Development Starts with HR
As Human Resources Professionals, we’ve seen firsthand that companies investing in engagement, wellbeing, company culture, and employee development outperform their competitors.
Engagement Trends
The Gallup organization’s State of the Global Workplace 2021 Report defines employee engagement as those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace. They reported that engagement decreased by two percentage points from 2019 to 2020, and employees reported higher stress than they had in the previous year.
“What if the next global crisis is a mental health pandemic? It is here now.” ~ Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO Gallup
Engaged employees give their organizations a competitive advantage because they are more focused, innovative, and resilient but according to the report, employees are at less risk for burnout when they are engaged and thriving in all five areas of wellbeing:
Career wellbeing - Doing what you like every day
Social wellbeing - Having meaningful friendships in your life
Financial wellbeing - Managing your money well
Physical wellbeing - Having the energy to get things done
Community wellbeing - Liking where you live
Just like we’ve witnessed over the years with evolving organizational cultures, improving employee wellbeing ultimately depends on the decisions of executive leadership. Leaders themselves must first be prioritizing their wellbeing so that individual contributors have positive examples to follow.
When Gallup studied more than 112,000 teams over 2.7 million employees in 276 organizations across 54 industries, the benefits of employee engagement were clear: decrease in absenteeism by 81%; decrease in patient safety incidents by 58%; decrease in turnover by 18% for high-turnover organizations and 43% for low-turnover organizations; decrease in quality defects by 4
1%; increase in customer loyalty by 10%; increase in productivity by 18% and increase in profitability by 23%.
So, what was invested in your HR development and wellbeing this year?
An HR Pro's Day-to-Day Priorities
Traditionally, HR is known for the administrative functions within an organization such as recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, training, time reporting, payroll, benefits, compensation, employee data management, performance, and leave management.
The common goal of HR in any organization is
to strengthen corporate performance and competitive position. We are strategic business partners responsible for maximizing productivity by optimizing employee effectiveness. In addition to performing the administrative functions necessary to employ staff, we are also charged with delivering:
Reduced turnover and attrition rates
Maximized employee performance
Favorable levels of employee engagement
Continuous improvement of company culture
Qualitative and quantitative assessment reports
Ongoing learning and development programs
Aligning goals across the organization
Effectively communicating change
And SO much more...
Wellbeing starts with HR Self-Care
The trouble is, that as the business needs shift, we reprioritize our responsibilities and consistently put our own development or even our own wellbeing on hold in order to help others be successful.
In a recent report, the 2021 Pulse of HR Report, which gathered data from 1,000 U.S. HR Professionals found that 98% of HR leaders said the pandemic has transformed their role and 70% said that this past year has been one of the most stressful of their careers.
Another report found that 77.3% of HR professionals surveyed reported experiencing burnout during the pandemic, an increase from 59.6% in February 2020.
Tasked with communicating change to a change fatigued staff and maintaining employee engagement through anxious times while managing unparalleled turnover sounds more like the final round of a reality tv game show where only one team wins a prize. It’s no surprise why HR Professionals from all industries are feeling overwhelmed.
Compassion and helping others is what drives us to this field but what if in order to do just that, we don’t put the needs of others before our own? It seems antithetical but what if prioritizing the development and wellbeing of the HR team is the way to optimize the performance of every employee at your organization?
Invest in You
The time has come for you to invest in yourself, prioritize your HR Pro's development and wellbeing, and model the behaviors you want for the employees in your organization to follow.
With life being always In The Worx, we support overwhelmed HR Professionals and business owners become intentional and present leaders, find focus through self-leadership, and successfully improve their employees’ experience and day-to-day work.
What are you waiting for? Click here and find out how you can invest in yourself and learn more about the services In The Worx, Coaching & Consulting offers.
