Most people think of recruiting and hiring when it comes to the HR department of any given company. But HR needs to be involved in much more than just interviewing potential employees. In fact, one of the most important aspects of HR work is reputation management. By guarding the company’s image and making sure employees are happy, it’s easier to not only harbor more interest from potential employees but to let the world know your company is a great place to work, grow, and find success.
A human resource team should be properly trained when it comes to representing how the business looks to the rest of the world. It’s their responsibility to build and sustain a positive image for the business itself as well as its employees. That includes training for proper employee management and creating an environment where strong, respectful communication is expected and encouraged. Strong communication involves skills like being respectful, listening actively, knowing your audience, taking note of body language, and even habits as simple as putting your phone away.
When communication isn’t open between HR personnel and employees (especially unhappy employees), it will make matters worse and could result in an extremely stressful situation for your business.
So, how can your HR team develop and sustain a positive reputation for your company? Let’s look at a few practices that your HR department should start committing to right away.
Building a Better Company Culture
One of the best ways an HR team can focus on reputation management is to build a better company culture from the inside out. The way to do this will look a bit different for every type of business. It’s important to understand what’s important to your company and how you want to portray that not only to your employees but to the rest of the world.
You want to make sure when any potential employee walks into your business for the first time, they get a full feel of what your company represents. They should understand your atmosphere, what’s expected, the culture surrounding other employees, the culture surrounding customers/clients, etc. It’s up to your HR team to make sure an environment of community and purpose always shines through.
Other tactics that can be put into place to boost your company culture include things like:
- Encouraging your employees to share their positive experiences with the company on their own social media pages or on your company website.
- Encouraging your team to talk to potential hires before they start the job.
- Creating an environment in the workplace that motivates people to do their job well.
- Being flexible with people’s personal lives and schedules.
- Building a team — not just a group of individual workers.
- Having a strong company mission and making sure everyone knows it.
- Communicating with one another to keep things as clear as possible between employees and management.
When your HR team chooses to create a positive company culture an environment that ensures employees are happy, the benefits will speak for themselves. Not only will you have a crew of employees who are excited to do their job and who are likely willing to go above and beyond, but you’re also more likely to recruit better employees to come work for your company. The trickle-down effect of a great workforce is self-evident. When you have the right people in the right positions, your customers — and in turn your business — will reap the benefits.
It doesn’t end there. There are personnel techniques your HR team can utilize to highlight the net impact of each employee. Once you’ve found those people who love the work and are willing to go above and beyond, a good management structure won’t let them stagnate. For example:
- If an employee shows a proclivity toward working with customers, you can create a customer success position in which their strengths can shine.
- If a member of your team is highly detail-oriented and organized, consider how they can help your organization by becoming a company auditor to ensure legal compliance with regulations and optimal efficiency.
- If a member of your team is good at networking, they may be a good candidate when it comes to finding someone to manage your brand’s social media account.
Give employees the opportunity to play an active role in their own career development and the growth of the business. Professional empowerment is a force of nature, so keep an eye out for the unique skill sets that each of your hires bring to the table.
How to Handle Unhappy Employees
Though reputation management is a big deal when it comes to finding new employees, it starts from the inside, and any successful HR team needs to realize that when they’re working on company culture. The old saying goes that you can’t make everyone happy all the time. But, people who work in HR should make it a constant mission to keep employees content. Yes, it starts with creating the right culture, but that culture needs to be continuously fostered to take care of employees who are already working hard.
Some signs of disgruntled or unhappy employees typically include things like attendance problems, poor work quality, negative attitudes, or complaints about the job. Sometimes, though, employees won’t say anything about how dissatisfied they are, and they may just opt to quit. A high turnover rate within your company is a sign that your HR team isn’t doing what is needed to ensure everyone’s satisfaction.
That might seem like a small problem to have, but if employees start leaving, they could do damage to your company’s reputation.Word of mouth goes a long way, and what a former employee says to a customer could result in a negative review. This could lead you to have to hire some serious reputation management. If not the negative reviews can be a huge red flag for people who might have otherwise been interested in working at your business.
Additionally, an HR team has to be prepared for unexpected situations. For example, if an employee gets hurt on the job, reputation management is still an important consideration. Typical job injuries include things like:
- Slips and falls
- Power tool accidents
- Crashes
- Electrical accidents
It’s up to the HR team to make sure an injured employee gets the care they need. If they don’t, that employee could take legal action, which could seriously damage any company’s reputation.
Reputation management is important for any business. But, it’s not just about making sure customers and clients see you in a positive light; it’s making sure you’re attracting the right people to work for you and keeping your current employees satisfied with your company culture. This should fall on the shoulders of a quality, driven HR team. Putting some of these ideas into action immediately can make a big difference for your business by providing a boost to your reputation.
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