Sophie Kay HR Support

WHY DO I THINK HR IS IMPORTANT?

 

My background is in hospitality management. So, why do I think HR is important? Hospitality is a hard sector to work in, as are a lot of general public facing sectors. Back when I used to work in hospitality, ridiculously long shifts, without breaks, were the ‘norm’. Even though laws were in place to safeguard these practices, the hospitality sector is notoriously understaffed, and long shifts were ‘expected’. Other sectors also have these norms, and even though, as managers, we sometimes need to ask team members to work longer hours, or work on their days off, to cover the business needs, it doesn’t mean we should. So HR is important. Maybe not in the formal sense, but definitely in the casual sense! How can we get around these business needs? Agency staff? Attract more talent with higher wages? Benefits and Bonuses? Simply looking after your team? And what if those tactics don’t work and the team members you have just don’t cover the needs of the business?

 

These are the questions that made me think HR is important, and why I am so interested in HR. It’s also why I call myself a HR Generalist. I’m not interested in specialising in one area of HR. I want to see the bigger picture of your business. What do people need in their working life these days? We work on average for 40 hours a week in a full-time role.

 

Gone are the days where we need to be in the same building to work with our colleagues, or even in the same time zone. We now have the capabilities of working remotely and at different times. So why won’t businesses let their team do this? Yes, there are business constraints. You can’t request to work in a shop on a shift of 4pm-9pm if the shop shuts at 5pm. That would be unrealistic. However, if that team member is exceptional, are there other tasks you can give them that would take the burden off someone else? I find it mind blowing that some managers would rather lose that excellent team member than look at their request for flexible working!

 

Working is not the number one priority in most peoples lives now either. A lot of people put their physical health, mental health, families, or even experiences and hobbies higher on that list of priorities than ever before. So, does that excellent candidate want a 4 day week so they can do their hobbies on the weekend, or do they need a working day of 10am-6pm because they find it hard to sleep?

 

Then there’s the question of the team getting along. What are you doing in your business to promote team building? With people switching job roles sooner than they did in years gone by, and for less of a reason, can businesses afford for the team not to be getting along?

 

The last one I will say for today, is the question of promotions and learning and development. Some people are happy staying where they are in their role, but others want to learn and grow. Do you know which is which in your team? We should find out how our teams want to develop themselves. It goes without saying that your team developing themselves will help the business in the long run. So, I we don’t develop team members, they may leave for something bigger and maybe more challenging.

 

So that’s it. There is obviously a lot more to it, but those are the reasons that I feel why HR is important. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – look after your team, and your team will look after your business!