challenges of HRM:

1.Change Management:

changes in organizational culture, or implementation of new technology. Unfortunately, many employees

have a tough time adapting to the changes in the workplace, which eventually impacts their productivity
and work efficiency. It also disturbs communication in a workplace, increases employee resistance, and
stagnates an organization’s growth.

Some of the best strategies for change management in HRM include conveying clear goals to the
employees and explaining the reasons for various changes, improving communication with employees,
and asking for feedback and suggestions.

2. Staff Training and Development:

It is essential for companies to constantly upskill their employees to stay ahead of competitors and
increase revenues. However, many organizations often struggle to develop practical training strategies or
adequate employee training and development resources. Some organizations also consider training and
development exercises as a waste of resources.

So, upskilling the workforce is a daunting task in HRM that negatively impacts an organization’s growth.
HRs should analyse employees’ performance to understand their strengths and weaknesses and help
them accordingly.

3. Attracting Top Talent:

Recruiting is a key but challenging HRM task. HRs put in much effort to hire candidates with the right
skills and attitude, teamwork mindset, and someone capable of fitting in with the organizational culture.

The key for organizations to overcome this challenge is to focus on talent building and not only on talent
hiring. Also, HRs should clearly convey the company’s missions and values while hiring employees and
set clear job descriptions.

4. Talent Retention:

Once HRs hire suitable candidates, talent retention becomes another tough challenge. Decreased
employee engagement is one of the biggest reasons employees leave an organization. Also, thanks to the
huge market competition, people are constantly looking for better growth opportunities and higher
salaries.

The best way to retain talent at the workplace is to provide them with adequate perks or incentives to
increase motivation and work satisfaction. The most efficient strategies for talent retention are creating
flexible working conditions, providing financial incentives, aligning industry-relevant upskilling programs,
etc. Some other methods that HRs adopt to increase employee engagement include providing skill
development opportunities to employees, encouraging them to suggest new ideas or processes for
projects, and conducting regular surveys or asking for regular employee feedback.

5. Ensuring Employees’ Physical and Mental Well Being:

Making workplaces safe for employees is one of the biggest challenges in human resources. It is a moral
duty and a legal responsibility of employers to take adequate precautions to make offices safe. There are
numerous Laboure laws and legal compliances that organization’s must follow to help their employees.

For instance, companies can have an open-door policy so that employees can freely discuss stress or
anxiety issues. Several companies even encourage their employees to go for therapy to deal with work-
related stress and offer to pay for the same.

6. Ensuring Diversity and Inclusion:

HRs must constantly strive to make the workplace diverse and inclusive because it facilitates enhanced
work culture while increasing the efficiency and growth of the organization. However, ensuring diversity
and inclusion is not as easy as it seems. Communication and language barriers, misunderstandings due
to cultural gaps, differences in perspectives among employees, and discrimination are the most common
obstacles that HRs often encounter while making workplaces more diverse and inclusive.

Theoretical approaches of HRM:

The Contingency Approach:

This approach suggests that HR practices should be dependent upon various factors such as the
organization's strategy, the external environment, and the characteristics of the workforce. There is no
one-size-fits-all solution, and HR practices should be tailored to suit specific circumstances.

The Resource-Based View (RBV):

RBV posits that a firm's human resources are a critical source of sustainable competitive advantage. It
underlines the value of unique skills, knowledge, and capabilities possessed by employees. HR practices
aim to identify, develop, and leverage these resources to achieve organizational objectives.

The Best-Practice Approach:

This approach advocates for the adoption of a set of universally applicable HR practices that are
considered to be best in class. It suggests that organizations should implement practices like selective
hiring, extensive training, and employee involvement to achieve high performance.

The Harvard Framework (or the Four Cs):

This model focuses on four policy areas: Commitment, Congruence, Competence, and Cost-
effectiveness. It suggests that HR policies should be designed to ensure that employees are committed to
the organization's goals, there is consistency or congruence between HR policies and organizational
objectives, employees possess the required competencies, and HR practices are cost-effective.

The Stakeholder Theory:

This approach broadens the focus of HRM beyond just employees to include other stakeholders like
customers, suppliers, and the community. It recognizes that managing relationships with various
stakeholders is crucial for the long-term success of the organization.

The Social Exchange Theory:

This theory posits that employment relationships are based on a give-and-take dynamic. Employees offer
their skills, time, and effort, while organizations provide compensation, benefits, and a conducive work
environment. HR practices aim to create a positive and mutually beneficial exchange between the
organization and its employees.

The Systems Theory:

This approach views the organization as a complex system of interrelated parts, where changes in one
area can have cascading effects throughout the organization. HR practices are designed to consider these
interdependencies and ensure alignment across different functions.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298855052_Looking_into_the_black
box_analysis_of_the_effectiveness_of_human_resources_strategy

https://whatfix.com/blog/hr-challenges/