What are HR templates?

Working aids and checklists in human resources make administration easier, which makes up a large part of HR work. These tasks must be performed carefully and correctly, and it is not uncommon for legal requirements to be met. As a rule, checklists can be created for all task areas in personnel management. Employees in the personnel department can complete their tasks reliably and in a structured manner.

Even for career starters, HR templates are valuable work aid to open up new areas of work better. But experienced HR managers also benefit from simplified work processes and procedures. A win-win situation for HR managers, employees and employers.

Employees in human resources (also personnel management and human resources (HR)) have an intermediary function between employer and employee. As a rule, they fulfill two main functions in a company: personnel management and personnel administration.

Both areas of responsibility comprise many activities that must be carried out carefully, in a structured and conscientious manner. The personnel factor is a decisive factor for the success of any company.

What are HR audit checklists used for?

The scope of work in human resources is extensive. From recruiting to the farewell of an employee, everything belongs to it. Classically, human resources (HR) distinguishes between personnel management and personnel administration in personnel management. Two areas in which HR audit checklists positively support personnel managers’ responsible tasks are

In Personnel management, it is about the possibilities of personnel development and employee promotion. For this, in a so-called top-down process, the company goals are broken down from the HR department to the company’s departments, and key figures are defined with the managers. If managers and employees are involved, and their feedback is taken into account, this is known as the bottom-up process.

This provides the HR department with information about leadership styles, leadership instruments, the corporate culture and management models. From this, concrete offers for training and further education can be derived, and the required workforce and job positions can be determined.

Personnel management is mainly about recruiting. The employees of this HR area advertise new positions, review the application documents, and take over suitable personnel’s selection process up to hire. In many areas of the application process, checklist templates can be used as working aids.

In addition, personnel administration takes on other administrative tasks, such as strategic personnel planning, payroll accounting, drawing up employee contracts, controlling, and implementing labor law requirements.

Numerous of the activities in personnel management and personnel administration can be mapped with specific HR templates. The areas of responsibility include, for example:

• Personnel recruitment
• Personnel selection
• Organizational management of personnel development measures
• Supervision of employees (onboarding and offboarding, employee interviews, etc.)
• Processing, such as payroll or maintaining personnel files

How do I create an HR template?

Depending on the application, HR templates can differ in their structure, content and design. In the beginning, most people find it challenging to create a template. What seems complicated at first glance becomes more comfortable with each new template started. Often, there is simply a lack of practice and the right approach.

The following five tips will help employees create usable templates for HR work:

1. Formulate concretely
Ideally, a template can be completed in a few minutes. This means that it is structured and easy to understand formulated. Certain topics templates can also cover several pages that are completely correct if the topic requires it. But here too, the rule is: formulate briefly and precisely.

2. Appropriate questions
To ensure that employees and applicants make useful statements, general, ambivalent or woolly formulations should be avoided. For example, many people find it easier to fill out templates with predetermined answers. Therefore, multiple-choice answers should be preferred over blank answer fields.

3. Internal company processes

HR employees should always act in the best interests of the company. Therefore, they should consider how employee reviews, training, and staffing can positively impact the company’s development. This also includes determining who is responsible for the evaluation in the long term, as well as considering how the data obtained can be used.

4. Personalize
Addressing an applicant or employee directly conveys that attention is being paid to the person opposite. For many job functions, personalized wording can be used for checklists. A contact person should always be indicated for any queries.

5. Perform a test run

Especially in front of applicants for the company, nothing is more embarrassing than mistakes in recruiting templates. Therefore, a new template should always go through at least one test run. It probably won’t be perfect the first time through and will need to be reworked.

Creating HR audit checklist templates is made even easier by the use of digital applications. Through desktop software and App, new creations and updates can be implemented more easily. All HR employees also have instant access to new and updated hr templates. Filling out templates can also be done via a digital solution such as an app. This saves unnecessary paper chaos, facilitates access to the required template and exchange within the team.

FAQs: Frequently asked questions about HR templates

In what areas are human resources templates useful?

HR templates are suitable for numerous use cases. For recruiting new employees as well as for feedback sessions, training evaluations, and payroll.

Will HR templates make documentation for personnel files easier?

Even when HR departments use digital solutions for their templates and documentation management, they make it easier to provide the necessary documentation for personnel files. All documentation is stored centrally and can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Usually, a cloud solution is provided for this purpose.

How do I update my HR templates?

In HR, changes to templates are always necessary. Therefore, there is no need to recreate an existing document with outdated sections from scratch. Digital applications such as Lumiform allow updates to be made in the only necessary places. Besides, the new version of the digital templates can be accessed immediately.