What constitutes "best practices" in the human resources field is subjective, unique to each organization. What works for one company may not fit the culture of another organization. Best practices are not absolute actions, but rather a holistic approach to managing the human resource function, ultimately affecting every employee within the organization. However, some general factors constituting the uniform best practices in HR include:

Corporate Culture: The HR department should focus on corporate culture and how it shapes policies, procedures and behavior. It's essential to communicate the corporate philosophy to members of your workforce, stressing their role in supporting the company's goals and objectives.

Professional Ethics and Behavior: The best HR professionals recognize how personal and corporate ethics affect making decisions. They can resolve conflicts between personal ethical principles and corporate values while positively protecting the reputation and long-term interests of their company. True HR professionals set the best examples!

Communications: Effective communication with employees is an absolute on-going responsibility. The best HR department strives to maintain communications that are informative, broad in nature and involve extensive contact with all employees.

Continuous Improvement: The best HR departments are never satisfied...striving to work smarter, not harder. Feedback and evaluation from a variety of sources is welcomed and considered a basis for continuous improvement.

Leading organizations also offer educational opportunities to assist employees with personal development and career growth.

Employee Focus: The most effective HR departments provide proactive rather than reactive solutions. They address employees’ needs by cultivating trusting, personal relationships.

HR professionals should be accessible, approachable and available at all times. They should be viewed as a "resource" for employees to tap into.

Strategy and Commitment: Leading HR departments sustain a long-term commitment and a strategic plan that works; requiring constant dedication to analysis, review and change within the workplace.

The plan also requires specific direction and focus (rather than chasing the latest management fad or borrowing trends).

Topperforming organizations ensure that current HR practices are in alignment with overall long-term business strategies required to compete in the marketplace and generate employee commitment and retention.

This process begins with scanning the organizational architecture. Gaining a collection of knowledge and diverse experiences becomes the organization's "glue" and the beginning of a top-notch HR department.

Cindi Stone, PHR is founder and president of
HR Insight Consulting. She can be reached at
(904)388-5665 or via the website at www.hriconsulting.com.