Unless you are an HR professional yourself, the Human Resources department is probably the most distant to your immediate consciousness at work. Most of us are blissfully unaware of the intricate HR practices. Here, we list down 7 wonderful HR practices that some companies follow:

Fun and Games:

Games have long been used by the military and airlines to train employees. They have now evolved to retailers using games to motivate individuals working in mundane jobs. For example, few retail outlets score their cashiers on each transaction, and compare their individual scores with other cashiers. It consequently leads to both higher quality work and improved morale.

Unlimited vacations:

Imagine an HR giving employees the freedom to take unlimited vacations and sick leave. This policy allows employees to personally manage how much time they spend away from work. By offering compelling work, tightknit teams, and performance-based pay, these firms offer enough positive incentives to drive employees to work more hours, while also taking time off as and when they see fit.

Get paid to quit:

There are a few companies that hire people and immediately offer them a certain amount of money to quit! The message here is ‘If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a bonus.’ The intention is to weed out the bad apples.

Who needs a boss?

There are a few software giants across the world, which have no managers! This is one of the boldest-ever HR practices, where the company has not once had promotions. They only have new projects where its employees recruit deserving colleagues whose skills they find fitting to the project’s needs. A peer-to-peer review process determines the salaries.

Outrageous benefits:

A software giant recently revealed that it offers amazing death benefits to every US employee. Should any of its US employees die, their surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive 50% of the employee’s paycheck each year for the next 10 years! With a young employee base, fortunately not many will likely take advantage of this benefit, but it still sends a powerful message that benefits at the company are unique.

Hired, fired and hired again:

Imagine having to re-apply for a job you already have. A few companies hire employees for specific positions only for a limited period of time, following which the individual has to re-apply for the same job.

Employee automation/self-service:

Human Resources department in a lot of organisations are working towards making HR manpower redundant. This includes the process of eliminating the manual process of benefits changes, status updates and vacation requests. This is done by capturing everything via e-forms online or from tablets, and prevents the need for paper and filing. In effect, HRs in these organisations are working towards making themselves redundant. Strange right?

The human resource department is the backbone of a successful organization. HR professionals are the reason a company runs smoothly and efficiently. So it is important for them to constantly try out innovative practices that can position the company as an aspiring workplace. If you’re pursuing an MBA course in Human Resources or are an upcoming entrepreneur, you should definitely try and experiment with some of the interesting practices mentioned above.