As a Human Resource Manager, I often come across misguided folks, who carry a misconstrued idea of what I do.

Many have ignored all the efforts I put into position and structure the personnel, improve productivity, increase employee morale, etc. and called my job a cakewalk. An easy breeze. A piece of pie.

Do you get my drift? With a predicament similar to mine, Rachel Braganza, HR Manager, DMG Events Middle East, talks about his struggles as an HR. Rachel talks about why his recent days at work had been filled with dilemma and stress and how he discovered and divorced the obstacles.

“HR Is Almost Never the Boss.”

More times than he can remember, Rachel gets asked why the HR ends up taking the management’s side instead of protecting the employees and advocating for them, as he/she is supposed to?

Contrary to what many believe, Rachel responds, the HR too has a boss. HRs need to get in line with the company’s bigger picture regarding employee happiness and goal achievement as well. Their duties have also evolved, as have their methods of operation. As long as whatever is being asked of the HR is not immoral or illegal, and is likely to increase the company’s productivity and optimize the employee effectiveness,the HR is duty-bound to comply, says Rachel.
The conclusion-often, the functions of an HR manager is merely a reflection of the decisions made by the CEO and senior management. While HR may not agree with it, it is a part of their duties to deliver the news and have the employees follow suit.

The Rachel Conundrum

Until fairly recently, Rachel was saddled with more than she could handle. She had to-

• Monitor and manage the full-time employees as well as the freelancers and remote workers
• Make sure they receive their compensation on time
• Manage career developments
• Conduct performance reviews, testing, and training
• Adhere to larger business strategies
• Take the flak from disgruntled employees because of decisions that he had little to no part in making, like  a compulsory new schedule that was made without consulting the employees or the HR

“With too much logistics to take care of, my primary duties of recruiting, retaining, and managing capable employees often got either side-lined or botched.
I was dealing with queries on pay, perks, management decisions, performance reviews. I had to chase down data that wasn’t available readily. I was saddled with less critical yet more time-consuming issues. I feared a potential disconnect from the employees.”

Aladdinpro to the Rescue

The expiry reminder app solved some of Rachel’s most time-consuming yet least productive tasks.

• She could set reminders and be alerted about payroll day, contract expiry and renewal dates, project deadlines, contract/license renewal dates etc. well in advance

• Since the app offers both push notifications and mail options, Rachel found it easier to use on the move.

• Multi-user support let Rachel add collaborators to any category (eg: Freelancer Payments) and divide accountability easily among respective groups

• She could store the document in question with a due date, saving time and effort in looking for the right file at the time of need Chasing data-solved.

Checking up with timely employee payroll delivery-solved. Time-saving-accomplished. Increased productivity-eventual but definite outcome. The result was a more relieved Rachel with enough time on her hands to focus on the more productive tasks.
“The modern workplace is transforming. The millennial workforce is coming of age. The culture of technology and connectivity, cross-channel information exchange, mobile employees-so much has changed in how employees were handled a decade ago and how they’re treated now. Among such drastic shifts, Aladdinpro has made my job, and by extension my life, a bit easier.” –Rachel concludes.