HR professionals play a valuable role in safeguarding the well-being and interests of their employees. As HR professionals, we profess to have the best interests of our employees at heart. We implement new procedures and encourage employee engagement while constantly developing new strategies to improve our processes.
So with such lofty ambitions in place, it can be difficult to comprehend why 80% of employees find it difficult to put their trust in the HR department.
Sad as it may seem, we as HR professionals still have a long way to go when it comes to earning the employee and HR trust. Given the general lack of authority possessed by HR professionals in many organizations, most employees often do not bother to report their concerns.
As evidenced by Susan Fowler’s experience at Uber, there have even been situations where instead of lending a hand, the HR department further exacerbated her frustrations. Instead of protecting the victim, the HR team “suggested” that what was a clear case of sexual harassment was just an “innocent mistake”.
While all of this is most definitely shameful, it should not be a reflection of the HR profession in general. Without a doubt, there are thousands of HR professionals out there doing their best to watch out for their employees.
However, the fact of the matter remains. Without the support of senior management and business leaders, it is impossible for the HR department to function.
Don’t believe us? Read on to find out why business leaders need to take an interest in maintaining employee and HR trust.
The HR department and its representatives provide the leadership team with a link to the staff on the ground. In a perfect world, employees would have no trouble reaching out and communicating their concerns to the HR department.
However, as we’ve seen from the examples above this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, the HR department is often seen as a last resort for most employees. This is because most employees often view the HR department with distrust and instead choose not to deal with them
Consequently, any underlying issues often get swept under the carpet and ignored by all parties. This situation was clearly highlighted in several cases where HR spectacularly failed to tackle issues of abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace.
All of this could potentially be attributed to the lack of presence most HR departments have within their organization. Alongside this, the clear lack of neutrality in HR management usually makes it impossible to effectively tackle behavioral issues.
This is why it is essential for leaders to recognize the importance of HR management at a strategic level. Instead of relying on intuition and hearsay, leaders need to be able to access hard data in order to make an informed decision.
Recognizing this challenge, IQDynamics’ HRMS allows employees to submit their concerns and complaints anonymously without fear. This data can then be collected and acted upon by the HR department and members of the leadership team.
With the nature of employment changing and employee mobility on the rise, organizations will soon be hard-pressed to retain their top talent. While employers may lament the lack of loyalty in the new generation, the fact of the matter is that employees are not given the right motivation to remain loyal.
Unfortunately, employers often overlook reliable and loyal staff members. Such workers are usually taken for granted and even sometimes inadequately rewarded for their efforts. This could be due to inadequate performance rating systems or internal politics i.e. managers favoring a particular employee.
As a result, the lack of recognition often results in said employee and HR trust becoming disengaged and frustrated. With time, a competitor will likely swoop in and entice them with promises of a higher salary and better job prospects.
Hence this is why IQDynamics’ HRMS studies all aspects of an employee’s performance in detail while also utilizing a 360-degree feedback loop that collects feedback from all relevant stakeholders. This ensures that performance reviews are comprehensive and accurate.
In today’s competitive market, the employee experience has become increasingly prominent over time. The employee experience focuses on what a member of the organization sees, feels, and hears throughout the course of their career.
These experiences shape the employee’s perception of their employer for better or worse. Ideally, you’d want your employees to have a favorable impression of your organization or department.
Employees who’ve had a positive experience with the organization are more likely to recommend its products or services to their friends and family. Alongside this, with sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn, employees are able to leave reviews of their time with your company.
A positive review would encourage talented candidates to seek employment whereas a single negative review can severely impact your employer’s branding. This above situation shows us why it’s crucial for HR professionals to address employee and HR trust deficit.
With IQDynamics’ HR software and Talent Management System, your team will be equipped with the right tools and skills to transform your department. By doing so, your organization will be able to bridge the gap between both leadership and rank-and-file staff members.