The 6 Biggest Risks for HR Professionals and How to Handle Them

The HR team has two main functions — “mediator” between the leadership team and employees and “moderator” in facilitating productive discussions in and outside the workplace.

These complex roles can jeopardize their health and careers. Learn about the six main risks and how they can be mitigated.

1. Data Breaches and Cyberattacks

While the IT department directly secures the company’s digital assets, the HR team ensures that all protection protocols are implemented appropriately. They also play a pivotal role in safeguarding all sensitive information to prevent breaches and cyberattacks.

One way to protect online data is to educate employees on discerning malicious or potential threats, such as malware attached to spam emails. Scheduling cybersecurity training during probationary periods can prevent organizational cyberattacks at the hands of uninformed workers.

If a cyberattack occurs, the leadership team must remain calm since employees will rely on them for their next steps. They are responsible for bridging communication between the leadership team and employees while minimizing downtime issues hindering productivity.

If the source of a breach is internal, seeking legal consultation is best to deal with user account access and collect evidence for insurance purposes.

2. Talent Acquisition and Retention

Per a 2022 PwC survey, 40% of businesses consider talent acquisition and retention a serious risk — this poses a significant problem for HR professionals in charge of hiring and retaining employees. Both onboarding an unqualified employee and failing to keep a reliable talent can cost the business money, productivity and reputation.

While the pool of applicants has broadened due to remote work going mainstream, it has also increased what the candidates expect from their employers. For example, some may only apply if they are allowed to telecommute.

To stay competitive in a changing labor market, the PwC survey says 70% of organizations plan to offer permanent remote work options for specific roles, 64% want to increase compensation for existing employees, and 63% will change their processes to address labor shortages.

HR should brainstorm additional ways to strengthen recruitment and retention strategies to prevent serious staffing issues. Working with experienced HR service providers such as Corban OneSource can also help organizations streamline workforce management and develop more effective strategies for attracting and retaining qualified employees. Being more flexible with this helps. For example, offering a hybrid work setup to a candidate if a fully remote arrangement is not plausible.

3. Compliance With Wage and Hour Laws

Around 70% of employers are not in compliance with Wage and Hour Laws. For example, many misclassified independent contractors as employees, especially during holidays or periods when the company requires a quick fix to understaffing. Another common violation is illegal payroll deductions, like employee uniforms, donations to charity, photographs or physical examinations for pre-employment. How does this impact HR?

The HR team acts as an advocate for employees. They’re responsible for educating the company about the consequences of violating labor rules and offering solutions for offenses.

They can sidestep future problems by reviewing and monitoring changes to the laws and updating the leadership team about them, ensuring the organization promptly aligns with the modifications. Should one employee claim an issue about wages, they should respond immediately to avoid escalating the problem and minimize the damage to the company’s reputation.

4. Workplace Conflicts

HR people are trained to manage and address workplace conflicts that disrupt work and productivity. While most are equipped with these skills, handling such situations can harm their health, resulting in increased workload, longer work hours and additional stress.

On average, HR managers spend more than four hours weekly dealing with conflicts. Reported workplace problems have increased from 29% in 2008 to 36% in 2022, so the impact on well-being is worse today than a decade ago.

An excellent strategy to negate the adverse health consequences on HR is for businesses to invest in people management training. Indeed, many organizations provide ongoing education to strengthen their HR team, but some do not offer such benefits. It pays if they learn skills for handling difficult conversations and resolving or nipping conflicts in the bud.

5. Communication Breakdown

Maintaining consistent communication across the board is crucial in organization alignment — HR is the center of this essential task. Failure to effectively relay the right information from the executives to the staff snowballs into misunderstandings or conflicts. For example, multiple employees doing the same functions unknowingly — because of HR’s failure to delegate — can result in decreased efficiency at work.

According to Forbes, only 11% of employees report that ineffective communication has not affected them. For the rest, 49% have reduced their productivity, 50% impacted their job satisfaction, and 42% said it elevated their stress levels.

HR can work on combining various tools to resolve communication loopholes and ensure employees get project or company updates in a timely manner. For instance, they can expand to mobile and landline phone services and use apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Chat and Slack. Irrespective of the timezone, location or work arrangement — remote or in-office — employees can likely stay attuned to any changes if HR has more than one channel to reach them.

6. Deterioration of Employee Well-Being

Another risk for HR is the declining health of employees. In the modern workplace, more workers feel the effects of burnout, with three out of five experiencing adverse impacts of work-related stress. About 36% of employees reported cognitive weariness, 32% were emotionally exhausted, and a staggering 44% were fatigued.

When employees feel burned out, productivity plunges. Signs of loss of concentration, weight changes, and declining enthusiasm or joy in their jobs are all symptoms HR should watch out for. So, how do they address this?

They can devise a better employee perks package. For example, offering subsidies on gym memberships can motivate employees to stay physically active and alleviate their stress. Additionally, encouraging everyone to use their paid time off and allowing remote or hybrid work setups can create work-life balance and reduce burnout rates.

Aim To Be an Effective HR Professional

The labor market is changing, so any HR template or zeitgeist may only be effective for some time — until it doesn’t. Higher compensation may have been the primary motivator for candidates to apply for a job before, but today’s talent demands more than a competitive wage.

HR has to adapt to these changes and risks for the organization to stay relevant. They can be more effective in their roles by transforming with the market.