The job of an HR Manager is a thankless one, we all know that. But does that relieve them from their responsibilities?

HR is indeed a support function and a cost center in most organizations. HR may not be directly involved in business operations but the impact that it can create indirectly can be priceless. We must first understand that the people taking care of core business operations, so called profit center, are all human beings (we are still far from the age of AI). Humans can be depressed or motivated, happy or sad, energetic or lethargic and so on. As an HR manager, you may be already aware that by creating the right work environment, you can influence human behavior in a positive way.

Hiring process

Conducting interviews, issuing offer letters, issuing appointment letters, employee induction

Payroll process

Keeping record of presents, absents, and leaves, generating payroll at month end, processing salary credits timely in employees’ accounts.

Employee MIS

Keeping up-to date record of employee information, addresses, bank details, job title, etc.

Employee Exit

Conducting exit interviews, recording employee feedback, issuing Full & Final (F&F) statements upon exit.

So, how can you, as an HR Manager, leave a positive impact on people, environment and business as a whole? There are things, which may appear minuscule, but have great psychological effects. Here are some examples:

Hiring Process

1. Always communicate interview date/time to candidates well in advance.
2. In case of rejections after interview/test, always inform the candidates and do not keep them hanging for days/weeks after interview.
3. Issue offer letters to selected candidates and give them some time to make up their mind to join your organization.
4. Once people join your organization, issue them appointment letters with details terms of service.

If you follow the above, it leaves a professional impression about your organization on new joiners. They feel that you consider employees seriously and are willing to spend time and efforts on hiring. This first impression stays with people for a long time, but you need to make continuous efforts to keep it.

Payroll Process

1. Make sure presents, absents, leaves are marked correctly. Never rely on a manual process to do this. Always use an attendance machine combined with a payroll software to automate this.
2. In case of larger organizations, it is recommended to have a mock-run before final salary run every month end. This way, you can share the salary calculations before disbursing actual salary. Employees can report corrections, if any, which you can fix in time.
3. Always send salary slips to your employees with monthly payroll. Even if nobody demands it specifically, sending a salary slip makes people feel connected to the organization.

If you are still using excel spreadsheets for payroll processing, it’s high time to switch to a payroll software. Our payroll solution, Runtime Payroll, is a feature rich software that comes with a free trial of 30 days. To download and try ‘Runtime Payroll’, visit this page.

Employee MIS

Avoid these types of mistakes altogether.

2. Contact Info: Keep employee’s mobile, email, home address, emergency contact info and other details always updated. This makes sure you can communicate with your employees on time whenever necessary.

Employee Exit

Employee exit is a very sensitive process and you should take care of this very carefully. An employee who has worked for your business should leave with a happy and positive feeling. Usually exits are made cumbersome and frustrating for employees. Here are some steps to follow:

1. As soon as an employee decides to exit the organization, discuss and communicate the relieving date to the employee. This helps both the employee and his successor to plan the work hand-over smoothly.
2. Before the exit date, take hand-over of assets like laptop, VPN, etc. Do not leave this for last date.
3. On the exit date, arrange a small get together with leaving employee(s) and their team. Thank them for their contribution to your business and wish them good luck for their future. Make them feel friendly and not hostile on this day. These memories stay in their hearts for years and they spread positive words about your organization wherever they go.

We hope that the above information will help you discharge your HR duties in a more effective and efficient manner. If you have any suggestions or feedback, leave your comments below.