We know. There’s SO much HR content out there.
But working in HR isn’t just a job. You need to stay on the journey of learning, adaptation, and growth.
Perhaps most importantly, connecting with the team is required.
HR isn’t just about policies and procedures; it’s about people. Building strong relationships with employees, understanding their needs, and fostering a culture of trust and collaboration are fundamental aspects of HR.
To help you achieve all this, we’re sharing our HR resources guide, forged from over 8 years of our dedicated research, extensive reading, and invaluable insights gained through our collaboration with real HR professionals.
This isn’t just any guide—our mission is to distill the wealth of expertise accumulated over the years into a single, accessible resource.
Read on to grab our free, expert-curated HR resources.
We’ve synthesized our entire catalog of HR content into the following sections to make it easy for you to find which HR topics interest you.
Select from any of these categories:
Pro-Tip: Use “Command + D” to bookmark this list – we update it often with new template categories!
HR Strategy
As companies strive for agility and resilience in the face of uncertainty, HR strategy becomes indispensable for attracting, developing, and empowering talent to drive organizational success.
With automation reshaping job roles and remote work becoming increasingly prevalent, HR experts must adeptly navigate these changes to ensure their strategies remain relevant and effective. The HR strategy resources will help you stay abreast of emerging HR trends, take full advantage of data analytics, and cultivate strategic partnerships.
1) HR Outsourcing
HR sourcing involves strategically acquiring talent to meet an organization’s current and future needs. By investing in it, HR professionals can streamline recruitment processes, reduce time-to-fill positions, and ensure access to top-tier candidates. Additionally, outsourcing certain HR functions can free up internal resources, allowing an HR department to focus on strategic initiatives and employee development.
With our list of the best HR outsourcing services, you’ll learn more about using talent acquisition agencies, job boards, social media platforms, and talent management software to optimize sourcing efforts and enhance the quality of hires.
2) HR Skills
Getting a better grasp of HR skills can help you effectively navigate the complexities of managing human capital and enhance your ability to attract, retain, and develop talent, ultimately driving organizational success. Developing strong interpersonal skills, such as communication and empathy, enables HR professionals to build meaningful relationships with employees, fostering a positive work culture.
Additionally, data analysis and technology proficiency allows HR professionals to make informed decisions and leverage tools for recruitment, performance management, and employee engagement. We’re helping you hone your HR skills with a complete list of all the competencies you need to develop regarding communication, engagement, management, and intelligence.
3) HR Newsletters
The right HR newsletters serve as valuable resources for accessing curated content, expert insights, and practical tips to enhance their knowledge and skills in human resources management. This enables HR pros to stay ahead of the curve, remain informed about changes in employment laws and regulations, and gain inspiration from success stories and case studies around company culture.
Our list of recommended HR newsletters is handy because it offers a comprehensive list of the best email HR resources covering various HR topics, saving readers time and effort in finding reputable sources of information. Additionally, the blog provides insights into why each newsletter is helpful so you can decide which ones to subscribe to based on your specific interests and needs.
4) HR Templates
HR templates act as practical tools and frameworks for speeding up and improving the efficiency of your HR processes. Additionally, they can help you ensure consistency in documentation and enhance compliance with legal requirements. Simply put, grabbing the best HR templates means you’ll work faster and avoid errors when maintaining HR functions, including recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee policies.
Our hand-picked HR templates offer resources from reputable sources, organized by specific HR tasks or needs. This saves you the effort of creating templates from scratch and provides you with professionally designed resources that can be customized to suit your organization’s unique requirements.
5) HR Blogs
Don’t want to skim through all HR blogs out there just to decide which ones to check out regularly? While keeping up with two or three HR blogs can help you stay abreast of new changes, regulations, or trends, you’ll need to choose the ones that offer accurate and up-to-date information.
Our curated list of HR blogs gives you an overview of the best 30 blog resources out there. You’ll get a quick summary of the blog’s content as well as an article suggestion for each blog to get a better grasp of the writer’s expertise and writing style.
Employee Engagement
Companies that prioritize employee engagement initiatives cultivate a positive work environment and drive higher levels of employee satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, business success in a competitive marketplace.
However, most HR managers are creating their own definitions for a healthy employee engagement rate. For some, it’s all about rewarding their team. Others are happy with simply increasing their retention levels. In reality, the HR resources below will prove the diversity of employee engagement efforts and why you should focus on a multivariate set of steps to ensure engagement.
6) Employee Recognition Tools
Everyone approaches employee recognition differently. Yet, an employee recognition tool can unify your efforts, boost morale, nurture a positive work culture, and drive employee retention. The result? Expect increased productivity, higher job satisfaction, and improved employee relations and loyalty.
To help you choose the right solution, we’ve analyzed the best employee recognition software, including a series of reviews and comparisons of various platforms available on the market. You’ll get our take on the platform, standout features, pricing options, and customer reviews, as well as a quick look at what other companies are using these apps.
