. Every interaction you have with people inside and outside of your company leads to employer branding. This means that you need to make sure that every experience people have with your company is incredible. Even if they don’t get hired, candidates should walk out feeling content and happy,” says Rachel Martin, HR manager of Paper Fellows and OXEssays.

Mistakes are easy to make. However, there are ways to avoid making these mistakes and saving your time and money. Hopefully, this list will help you with that.

Chloe Bennet works as an HR analyst for Custom Paper Writing Service and Essayroo in San Diego. Chloe helps recruiting new talent, writes corporate newsletters and improves onboarding. She is also a content manager at Essay Writing Service website.

This article appeared in the May 2019 issue of HR Future magazine.