Today’s Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management

Here are the 10 key topics we feel are at the forefront for HR right now:

1. HRIS
2. Talent acquisition
3. Healthcare benefits
4. Recruitment and applicant tracking
5. Retirement benefits
6. Health and wellness
7. Background checks
8. Preemployment and employee testing
9. Recognition, rewards, and incentives
10. Performance appraisals

#1 HRIS

In a 2012 BLR® customer survey (BLR is CER’s parent company), we asked HR professionals who currently use an HRIS in their workplaces which tasks they perform via the HRIS. Data reporting was the top result, with 78 percent of surveyed HRIS users noting that they use their system to generate reports of strategic and demographic employee data.

Unsurprisingly, payroll management was also a top response, with 68 percent of surveyed HRIS users reporting that their system is used to process payroll in their businesses.

Other popular functions of leading HRISs include:

• Benefits management and enrollment
• PTO and leave tracking
• Compliance filings
• Applicant tracking
• Performance management
• Training

#2 Talent Acquisition

What some employers do not know is that the U.S. labor market is only at the beginning of what some human resources (HR) experts are calling the “workforce meltdown”—the clash between a diminishing supply of qualified workers and the explosive increase in need for those workers.

Statistics show that the meltdown is unquestionably coming, and soon. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that:

• Between 2010 and 2020, 70 million Americans will retire, while only 40 million will enter the workforce.
• By 2020, the key age group of employees (aged 25 to 44) will shrink by 3 percent, while those aged 55 to 64 will grow by 73 percent, and those aged 65 and older will grow by 54 percent.
• The aging workforce is a global issue—by 2050, China will have more people over the age of 65 than all of the rest of the world combined.
• By 2010, the predicted labor shortages in the United States will be concentrated in nursing (1 million), math/science/special education teachers (1 million), computer engineers and support (1 million), clinical pathologists (50,000), and auto mechanics (50,000).

Not surprisingly, the resulting competition for highly skilled “knowledge workers” will result in fierce competition in pay, benefits, flexible work arrangements, and workplace amenities.

Employers will need to rethink the workplace environment, nontraditional work arrangements, new recruiting resources, and how to lure employees who have left the workforce back to work.

Hire Efficiently. Hire Effectively. Hire Without Fear.

#3 Healthcare Benefits

There are many ways to take the pulse of your organization and competitors on healthcare benefits. Here are a few ways to start:

• Keep your eyes and ears open.
• Read your organization’s financial reports.
• Talk to your colleagues, both inside your organization and elsewhere.
• Be aware of your organization’s culture and values.

How do your benefits stack up? To attract and keep good employees, you probably need to offer benefits that are at least comparable to those of your competitors. To find out what others offer, chat up your colleagues or join a local employer health coalition or a professional group.

How about the employees? Of course, you need to consider your employees in any insurance plan decisions. It is important to know the insurance plan features that mean the most to them—and one way to find out is by conducting an employee survey.

#4 Recruitment and Applicant Tracking

There are innumerable sources that can be used for locating qualified applicants. When hiring for a particular job, it is important to match the hiring tools to the job being filled.

This chart sets forth some of the benefits and drawbacks of various hiring tools.

Hire Without Fear: The California Employer’s Invaluable Desk Reference. Learn More Here.

#5 Retirement Benefits

Phased retirement is a concept that may help employers meet the challenges of changing workforce demographics. Many experts had predicted that as the Baby Boom generation approached its retirement years, there would be a shortage of workers.

However, because of the economy, many Boomers may not be financially ready for traditional retirement. Phased retirement is a process for bridging the gap between full-time employment and full-time retirement. There are many potential forms of phased retirement, including:

• Rehiring retirees as consultants for discrete projects or on a part-time, seasonal, or temporary basis
• Gradually reducing an employee’s working hours
• Taking a leave of absence to try out retirement
• Job-sharing arrangement between older workers
• Older workers moving to less stressful or less demanding jobs

In tomorrow’s CED, key topics #6 through #10.

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