7) Team Building Activities
On the same engagement note, it’s time to ditch outdated team-building activity ideas to avoid employee boredom and disengagement. Introducing new ideas allows you to cater to a diverse range of preferences, ensuring that everyone can participate and enjoy the experience. Plus, by engaging in novel experiences, team members can break out of routine thinking patterns and explore new ways of problem-solving and collaboration.
We’ve got insanely cool team-building activity ideas complete with a list of the skills you’ll work on and the next steps — so you won’t waste a second on planning and preparing these.
8) Employee Engagement Ideas
Need even more ways to keep your team engaged?
Get our recommended strategies, activities, and ideas that will boost employee engagement daily. These include team-building exercises, wellness programs, recognition initiatives, professional development opportunities, and more for your employee satisfaction toolkit.
And remember: engaged employees tend to be happier, more loyal, and more productive, ultimately benefiting both the employees and the organization.
9) Employee Wellness
Perhaps one of the most neglected aspects within most companies is employee wellness. Overlooking this can have serious consequences, given that research shows that employees experiencing burnout are 63% more inclined to take sick leave and are 2.6 times more likely to actively seek employment elsewhere.
That’s why we’ve prepared an extensive list of over 121 employee wellness ideas that are easy to apply and your team will love.
10) Ways To Reward Employees
Tired of the old gift card and office celebrations?
Rewarding employees remains essential for boosting morale, motivation, and overall job satisfaction. By offering tangible rewards, recognition, or incentives, employers can show appreciation for their employees’ hard work and dedication.
Our recommendations offer practical tips and examples that companies can implement to effectively reward and recognize their employees, ultimately contributing to a more engaged and motivated workforce. Expect mystery parties, spa days, extra paid time off, nap time, and more quirky ideas.
11) Employee Recognition Ideas
Like the employee reward ideas above, these helpful employee recognition ideas will help you solidify a recognition strategy that works for your team members. That means it’s best to ask for their feedback and get to know them better to find the recognition tactics they will truly resonate with.
As a bonus, we’ve talked to a couple of organizations already employing these employee recognition ideas to get their thoughts on the topic and see the results.
12) Remote Employee Appreciation
Let’s not forget about the particularities of remote work. While you can use many employee recognition and reward ideas with your remote team, we’ve also compiled a list of virtual employee appreciation ideas for distributed employees.
Having dedicated activities for your remote staff helps you ensure they stay engaged while also building better employer-employee trust relations. And we’re guaranteeing they’ll love the ideas! In fact, for each activity, we included a “Why they’ll love this” section so you can see if the outcome aligns with your team’s general preferences and expectations.
HR Software Tools
HR tools can support various HR functions such as recruitment, onboarding, performance management, payroll, and benefits administration.
Careful here. Not all tools are created equal.
Some leverage automation and artificial intelligence to help organizations increase efficiency, accuracy, and compliance, while others are stronger when providing real-time insights or enhancing employee experiences. Regardless, we’ve got the best HR software recommendations for you, organized by their main purposes.
13) HR Apps
Let’s start with a more general look at all the digital platforms you can choose from to deliver upon engagement, employee benefits, collaboration, global HR, and more. Our analysis of the best ten HR apps (each with a different core use case) will give you a better perspective of the tool stack an HR team should prepare.
14) HR Tools
For a similar list, have a look at our list of the best HR tools. You’ll better understand why each tool excels and what type of HR managers will enjoy a particular solution over another.
15) HR Software Companies
Want to go beyond the product? Get to know your providers to understand what type of customer support services they provide and if they cater to your geographical area.
Tip: This is particularly worth it when you have (or are planning to) employees spread out globally, as it’ll help you ensure compliance and keep your team connected.
16) HR Software for Small Business
Time to focus on the smaller teams that have dedicated needs and challenges some tools might not cater to. The HR tools featured in this list serve to foster team growth covering aspects ranging from organization and productivity to compliance and payroll management.
Small business HR software systems will become indispensable allies for business owners as they can ensure that employees receive proper support, recognition, timely payments, effective training, and regular communication.
17) Employee Management Software
Simply using employee management software can help you solve many challenges, like ensuring legal compliance, optimizing performance, improving team-wide communication, running onboarding planning, and more.
Use our SnackNation recommendations to choose an employee management system that will meet the specific needs of the business and the employees. As a bonus, we’re covering which systems are best suited for businesses with bigger workforces and which are a better fit for smaller teams.
18) Applicant Tracking Systems
Zooming into the earlier stages of the employee lifecycle, our team recommends working with a dedicated applicant tracking system. It’ll help you better organize your job descriptions and listings, improve candidate matching, stay compliant, and even report on past applicants and hires.
By exploring our compilation of popular applicant tracking systems (ATS), you’ll gain confidence in selecting and implementing job tracking software for your organization.
19) HR Software for Payroll
Ready to pay your team?
HR payroll software automates calculations for employee wages, taxes, deductions, and benefits, reducing the risk of errors associated with manual data entry. Similar solutions also come with built-in compliance features to ensure payroll processes adhere to relevant labor laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.
