When Was The Last Time You Thanked HR?

Let us recognize HR leaders and teams for the impeccable work they did in 2020

It’s safe to say that 2020 will go down in the history books as a bleep show, to say the least. I never liked the cliché “(insert a situation) is like a rollercoaster.” Rollercoasters are designed to be fun and provide a thrill. They also go under extreme rigorous safety protocols to keep something bad from happening, in turn allowing you to enjoy them.  

If I were to describe 2020 as a rollercoaster, it would look rickety; the seatbelts wouldn’t work; several of the wheels might stick; and it would have a sign every three feet stating “we’re serious, ride at your own risk.” You would be forced to rethink even coming close to the ride.

All jokes aside, 2021 and HR’s Great Reset are on the horizon.  With the holiday season upon us, it’s a time of year where we’re reminded that we have much to be grateful for. Before we get to the Great Reset and focus on our 2021 strategy, we need to take the time to recognize HR leaders and teams for the impeccable work they did in 2020. 

Although 2020 has been exceptionally challenging in many ways—some important to improving our society, others completely out of our control—let’s look back at several challenges we’re all deeply indebted to HR for:

Thank you human resources for stepping up to help navigate this sensitive issue in the workplace. Thank you for increasing your awareness and taking action around diversity, equity, and inclusion. As I’ve worked with leaders, it was remarkable to see the requests and the number of resources you submerged yourself in to educate, train, and provoke healthy conversation while recognizing bias.  Keep leading positive change.

Thank you human resources for supporting employees who are taking care of family and friends, who have lost someone to Coivd-19. Thank you for explaining the what and why furloughs and layoffs are happening and the multitude of uncomfortable and displeasing conversations you’ve had to have. Thank you for spending hours and hours reviewing skill sets to maintain business continuity and upskilling or reskilling employees to keep as many working as possible during such an economically uncertain time. Thank you for being a catalyst in transitioning workers from an office environment to a remote environment.

Thank you for removing the stigma on this topic. More importantly, thank you for providing an ear to employees and providing emotional support in their time of need. Thank you for providing resources, coping mechanisms, and office hours dedicated to helping employees navigate their feelings. Sometimes, it’s not about fixing the issue but just listening. And you did that.  Continue to improve in 2021 and make sure we’re focused on our employee’s life work journey.

Thank you for taking initiative and working with various leaders across the organization like IT and operations to ensure employees have what they need while working remote or still reporting to a job site. Thank you for teaching and training employees who are not tech-savvy on how to use technology, so that productivity didn’t suffer more than it had to. Thank you for helping to explore and implement new technologies to keep employees safe, whether it be contactless time-clocks, wellness protocols, contact tracing, or something as simple as notifications via text. For many of you, it’s the first time you had to do open enrollment virtually. Thank you for your patience, guidance, and time walking employees through the entire process.  

I truly believe if murder hornets were to invade the workplace, it’d be HR’s responsibility to eliminate them. Just another thank you to add to the list. In all seriousness, as we move into 2021, our lives have forever changed in the way we work, the way we socialize, and how business is conducted. Human resources continue to play a critical role and will no longer be labeled the “paper pusher” or handed administrative tasks that no one wants to do. We’ve witnessed their ability to be strategic and execute on a multitude of levels at an accelerated pace. Let our focus shift now to 2021 and create an improved workplace that employees can thrive in and trust.  

Happy New Year!