Do you always have a million tasks to complete, but find that you never have enough time to finish them all? HR professionals are responsible for many different functions that contribute to the success of a business and its employees. Here are 30 ways to maximize your time, and the time of your employees, so you can accomplish all your HR and organizational goals.

The Big Ones 

These tips for productivity improvement can work wonders for anyone within your organization. If you don’t have time for any other improvements, focus on these.

• 1. Plan – Planning out your time is underrated and wildly effective. Take 15 minutes at the end of each day to make a to-do list for the next day. Make sure you add important events and deadlines to your calendar with reminders so you know what’s coming up and how you should prioritize.

• 2. Set goals – What do you want to accomplish this year? This month? This week? Set goals for yourself and focus your planning time on breaking big projects down into manageable tasks you can easily check off your list.

• 3. Listen to & care for your body – Eat well, get some exercise, and listen to the cues your body is giving you. If you feel tired or burned out, take a break. Encourage your employees to do the same and you may be surprised at how much more quickly tasks are completed.

• 4. Learn & teach – Don’t know how to create a pivot table? You’re probably not the only one at your organization who hasn’t been taught, so learn how to do it and pass that skill on to others. Leverage the knowledge of others in your organization by asking them to teach you, and everyone else who’s interested, how to do something.

Employment Souring & Hiring

Recruiting is a continuous HR function that takes a lot of time and effort to accomplish effectively. You can always outsource recruitment to a staffing or talent acquisition company, but may prefer to personally manage the recruitment process since you know your talent needs better than anyone. Other ways to improve the productivity of your recruitment efforts includes:

• 5. Use social media – Social media has proven an effective method for sourcing talent. Millions of people use social media to look for jobs and even leverage their mobile devices in applying for positions, so posting your open positions on these channels can provide you with a large, diverse candidate pool.

• 6. Offer remote work – Writing, web design, and software development are just a few of the functions that can be performed outside of the office. Remote work provides employees with more control over their work/life balance, which has been shown to improve productivity.

• 7. Be detailed in what your organization expects from employees – If employee timeliness is important to your business, make sure your new hires know that tardiness will not be accepted. “Only a few minutes late” may seem like no big deal to some people, so describe your expectations definitively.

• 8. Review your onboarding process – Can it be more efficient or more effective? If you spend extra time searching for onboarding supplies or put temps through the same onboarding experience once they become permanent employees, streamline the process.

• 9. Automate where possible – Managing various rote HR processes, such as payroll, benefits, and background screening, decreases productivity. The HR space provides many simple software programs that can manage these processes for you and free up your time to focus on complex tasks that can’t be completed by automation.

Do you currently use any of these productivity tips? Have they improved your productivity? Share your story with me on social media:

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Looking for other HR tips? Check out my recent blogs. (link to blog page)

About Tammy Cohen

In 1989, Cohen founded InfoMart, a multi-million dollar pre-employment screening company that provides services to Fortune 500 companies nationwide. InfoMart has been recognized on Security Magazine’s Security 500 list and Workforce Magazine’s Hot List for several concurrent years. Additionally, InfoMart has numerous “Best Place to Work” awards from various organizations. As a recognized expert in the employment screening industry, Cohen is often referred to as “The Queen of Screen” and was influential in the founding of the screening industry’s first trade association, the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). Cohen is actively involved in a number of business and civic organizations and has received numerous personal honors, including a commendation in the 152nd Congressional Record, the Entrepreneur of the Year award from YWCA of the USA, an Enterprising Woman of the Year Award from Enterprising Women, and the Phenomenal Women Award from the Siegel Institute.

About InfoMart

InfoMart is an industry leader in background screening services, providing businesses the information they need to make well-informed hiring decisions. With more than 26 years in business, InfoMart is a pioneer in developing innovative technology and screening services, from criminal history searches to verifications of employment. Accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), a designation earned by less than 10% of the industry, InfoMart has also been recognized on Workforce Magazine’s Hot List of Background Screening Providers for 10 consecutive years. The company prides itself on its dedication to customers, innovation, and accurate reporting. For more information about InfoMart, please visit www.infomart-usa.com or call (770) 984-2727.

Originally posted at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/30-easy-hr-improvements-better-business-pt-1-cohen-phr-shrm-cp?trk=prof-post