Newsletter January 2009
Who cares for HR?
As organisations focus on getting the very best value from their resources and on surviving the credit crunch, 2009 promises to be a very challenging year for everyone in HR and for the people managers they coach and support.
“Challenging” will inevitably mean that difficult conversations will have to take place, whether to deliver bad news or to support those who are feeling vulnerable - and difficult conversations may be stressful both for the recipient and those tasked with delivering the message.
Of course, in the midst of restructuring, downsizing, consulting and squeezing the very best performance out of everyone there is still the ‘day job’ to be done. Implementation of the Employment Act will mean that policies and procedures will need to be revisited, revised and line managers brought up to speed all at a time when insecurity is likely to lead to an increase in sickness absence.
Much of this work will fall to the HR professional but all too often HR people forget their own needs as they concentrate on the needs of the organisation and the individuals that make up the organisation. As we operate in the real world, we know that role playing a redundancy interview at 3am from the depths of your duvet is not good for your health nor does it make the ensuing conversation any less difficult. For very good reasons, counsellors have supervisors with whom they can share the emotional load in a confidential environment. Let us not forget that HR professionals are often thrust into the role of ‘counsellor’ but without a support mechanism and sometimes without previous experience.
So ... Who cares for HR ? ... We do!
Cullen Scholefield suggests all HR staff make a New Year resolution to take better care of themselves and their HR colleagues throughout this difficult period. Take some time to consider your needs, perhaps the opportunity to discuss problems and share solutions with colleagues would be helpful ?
Also have a look at our plans for Circle of Peers for 2009!
