Remote work has become the standard for most organizations in 2020. Although there are quite a few benefits, including reduced turnover, for an organization when they allow their employees to work from home, some companies still haven’t adopted a remote working policy. Understandably, many organizations cannot run their business with an entirely remote workforce.  

In this episode of HIRED! By ModoHR, we spoke with Crystal Rizzuto, Senior Human Resources Manager at Johnvince Foods, one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies. Johnvince Foods is an established leader in innovating, manufacturing and distributing quality bulk foods across North America.

On the podcast we discuss:

• Advice when starting in HR
• Current Challenges in HR for Manufacturing
• Solutions for HR Challenges

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Advice to Those Starting in HR

Whether you are just starting your career in Human Resources, or have been in HR for some time, it is important to share your new ideas. Avoid being intimidated by positions or titles. A lot of HR leaders’ goals are to really help people reach their full potential, whatever that may be.  

Specific departments are often stuck in their process, without viable solutions for solving the problems they encounter. Even if your idea might feel unrealistic or insignificant, the advantage you gain from coming forward and presenting an idea to your team is invaluable and it can end up helping that department solve their problem in a way they hadn’t thought about.  

Current Challenges for HR at Manufacturing Companies

Not all organizations are equipped to work from home. When you're working in a production line, or you're working in the manufacturing industry, you need people to be there to produce the product - whatever that product is.  

When you have to take social distancing into consideration, it often means than companies have to reduce the amount of people working on an assembly line. Despite demand being the same (if not higher than usual), many companies are working with a reduced workforce. That has been one of the most challenging experiences to navigate.

Solutions to HR Challenges

Miscommunication Issues

In the world of employee retention, it is common for companies to sight pay as the primary reason employees leave, when in fact, disagreements with a manager are much more to blame. Miscommunication between employees and managers is a universally recognized problem. Either it’s unclear directions provided to an employee, or a misunderstanding of specific requirements that lead to errors and frustration. The role of HR is to help unravel these miscommunications. If an HR person is skilled at their job, they will be able to diffuse tensions between employees and managers, and help all parties get re-focused on the same goals.

Reporting Efficiency  

Reporting is a big challenge in many organizations. Managers and clients want Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) reported on and want them quickly and frequently. Having an easier way to compile data from several different areas, that limits the amount of manual data comparison from multiple sources, would be a significant time-saver for HR reps across all industries. Investing in your knowledge of various HR software tools can give you an advantage for a career in both the business world, and the HR functions that support it.  

About Crystal

Crystal is a CHRP/CHRL HR Professional with over 17 years of Human Resources experiences, including spending the last 10 years of her HR Career leading HR Departments for both national and international organizations, in both privately held and publicly traded companies.

Her broad HR leadership range includes industries such as high tech, telecommunications, transport, waste disposal and most recently the food processing and manufacturing industry.  

Crystal has served on the HRPA Board of Directors in the Peel Chapter in Ontario and has owned a business supporting Job Seekers with finding employment through career coaching and resume building. Crystal received her bachelor’s degree with Honours from York University in Human Resources Management.

Outside of work, as a mother of 3 children, she knows the challenges that all levels and people within an organization experience. Her career focus has always been that all people deserve to be treated fairly, and that this is achieved by bridging the communication gap between management and employee goals. Anyone can do HR, but it takes a certain personality to inspire change within an organization and at this phase of her career, she is absolutely enthusiastic about helping other HR professionals achieve their company’s goals.

Learn more about ModoHR’s most popular product, ScreeningCanada™ here.  

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