Although you know your HR department as the people who hired you and the people who you tend to want to avoid, they can actually be a really useful asset to employees who are seeking career development. So, without further ado, here are 6 ways that HR departments can help employees thrive.

1. Career planning

HR are focused on helping the business to succeed, but they’re also aware that businesses won’t succeed without employees who are good at their jobs and want to move forward.

Your HR manager is a good person to go to if you want some help on next steps to achieve your goals or if you want some advice on identifying your strengths and weaknesses, for example.

• Offering continuing education and training

Many companies offer tuition reimbursement, especially if the degree or certification is something that can directly help the company. It’s worth asking HR because most of the time there’s a good chance your employer will make some money available for you.

Even if you’re not seeking a degree, there will be many online classes or courses you could attend.

• Medical assistance

It’s a good idea to seek legal protection if you or a loved one is suffering with health problems. Rather than missing work and risking getting in trouble for violating attendance policies, HR can provide you with paperwork to protect you. Most companies also have some kind of employee life insurance  they can add you to.

• Whistleblowing

All workplaces will have a dedicated person whom you can talk to but remember that HR is always there to help too. No matter what violations you’re reporting, the HR department will be able to set up an investigation and get to the bottom of the issue.

• Recruitment and induction processes

In order to be successful in a role in the first place, HR will ensure the role is right for you and you’re right for the role. Once the recruitment process is over, they’ll then begin the induction process which will ensure you hit the ground running on your first day.

Having a proper recruitment and induction process at the start of an employee’s journey is vital to ensuring the successful running of any company and ensuring that all employees thrive within their workplace.

• Coaching line managers

HR departments coach their line managers to lead their teams (you) effectively! Without this process, managers won’t have the ability to provide clear direction and expectations, have good communication skills or have the confidence to build trust and recognise performance – all of which will have a direct impact on the success of the employees under that manager.

How can HR departments help employees thrive? Final thoughts

To summarise, HR departments have a huge amount of influence and impact through people-oriented strategies that focus on engagement and leadership, which will ultimately drive employee and business success. HR departments have their own practices in place to ensure every employee is performing as they should, but it’s equally important for employees to know that they can speak to HR at any time about any issue they’re having.