Small businesses naturally have a more personal approach to human resources, and I have noticed that in many cases, the one-person approach is more effective and efficient.
In a multi-person, multi-function human resources division, mistakes are more regular and occasionally more devastating. For example, one coworker moved and for six months her paychecks went to her old address. Every month she went to the human resources division and reminded them of her address change. Human resources assured her that the address had been updated in the computer database and that accounts payable had her new address on record. Yet somewhere along the way, someone was obviously making a mistake. Another reason why human resources management can be trickier in a large corporation with a multi-function, multi-staff operation is because miscommunications and confusions are inevitable. When the human resource office is staffed by different employees, it is easy for messages to miss their intended targets. Furthermore, multi-function human resources departments deal with a plethora of different tasks. The multi-tasking occasionally works smoothly, but sometimes multi-tasking results in errors.
From these experiences I can conclude that there is no sure-fire way to properly handle human resources, but there are tips and tricks organizations can use to make human resources a smoothly functioning department. First, employees should always be treated...
Because part of human resources concerns the fielding of complaints and concerns, human resources management needs to listen carefully to employees. Issues like sexual harassment or safety concerns will be dealt with differently in a large organization than a small one. For instance, the department store for which I worked had a collection of brochures in their office regarding employee rights, sexual harassment laws, dress codes, general behavioral codes, and codes of safety management. The small company for which I worked had none of these brochures, and thus some problems could arise if an employee felt disgruntled. Human resources divisions need to clarify the employer-employee or management-worker relationship as well as clarifying legal rights and boundaries. A human resources department also needs to include means of training and of personal development, which are generally easier in a large company than in a small one. Small companies also fail to unequivocally define their positions: job descriptions are not provided in as clear a manner as in large companies. One of the main jobs of the human resources department is to clarify job descriptions so that all employees know their roles. Software is also a key component of human resources management. Small and large companies might be able to use the same software, but databases will be many times larger in a large company, requiring specialized staff and even an it crew.
