December 30, 2010

HR Resolutions for the New Year

It’s time to make resolutions for the New Year. I’m sure a lot of us will make personal resolutions about losing weight, spending more in nature or being more organized. But, it’s also a great time of year to think about how you will approach work differently in 2011.

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Here my HR work resolutions for 2011.

• "I resolve to spend more time on the things that have the biggest impact on the success of my company.” Far too often in HR we get tied up in the “little stuff” and spend too much of our valuable time and knowledge on low-level tasks. They have to get done, we all know it, but why not focus in 2011 on bringing more efficiency to process and finding creative ways to get things done. For example, hire a student intern who is looking for valuable work experience, embrace technology to help with tasks that take too long, and delegate. When you spend less time on the little stuff you have more time to focus where you can have more impact.

• "I resolve to challenge the status quo and look for opportunities to improve HR programs.” It’s hard when you are so busy to think about making dramatic changes, but the world and business are changing at record pace. And, it’s our job to keep up. Find something small that you can start with and, as you build confidence in that, work up to bigger things. More and more companies are moving their compensation programs to pay-for-performance. Maybe this is the year that you prepare your company for the transition.

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• "I resolve to learn my company’s business and add value to the bottom line.” We all know that being business-savvy is important in HR, but how many of us have brushed up on those skills. 2011 may be the year to take a new class in business or spend some time with your CFO going over financials. Find ways to expand your understanding of your business and find ways to add value to the bottom line.

• "I resolve to teach my business leaders to be self-sufficient.” How many of you spend more than 50 percent of your day dealing with employee situations or acting as referee between two managers? Let’s focus in 2011 on building competency in our business leaders to deal with employee situations and deal with one another. Help your leaders take an active role in employee relations by empowering them with the communication skills to deal with conflict. If everyone focuses a bit more on good communication in 2011, we could all be on the right track to happier, healthier work environments.

I hope this gets you thinking about ways to be an even better HR practitioner in 2011 than you were in 2010. In the spirit of economic recovery and a brighter future, now is the time to make positive changes. I wish you luck in your pursuit of greatness. I’ll be right there with you looking for ways to make 2011 a success.

With positive thoughts for a great year,

Stacey Carroll
Director of Customer Service & Education

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