8 New Year's Resolutions for HR

As a proud member of the HR Community, I was trying to think of things that, individually or collectively, we potentially could do better in 2015. With that background, I came up with following eight resolutions:

1.         Avoid HR Jargon.  People appreciate plain English.  Enough with the paradigm shifts, synergistic partnerships, value added relationships and outside the box thinking.  And by the way,  if you are outside the box, you are still defining yourself by the box!  Enough with the box.

2.         Learn more about your business.  Learn more about the non-HR aspects of your business, such as your products and services, goals and objectives, and competitors and obstacles.  The more you know, the more effective and well received you will be.

3.         Re-Recruit Top-Notch Talent.  Top-notch talent always can move, even in a tough economy.  HR may be blindsided, and blamed, when top-notch talent leaves.  Help retain top-notch talent by increasing recognition and appreciation, focusing on problem solving and by discusssing career paths without guarantees.

4.         Re-Calibrate Your Time.  Related to #3, I think we spend 85 percent of our time on our “favorite” 15 percent.  And, of course, by “favorite” I mean the 15 percent for whom we can do nothing right.  No, we cannot reverse it.  But we can move the dial.  We cannot spend the vast majority of our time on “C” players.  We need to spend more time on “A” and “B” players.

5.         Manage, Not Avoid, Risk.  There is no such thing as risk avoidance.  If you try to avoid all risk, you will get nothing done and that may be the biggest risk of all. There can be legal risk and business risks in avoiding risk. So manage it and don’t try to avoid it or you will end up chasing your tail.

6.         Celebrate the Successes.  We don’t do enough of this.  We just jump to the next crisis.  Celebrating success engenders engagement and all the benefits that go with it. When celebrating, appreciation and recognition are key.

7.         Choose Wisely  With Whom You Invest Your Time.  No resource is more valuable than your time. At least when away from work, hang with those who energize you and stay away as much as possible from those who enervate you. I have been spending more time with Aaron Greenberg and my life is the better for it.  Remember him?

8.         Have More Fun.  Work is hard.  There is a reason it is a four-letter word.  But there are a lot of ways that you can infuse (appropriate) fun into the process.  When employees are having fun, they are happier, and happier employees are more productive so they create a better bottom line. So, here’s to a fun 2015!   Speaking of fun, I look forward to the first WeKnowNext #Nextchat. Great combination of learning and fun!