As 2016 winds down, it’s a great time to reflect on what has transpired over the last twelve months. It’s easy to step back and take sides to argue your point. What I was aiming at was broader and more holistic. I’m sure people had a mix of successes and setbacks. All of those experiences made up where you are today ready to jump into 2017.
So, if you had to reflect where you are as an HR professional, what would you say? Have you moved ahead, taken a step backwards or sideways, or are you stuck in a pattern you’d like to see change? I can’t speak for others, but I’m encouraged about what has happened this year and I’m eager to see what 2017 brings.
I know that one of the standard questions we ask when we interview folks is what they’d like to have as goals in five years. It’s great to be wishful and have aspirations, but we get discouraged when things don’t pan out as we had hoped. I think there’s always value in looking ahead as long as it’s paired with taking in the experiences we have along the way. We have a chance to make and impact throughout the year as well as have strategies that have a longer cycle.
Too often we keep our head down and crank out endless amounts of work. Have you stepped back to evaluate if those efforts are adding value, or just making sure that we’re “busy”? We need to be more cognizant of the work we’re doing, how it’s affecting our employees and if it has merit. Those things that are redundant or inefficient need to be evaluated and hopefully either eliminated or changed to become worthwhile.
Let’s do something different next year. I’m not talking about setting resolutions or lofty goals because we know those have little chances of sticking and actually resulting in change. No, I want to suggest that we dive into our field fully and unabashedly with excitement and passion !! Not some sense of false and forced niceties, but a real shift in owning HR.
This will look different for everyone, so I won’t presuppose that you should take any prescribed number of steps like many models that are often proposed. I think there is a more fundamental and basic approach we can adopt. I would like to see 2017 be the year where we are confident personally and as a profession in who we are and what we do in human resources. I want to see us quit apologizing, or downplaying, our field. No other profession does this, and neither should we.
I want to encourage you to not only enjoy HR, but thrive in it. You can do things like intentionally connect with more HR peers, go to HR conferences and events or even start your own HR blog. It’s imperative that you step out and be part of the greater HR community. Next year make the move to no longer be isolated. Once you do that, the next step will reveal itself to see how you can improve what you do within your organization.
I’m geeked about HR more than I’ve ever been as we enter 2017. I hope you share my enthusiasm and make moves to make that happen. It’s going to be a phenomenal year and I look forward to seeing it come.
