The best HR practices lead to higher business performance ensuring maximum employee satisfaction and smooth collaboration.

Over the years, many HR practices are tried and tested around some basic principles that convert Humans into Resources. But the Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we used to live and work. Even after the crisis ends, it may permanently alter the way people work. This is the time when HR departments also need to update their policies for a post-COVID world.

In this article, we outline the top 10 best HR practices so you can easily determine the areas your HR team should focus on in 2023 and beyond. Also, you’ll get some real-life examples of the top brands who put their best efforts into human resources.

What is the definition of hr best practices?

It is a set of HR activities and principles that work universally to reach a competitive goal, regardless of the organizational type or industry.

Employees are the most valuable resource for a company, a resource that should be perfectly managed and supported. This responsibility mostly goes to the HR department that they carried practicing effective HR policies.

Employees are a company’s greatest asset – they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel they are an integral part of a company’s mission.

Anne Mulcahy, BusinessWire

Though every company has its unique needs, there are some basic HR practices and principles. These guidelines should be followed by every good business to ensure their growth. Fundamentally, it is essential to define basic HR aims that revolve around the ultimate goal of the company. So that you can easily build strategic human resource management.

What are the “Best fit” and “Best practices” in HRM?

According to HRM research, there are two different approaches to managing people within a company.

• The best-fit approach implies that human resource policies should align with business strategy to make it profitable. This means HR should focus on the company’s requirements as well as its employees.
• The best practice approach claims that a certain bundle of universal HR activities exists that supports companies in reaching a competitive advantage regardless of the organizational setting or industry (Redman & Wilkinson, 2009).

In simple words, the best fit is a contingency approach while best practice is a universal approach. The first one is based on the premise that picking the most effective HR policies. Whereas practices depend on matching them appropriately to the organization’s environment.

Often companies prefer a mixed model of best fit and best practice as in reality success lies in between and both have drawbacks as well.

Top 10 HR best practices to follow

We know how the coronavirus pandemic has transformed businesses and workplace culture. Perhaps, employees’ expectations also changed in many ways. The HR best practices of 2023 must reflect these changes into its principles.

Below, we’ve listed top HR Best Practices you should follow to serve the employees of the future.

1. Establish a friendly workplace

Make sure the employees are comfortable at their work as they might spend most of the productive time in the work premises. Concentrate on their emotional and health safety issues. They should feel that there is someone to listen to their problems and work on them for improvement.

Especially, this year people are going through a tough time. As an administrative person, it’s your duty to calm down your fellow team members with powerful actions. Creating meaningful relationships will minimize their stress and anxiety. This leads to making them productive again.

You may conduct one-on-one routine check-in conversations. So, people can get the chance to open up themselves. Even so, leaders can scan for signs of distress. Monthly or quarterly meet up or surveys might be proven effective too.

2. No hide and seek

In these uncertain times, employees are in a dilemma with their future. Transparency is essential to comfort their anxiety and give them confidence. Employers can help with that by sharing regular updates of the company along with the future plan. Remember, it leaves a lasting impression on a company’s corporate culture how leaders behave in tough times.

Also, do not hesitate to share client contact and other relevant business information with the team. It builds a trustworthy relationship and emphasizes the mental ownership of employees to their work. As a result, they become devoted to achieving the company goal as management.

3. Provide job security

COVID-19 pandemic is impacting business and economy, globally. There is a wide range of stressors that we are all challenged by to varying degrees. Probably the biggest one is job uncertainty. 

Employment security is a kind of assurance in uncertainty that gives reason for employees to work for the company. This security contains two-part where formal contains payment for work. On the other hand, the informal part contains facilities like incentives, bonuses, leave fair assistance, etc.

Job security helps in employee retention which also reduces costs involved in training, education, and establishment. Most of the HR has a sole concern on this. Because whenever employment security is compromised, employees start moving too fast. It endangers the company’s stability and affects the growth rate.

4. Recruit the best suit

Recruitment is a door to entering the HR best practices. The company cannot succeed without the best recruitment.

HR can recruit any match but the best suit can add value to the goal accomplishment. Statistics show that a perfect match is about 400% more efficient than an average match employee. Industries to industries or business to business the percentage may vary but the facts are the same.

Out there, HR follows thousands of structured and non-structured techniques to find the best match. However, there are a few common elements HR looks at ability, dedication, skill set, commitment, teamwork, and non-defeated mentality.

5. Establish a high performing and self-motivated team

Team works are the key to success while team players are the metal. The high-performance team is always successful as teammates contribute differently to achieve a common goal. This contribution contains new sets of ideas, executions, and hard works.

A self-motivated team is psychologically strong and effective in decision-making. Therefore, situations improve which overcomes fences.

In such teams, information is flawless and executions are outstanding. Team meetings also end up with fruitful discussions and directions for future activities. Various project management software, feedback mechanisms, and instant communication apps are very helpful for team management.

6. Fair evaluation policy

A fair evaluation system works as a great factor to assure job satisfaction. Based on the performance the fair assessment reduces the dissatisfaction and makes people loyal to the companies instead of a boss.

In addition, the fair evaluation can be a salary increment or employment benefit (position upgrade or additional facility). Also, it can be a team or individual level based on their performance and contribution towards the goal achievement. These incentives, position upgrades, bonuses, facilities, etc. influence to build ownership among the employees.

7. Create effective training programs

HR always uses Training as one of very few effective manpower development tools. HR should plan various layers of training which may include introductory, job-specific, on-job, and refresher training.

