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Creating a Fair and Diverse Workplace: The Benefits and Challenges of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

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Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a principle that aims to eliminate discrimination in the workplace. It is based on the idea that all employees, job applicants, and candidates should be treated fairly and equally regardless of their race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, or other protected characteristics. EEO is enforced by federal laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Equal Pay Act. These laws prohibit employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of their protected characteristics in all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, and compensation. EEO is an essential component of human resource management (HR) and plays a crucial role in creating a fair and inclusive workplace. HR professionals are responsible for ensuring that their organization complies with EEO laws and regulations and that all emp...
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Soft HR vs. Hard HR: What's the Difference?

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Soft HR and Hard HR are two different approaches to human resource management. Soft HR is a people-centered approach that focuses on the well-being and development of employees. It emphasizes communication, collaboration, and employee engagement. On the other hand, Hard HR is a more results-driven approach that focuses on achieving organizational objectives by emphasizing productivity, efficiency, and profitability(Personio, 2022) Soft HR: Soft HR is focused on employee development, empowerment, and motivation. This approach views employees as valuable assets to the organization and recognizes the importance of creating a positive work environment (FutureLearn, n.d.). Soft HR emphasizes the following: Employee well-being: Soft HR prioritizes the well-being of employees and aims to cultivate a healthy work environment. It focuses on promoting work-life balance, providing opportunities for career advancement, and fostering a culture of continuous learning. Employee empowerment: Soft HR p...
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From HR Metrics to People Analytics: Leveraging Data to Improve Business Outcomes

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The HR function is increasingly being asked to demonstrate the value it brings to the organization. One way HR can do this is by using metrics and analytics to measure the impact of HR initiatives and activities on business outcomes. HR metrics and people analytics can provide valuable insights into areas such as workforce productivity, employee engagement, retention, and talent development. The use of HR metrics and people analytics has become more prevalent in recent years, as organizations seek to gain a competitive advantage through better understanding and management of their human capital. HR leaders can use data to identify trends, predict future outcomes, and make informed decisions that improve workforce performance and drive business success. However, collecting and analyzing HR data is not without its challenges. HR professionals must ensure that the data they collect is accurate, relevant, and aligned with the organization's strategic goals. They must also be able to co...
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Future-Proofing Career: The Power of Reskilling and Upskilling

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  What is Reskilling? Reskilling involves acquiring new skills to perform a different job or to fit into a new role within a company. In some cases, employers may consider reskilling an employee whose skill set is no longer needed or whose position has become obsolete, but who they wish to retain. This can involve moving the employee to a new area within the company where they will require a different skill set. To perform effectively in this new role, the employee must learn the necessary new skills. An example of reskilling in action is when a company no longer requires an office clerk, but the employee's knowledge and experience within the company are still valuable. The employee can be moved to an in-demand position once they have learned a new set of skills. The concept of reskilling is different from upskilling, which involves enhancing existing skills to improve job performance or prepare for future responsibilities  (Hasa, 2021). What is Upskilling? To upskill means fo...
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The Lifecycle of an Employee: How to Create a Seamless Onboarding and Offboarding Experience

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Employee onboarding and offboarding are two key human resources (HR) functions that are becoming increasingly significant. Onboarding commences once a job seeker agrees to accept a job offer, and encompasses all of the necessary measures to ensure that a new employee is effectively integrated and productive within the organization. Offboarding is essentially the opposite of onboarding and entails the separation of an employee from a company. This may involve a procedure for transferring knowledge to other employees. The retirement of baby boomers and the tendency of millennial workers to frequently switch jobs are among the shifts in the labor market that are driving an increased focus on onboarding and offboarding processes ( Thibodeau , 2018 ). Nearly every major talent management software system incorporates an onboarding component, and there are vendors that specialize in providing onboarding systems.  In the same way, talent management systems encompass offboarding software ...
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Unleashing the Power of Agile HR: How HR Departments are Breaking Free from Traditional Models

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Agile is an approach used in IT industries for a long time and it has evolved and adjusted over the years. Agile in IT refers to the use of agile methodologies in software development and other IT-related projects. Agile development involves an iterative and collaborative approach to project management, emphasizing flexibility and responsiveness to changing requirements and feedback  (Rigby, Sutherland, & Takeuchi, 2018). The adoption of agile practices in many companies is happening gradually and almost naturally, often influenced by the IT sector where over 90% of organizations already implement such practices. This shift is exemplified by the Bank of Montreal (BMO), where the inclusion of tech employees in cross-functional product-development teams led to a customer-centric focus. As a result, the business side has acquired agile principles from their IT counterparts, while IT has gained knowledge about customer needs from the business. BMO now considers team performance man...
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How can HR overcome Remote working challenges?

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Remote work, also known as teleworking, has grown in popularity in recent years, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 6% of employees mainly worked from home before the pandemic. By the end of 2023, 25% of professionals are expected to work remotely. Though pandemic situation is controlled to some extent, we can see a emergence of a new trend of hybrid work modal. Long-term expectations about where and how people work have shifted as a result of the pandemic( Howarth, J. 2022 ). Research and survey results have proven that many employees prefer a fully-remote work environment. The Pew Research Center reported in early 2022 that 60% of workers prefer to work from home all or most of the time. When compared with year 2020 it is a 6% increase. ( Howarth, 2022,  Parker et al, Pew Research Centre, 2022 ).  However, many businesses are uneasy with this setup because there not fully adjusted to remote work culture and practices. But many companies seem to be accepted by ...
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The impact of the gig economy on HR and employment practices

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  What is gig economy? According to data on the gig economy, a free-market system exists where businesses and independent workers enter into temporary employment contracts. Gig word refers to an employee of a short time. A gig economy consists of different job roles including the following. Freelancers  Consultants Independent contractors and professionals temporary contract workers They are called ‘gig’ workers. They exist in every sector and engage in formal agreements with businesses to render services without being on the business payroll. The gig economy is now becoming more and more well-known among generations as modern working trends shift to virtual workplaces. Due to the majority of employees' willingness to participate in the gig economy, HR professionals are now faced with the task of retaining those workers in order to expand the organization's talent pool ( Rajamanickem,2018 ) One advantage of the gig economy is that it frees up company resources...
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Is it possible for HRM to achieve an equilibrium between employee turnover and retention?

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The rate of employee turnover refers to the percentage of employees who depart from a company within a specific period of time. It is a critical metric for organizations to understand the health of their workforce and their capacity for retaining talent. Researchers have paid little attention to attempts to distinguish between the causes of voluntary and involuntary turnover in organizations. There are many causes for voluntary turnover and some turnovers can affect an organization's flow of work negatively. Some common negative effect according to Roy & Devi  (2016) is that HR managers get deprived of much-needed talent. Moreover, leaving an expert in some work often reduces the customer base who believed in him or her. Source: https://www.youtube.com/ Causes of employee turnover. According to recent cases in the IT sector, this reason can be spread over being unable to fit in with the company culture, poor management practices and constantly thriving to have better c...
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