Gone are the days when the job of the human resources department was to adhere to local labour laws and manage local employees. Today, as the organizations cross geographical barriers and hire diverse talent in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, skills, experiences and location, the responsibility of human resources has increased multifold.
Today, human resource managers have to devise strategies that are ‘glocal’ – global yet local. So, if the company is based in Los Angeles but hiring people in India, then it has to make sure that its human resource strategy not only adheres to international standards but is also culturally appropriate. Hence, these days, globalization forms an integral module of a majority of human resource management online courses.
Also Read : The Functions of Human Resource Management
Here are various areas of how globalization is affecting Human Resource Management:
Recruitment
When the organization is doing overseas recruitment, the hiring dynamics change considerably. For instance, if the minimum educational requirement is MBA for a candidate, the same degree may vary from one country to another. It may be known by a different name, or even it is known by the same name, the grades and credits may differ, making it difficult to understand the candidate’s educational qualification.
Training
Every newly hired candidate has to be taken through training regarding the company’s policies and procedures as well as his or her job role. However, globalization calls for different training modules. For example, if you are sending a local candidate overseas, you have to train him or her regarding offshore work expectations and culture.
Labour Laws
Obviously, labour laws vary from one country to another. If the minimum wage amount is ‘x’ and maximum working hours are ‘y’ in India, then it will not be the same in China, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia or any other country. The human resource managers are required to have a thorough knowledge of international and domestic labour laws or else the company may find itself in a legal soup.
Communication
The world never sleeps! If one country is closing its office, the other may be just opening or in full swing business hours. When a company is doing business in different countries, communication becomes difficult. Human resource department has to devise communication strategies which can establish synchronized co-ordination without requiring remote employees to disturb their time zone.
Also Read : Challenges of Human Resource Management
Expatriation
Preparing home country employees to work in a different country or vice-a-versa is quite challenging. In spite of adequate training and a competitive compensation package, the expats may not fit in the company. The recruitment, training, motivation and retention of expats call for an exclusive human resource strategy.
Human capital is the most important asset for any organization. Given that there are people’s emotions, behaviour and personalities involved, and the market dynamics are changing at a rapid pace, the challenges for the human resources department has increased several times over.
Also Read : Why is it Important to Study Human Resource Management
Here are nine major challenges and how to deal with them.
Attracting Talent
Today’s employees want to join organizations on their terms. The right employees are those who can fit into the culture of the organization. The best way to attract talent is to abreast them with the company culture and understand their workplace expectations right at the time of the interview.
Retaining Talent
The grass is always greener on the other side! With ample job and entrepreneurship opportunities available, it doesn’t take much time for employees to make a switch for a better prospect. Engage the employees, provide them work-life balance and show them a career path in the organization.
Also Read : Role of HR in Retaining Employees
Conflict Management
It’s a human tendency to clash. But, at workplaces, such unhealthy behaviour can hamper productivity. Keep the channels of communication open and define acceptable behaviour to avoid conflicts.
Performance Management
More often than not, a greater percentage of the workforce ends up being unhappy after the appraisal process is over. Instead of conducting yearly evaluation, shift the focus to continuous and constructive feedback. If required, enrol for performance management certification to learn how to make performance management more effective.
Also Read : How to improve performance management in an organization
Managing Diverse Workforce
Today’s workforce is a mix of on-site/off-site teams and remote/virtual teams across different locations, genders, age and ethics. Human resources must percolate the shared company culture, albeit respecting the different characteristics of the workforce.
Compensation
Employees always want more – whether it is the basic salary, perks or benefits. Compensation is the primary motivator for any person. Create a system which provides competitive salaries and rewards their recognition.
Also Read : What does it take to be a Human Resource Manager
Succession Planning
What if an employee quits or is transferred or promoted? Is there someone who can fill the position quickly? Such dilemmas can be avoided by succession planning and leadership development programs.
Change Management
Change is the only constant in life. Unfortunately, organizations face a major employee resistance when a change is implemented. When a change initiative takes place, communicate its benefits to explain to people the why and how of it.
Also Read : Change Management Process & How It Works
Privacy and Security
Human resources department is responsible for employee privacy as well as company information security. Any leakage can have devastating effects on the organization. This can be taken care of by framing strict regulations on breach of privacy, securing data and entering into confidentiality agreement with vendors.
Sign up for human resource management certification courses online and learn more about these challenges and ways to handle them.
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