Introductory training is mostly conducted for fresher or newly recruited employees to select the best suit. Job-specific training start once HR identifies the best suit. This part is most relevant to what to do and how to do it, which aligns with the company goal. Besides, HR can arrange on-job training to introduce new trends and techniques.

Refresher training is something that reminds of all the forgotten elements. Usually, HR arranges refresher training for employees who did repeated mistakes or join the office after a long vacation. If you are thinking to get back your workforce in the physical office again, refresher training can be effective to make them relaxed.

8. Accessibility to relevant information

Without getting the big picture, the ownership does not grow. Relevant information accessibility helps your employee to streamline the workflow with the company’s core objective. Also, it enhances their loyalty toward the organization.

That’s why HR should ensure a flawless information transfer from the senior management to the relevant parties. In that case, any automated system can help you to limit employee access based on their user role.

9. 360 degree effective discussion

An idea can conquer the world. Regardless of the position, an employee can generate something out of the box. Dynamic HR systems always create a mechanism that welcomes ideas from the employee.

Research evidence that cost minimization best ideas is generated from field-level employees who know best about the wastages.

It may surprise you, great organizations initiate reward systems monthly or quarterly basis for the recognition of ideas through financial benefits and/or certifications. This motivates employees to think and contribute towards the goal achievement.

10. Delight employees with surprises

Human loves surprises. Tiny surprises sometimes boost up output even 100 folds. Considering this fact, great HR always does something innovative to apprise its employees. It may include wishing birthdays, anniversaries, or special moments. In fact, it could be an appraisal for his/her outstanding performance too. These activities are important to show your gratitude to your staff.

Nowadays, HR arranges small to large events to celebrate employees’ special moments arranging cards, cakes, and gift vouchers, etc. Also, you can amaze all your employees together on BIG days like Christmas and New Year. Moreover, making families a part of such celebrations can enhance employees’ satisfaction and engagement with the business.

Special Note: In digitalized organizations, HR modules are an effective tool for reminding these events and measuring employees’ performance.

How are HR best practices shifting?

Over the last year, we have seen a spike in depression, anxiety, PTSD, and domestic violence. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows 45% of American adults say the pandemic has affected their mental health, and 19% claimed it has had a “major impact”.

The mental health provider Ginger conducted a survey on worldwide employees and they found – 69% of employees had the most stressful time of their career due to coronavirus, and 88% had experienced moderate to extreme stress over the past four to six weeks.

Everyone is in trouble this time so are your employees. And there is no sign of slowing down the crisis. Moreover, it is supposed to leave a long-term impact on our society. Every business should rethink its operations in the context of these facts. Business owners or leaders are more likely to reshape their work culture in terms of boosting their morale.

You may also like to read: How To Manage Remote Teams With WordPress.

Introductory training is mostly conducted for fresher or newly recruited employees to select the best suit. Job-specific training start once HR identifies the best suit. This part is most relevant to what to do and how to do it, which aligns with the company goal. Supporting job-specific training with augmented reality training solutions can help lessen training time and costs as well as effectively combine learning with work.

Bonus: companies with the best HR practice

Here we take a closer look at some top companies with the best HR strategy:

Google

Google is the world’s most popular search engine, located in Mountain View, CA, USA. As per their philosophy, to hire the best talent they must focus on building a great working culture. The company includes effective HR policies to build a strong workplace culture.

Google provides amazing facilities to its employees including a seven-acre sports complex, three wellness centers, indoor roller hockey rinks, horseshoe pits, and subsidized massages for all. Their main motto is to onboard the best talent, then gradually develop happier and more productive employees using the right tools.

The HR department of Google also emphasizes employee retention. They ensure proper incentives and optimal positions so the company gets and retain top talents. Utilizing these HR efforts, Google’s leadership is ruling the industry.

Cadbury

Cadbury is the world’s second-largest confectionery. But if it comes to people management, no one can beat Cadbury. This company has established a culture that combines positivity and balance, among work and life. They not only value their employees but also take care of their families.

Cadbury has maintained its worker village and R&D factories since it was established in 1824. The village provides all the facilities to its staff and their families to live and work. They started this company with the belief that making people a priority. And still, stick to that philosophy which always keeps them ahead in people management.

Nissan

Nissan is another great example of effective HR. This company has blended the most recognized manufacturing techniques of the Japanese with British productivity. The technique is called kaizen. It encourages the workforce to continually improve their working process. Nissan follows this philosophy while hiring any production worker. Firstly, each employee is hired based on their talent and then encouraged to push the boundaries. So they can shine above the rest.

The HR practices at Nissan also include transparent salary scales and all the workers are well-paid. Also, leaders have the full flexibility to appoint and build their own teams. So, he gets a clear understanding and strong grip over his team’s skillset and lackings as well. With these unique HR principles, Nissan leads the way in the automobile industry.

Find out how WP Project Manager can help you to establish the best HR strategy inside your business.

Make your HR management practice easier with the right tool

Studies on human resource management (HRM) have been an area of interest for researchers for several decades. From developed countries to developing countries, people have realized that HR practices have a significant impact on organizational performance. You must manage and direct your company culture to ensure the highest level of productivity.

However, only employee recruitment and retention are not enough for the modern workplace. It’s required to invest more effort in cultivating a healthy relationship between the employee and employer. To manage all that effectively and more, as an HR manager of your company, you might require assistance from a complete HR management tool like WP ERP HRM.

Do you have any questions about which HR best practices will be beneficial for your business? Let us know in the comments section below!