HR is full of different roles and responsibilities and there are a ton of buzzwords that we love to throw around in organizations. We also love to use creative titles for people in HR. Companies do this for a variety of reasons, but mostly is a marketing campaign. We need some good marketing in HR, but we also need to realize the best marketing is providing a service that people want and need. Results happen and a key to HR success is tying all that activity we do to business impact. Below are some of lessons I was reminded of this year tied to the importance of HR and what we do. There a few buzzwords and rhymes thrown in for fun.
s the year comes to a close and I begin to reflect on the previous twelve months, I realize as adults we are always learning and re-learning important lessons. Many of the lessons I learned this year were simply reminders of lessons learned years ago. Below is the beginning of my list and will serve as part one for the Twelve Lessons I Learned (or Re-Learned) This Year blog series. These lessons are universal in many areas of life.
In my last post, I discussed the positive effects of gratitude. During this time of Thanksgiving, it is easy for us to be thankful for the things in our life that we love and enjoy. However, how often do we show gratitude and give thanks for the things that were difficult for us or for things that were unpleasant? It reminds of the commonly used notion of Feedback as a gift. As much as it is, it can be hard to realize it when the gift you are receiving is negative or unflattering.
In this journey we are taking our differences aren’t negatives. They have made us a better team. Understanding that differences make a stronger unit or team is an often missed concept in many organizations. People like to be around the like-mined individuals and people often hire those who are more like them. However, failing to work in a group with members who compliment your areas of opportunity means your team is weaker than it could be. Don’t get me wrong, the foundational stuff has to be the same. If it is, then it will override the little stuff and comprise and compliment will result in a perfect match.
Change is constantly around us. In our daily lives, we experience change in almost every aspect. In order to adapt to the changes around us we learn. Adults are constantly learning and adapting. In HR, we must adapt to changes in business needs and priorities and to changes in resources and functions. We must also be prepared to learn new technologies and new business tools that will enable us to meet the changing demands of our organizations and the people they employ. So how do we keep in front of changes and stay alert to where our profession is headed?
We learn. How do you keep up to date? My suggestion is simple: Get out of Your Office.
Over at the HRCapitalist blog, Kris Dunn asked the question, “Why Don’t We Coach Employees More Than We Do?” This is a great question and to quote Dunn, “confrontation sucks.”
During my career, I have been given a few nuggets of wisdom from people with whom I have made contact. Upon truly understanding their meaning, those words shaped a paradigm shift in my thinking that transformed the way in which I did my work or lived my life. Other pieces of wisdom I heard simply reaffirmed what I already knew, but perhaps provided a unique way in which to describe or communicate the concept. One of those concepts seems to be rarer today than when my career started and I thought I would share it with you.
In a previous post, I discussed some common misconceptions with illegal workplace behavior. With all the misconceptions that some behavior is illegal and with all the sexual harassment training that is provided, it should be easy to figure out that the following behavior is illegal:
“Hey, I got an HR question for you.” This is a statement I hear often. In most cases it either involves a scenario description followed by, “Is that legal?” In my experience, most of the scenarios I hear come from bad workplace conduct, behavior or policy and are not illegal. A recent blog post by Donna Bellman breaks down the top ten employment laws that you think exist that don’t.
As the New Year approaches in less than two weeks, it is a great time to review and reflect the previous year while preparing for the year to come. This is a ritual in which I have participated since my early career days in retail management. It was motivating to reflect on the accomplishments of [...]
Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 15 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. [Read more ...]Provided by
