Can I just do my job?
^^HR leaders every day??
This week I’m back with PART TWO.
For the last two weeks, I’ve been writing about different HR leader profiles and the types of skills, challenges and qualities they may have.
Catch up quick:
Humor me for a second…
Why does it feel like sometimes you show up READY to do things like foster amazing culture, support employee wellbeing, make strategic and smart moves and embrace your badass leader self, but YOU CAN’T?
Something or even someone gets in the way.
And you’re left wondering, CAN I JUST DO MY JOB?
The answer is yes, but also no. 😂
Let me explain – there can be things that hold back HR from doing their best work.
Like:
- Leadership
- Lack of resources
- The organization
And sometimes it’s not a reflection of your abilities but rather the environment!!
Spoiler alert: not every environment is worthy of your greatness.
I said what I said!
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Now, let’s look at what could be holding you back and what to do about it.
Leadership:
Notice the title is LEADERSHIP, not just THE CEO.
Because unfortunately, ALL the leadership in your org play a key role in HR’s success.
Leadership support is EVERYTHING from getting your initiatives executed to taking your recommendations.
And that support unfortunately starts with their perception of HR…
Do your leaders think HR is an administrative function or a strategic function?
The answer to that question can tell you a lot about whether you can have the right influence & impact in your organization.
Leaders who think HR is an administrative function might:
- Resist investing time in HR
- Exclude HR from important discussions
- Ignore your recommendations
- Fail to support HR led initiatives
- Consider HR only to hire / fire
We’ve all probably worked with a leader who has uttered the words “HR told me I have to do this.”
VS
Leaders who think HR is a strategic function might:
- Include HR in business making decisions
- See people strategy as a business strategy
- Use people data and recommendations to inform business decisions
- Support HR initiatives and change management
- Invest in HR
These leaders are bringing you into the conversation early, looking for your guidance and being a true partner.
The bottom line: without leadership buy-in, your initiatives cannot be successful and doing your job will feel like an uphill battle.
📣 The million dollar question: how do you change that perception that HR is administrative to HR is strategic?
That needs an entire newsletter so that’s coming right up in the next few weeks!
Let’s look at a few other things that could be stopping you from doing your job.
Lack of resources:
If you heard this GIF in Whitney’s voice and instantly started singing, we can be friends.
Because some days I want to say: I HAVE NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING IF I AIN’T GOT RESOURCES.
I’m not saying HR needs an endless budget and unlimited headcount, but we need something, ANYTHING.
I see far too many HR teams that are understaffed and told to “do more with less.”
📣 Motion to remove that phrase from our vocab immediately?
Because it is actually impossible to do more with less and don’t you dare mention AI right now – because I won’t be hearing it!!!!
Without the right tools, headcount and budget HR can be stuck doing repetitive tasks and sending endless paperwork instead of focusing on the challenging strategic problems that need our attention.
Wondering if you are properly resourced? It might be time for an audit.
THE FUN KIND!!!
The HR resource audit:
- Write down all of HR’s responsibilities. As best as you can estimate how much time each responsibility takes and who on your team is responsible.
- Look at your HR tech stack: Are all your tools being used? Is your tech stack up to date, efficient and adding value?
- Benchmark against your peers: Ask around to see what other HR teams at similar companies are doing. What’s their team size, budget, tools etc. This convo comes up at least once a week in Safe Space!
Once you gather all this info, you should be able to spot gaps in either skills or tools.
From there you’re able to put together a business case to ask for more of what your team needs to be successful.
The organization:
Have you ever worked at a company where multiple people say this phrase regularly? “We’ve always done it this way.”
When I hear that phrase, I want to RUN. My alarm bells start to go off and my guard is INSTANTLY UP.
Why??
Because that phrase indicates you may be dealing with an organization that is resistant to change.
And guess what?? That kind of makes the HR job slightly impossible…
If the organization isn’t adaptable HR can’t do things like:
- Improve employee engagement
- Modernize processes (performance management, onboarding, etc)
- Implement new initiatives
- Introduce new policies
So, um like our job? 🙂
Here are some signs that your organization may be resistant to change:
- New ideas get dismissed without any discussion
- There is no clear change management process outlined
- Leadership avoids decisions around new initiatives
- Risk taking isn’t encouraged
- HR is viewed as reactive rather than proactive
Look, change is scary to the average person. Now imagine a whole org of people scared of change! That can feel like an impossible thing to change, but I have two things for you to try.
✅ Start small: Low risk changes that show immediate value are a great way to get people more comfortable with things changing. They won’t feel a major disruption AND they’re getting some value out of what you’re changing. Do that for a bit and then start making your way to medium + high risk changes.
✅ Communicate WHY: everyone needs context as to why changes are being made. It brings your employees on the journey with you rather than feeling like you’re dragging them along. Start every change with the WHY and make sure you highlight the benefits of the change.
If you’ve tried these things and your organization is still resistant to change, it might be time to consider if it’s even possible to make change…
Hold up…
There can be a lot of things holding you up from doing your job effectively.
It could be the combo of leadership, resources and your org. Or there could be something else at play…
The one thing you cannot forget: if something is stopping you from doing your best work, you need to look around at WHY.
And, I say this in the nicest way possible, sometimes YOU can also be the issue.
There are some environments that do not deserve you or even want you or what you’re offering but you’re there.
I’ve been there before – and it made me miserable, it made me doubt myself and it left me saying can I just do my job most days.
It took me making the decision to leave that radically changed things for me.
❤️ Never forget: Not every environment is worthy of your greatness!!