Our analysis of the best HR software for payroll takes a unique approach by drilling into how each human resource payroll system stands out as well as notable features you won’t find with all options.
Tip: Get a global payroll system to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties and legal liabilities.
HR Compensation, Benefits & Perks
We’ve already talked about the importance of rewarding your employees, but what’s next?
With the ongoing competition for talent and changing workforce expectations, organizations prioritize offering competitive compensation packages, comprehensive benefits, and attractive perks to attract, motivate, and retain top talent.
So we have used our expertise to bring you in-depth HR resources that bring you closer to some of the finest rewards you can put out there.
20) Company Swag
T-shirts. Pens. Mugs. Just a couple of the boring swag most employees don’t even care about. Unique company swag though means your employees genuinely appreciate the items you provided.
With our list of special (and crazy) company swag ideas, you can ensure you’ll make a good choice. If you’re in a rush, you can go ahead and purchase some of the products we recommend. But remember, it’s always best to offer a pack of different branded items that cater to diverse needs to make sure people will use them.
21) Corporate Gifting Ideas
Yes, we’ve got even more ideas for corporate gifts that will get everyone talking for weeks — 168 of them, to be exact.
Don’t stress too much, though. Every gift idea on our list is meant to make a different type of person happy. While you will find something for everyone, you should never just get the same earphones or pack of donuts for the whole team.
Tip: Want to try out something new? Encourage your employees to exchange gifts or even suggest their own.
22) Work Anniversary
Donuts, for instance, sure do work daily. However, some of the worst workplaces barely give their loyal employees juice or a small coupon.
Think big and skim through our list of curated work anniversary gifts to stand out. We’ve tested some of these ourselves throughout the years so this HR resource includes recommendations for when to gift them based on an employee’s tenure with your company or preferences.
23) Diversity & Inclusion Activities
Diversity and inclusion activities allow employees to learn about different cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. By engaging in workshops, discussions, or training sessions, employees can develop a deeper understanding and empathy towards their colleagues, promoting a more inclusive work environment.
Want to see all this become a reality? We’ve put together diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities to help you navigate specific challenges, such as encouraging active listening and dispelling common misconceptions or stereotypes. Hint: Our favorite starts with finding out how employees feel at work.
24) Employee Benefits Services
“Should my employees have visibility into everyone’s contributions?”
“Is our benefits program compliant?”
“Does my team actually like such incentives?”
These are just some questions you should answer when setting up an employee benefits scheme. With easy-to-use employee benefits tools, you can improve the strategy and delivery behind benefits.
We’ve analyzed all of them and organized them so each can help you with one seemingly tiny thing that will add up to building a healthier and happier workforce.
25) Employee Perks
You already know how valuable employee perks are, but do you know how to balance them? For instance, giving your team more time off or a flexible schedule will let them relax and stay happier.
But what about their career development efforts or your own goals of creating a sustainable work environment?
We’re encouraging you to start personalizing your employee perks with a list of ideas to help you cover all of the aspects behind employee happiness. In our list of employee perks your team will love, you’ll experiment with letting your employees choose their gifts, stocking up their kitchen, and caring for their health.
Wrapping Things Up
Take advantage of the free HR resources we’ve compiled over the years to change your HR strategy starting today. You can begin by analyzing your current team’s fallbacks and what you’d like to improve.
Proceed to ask every single person on your team for feedback. A simple question like “What’s something new you’d like to try?” or “What do you wish we’d improve within the team?” can pave the way for an entirely new HR strategy.
With these insights and your team’s feedback, you’ll be equipped to revolutionize your HR approach and foster a more dynamic, responsive workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions About HR Resources (I Found During My Research)
Q: What are the essential HR resources every company should have?
- A: Companies must prioritize the HR resources to help them solve their most pressing challenges. Generally, though, you’ll need resources to help you improve your HR strategy, an HR tool, and any other resources for maintaining employee engagement and rewarding your people.
Q: How can HR resources improve employee engagement and productivity?
- A: HR resources can facilitate recognition programs and rewards systems to acknowledge and appreciate employees’ contributions and achievements. They can also promote work-life balance initiatives such as flexible work arrangements, telecommuting options, and wellness programs.
Q: What role do HR resources play in managing workplace diversity and inclusion?
- A: Well-thought-of HR resources can help you stay up-to-date with developing and updating policies related to diversity and inclusion, such as anti-discrimination, harassment, equal opportunity, and accommodation policies. Many of them go one step further to help you provide diversity and inclusion training programs, educate employees on the importance of diversity, or handle diversity-related conflicts and grievances.
Q: How can HR resources help in developing leadership skills within an organization?
- A: HR resources provide the formal structure and plan for designing, implementing, and facilitating leadership training programs. They can also be used to set up mentorship and coaching programs and implement 360-degree feedback processes to gather input from peers, subordinates, or supervisors on leaders’ strengths and areas for development.
