I’ve been in human resources for a long time. I love the industry, the job and the people who work in it. What I’ve found over the past 25 years is, it isn’t really a job, because I love what I do. However, I do ask myself from time to time, what is it about the human side of the work that I love the most? How can I continue to be who I am, while delivering on the human side of HR relationships?
As a human in the world of HR, I have one objective. To provide good practice HR for the companies and people I serve. Which leads me to the question, what is good practice HR? Well, as any savvy HR person knows, it’s about good process, structure, guidance, coaching and so on. But how does one ensure it is done well and the desired outcomes are achieved, in a human like manner.
Here’s a human story. I recently completed a 12-month contract with an environmental recycling firm. At the beginning of the contract, I was given a list of HR requirements to be provided. I was open to this list, as it aligned with what I considered good practice. What I identified though was, it didn’t include any human elements. For example, engaging with people, building trust, rapport, giving and receiving feedback, coaching, or mentoring or spending time with people to support them and the business towards a cultural transformation.
Further, I was advised “we don’t ask them if they want it, around here” ….” we just tell them it is being done”. In one way I understood this comment, but in another I considered this wasn’t going to work. Right there and then, I wondered if this was really the business that I wanted to work in. Where was the human element? Where was the human side of HR? By undertaking this work, would it be reflective of who I am.
As we know, HR has come a long way since the Personnel Department. Most of that ‘way’ has seen the development of people as human beings, as well as the required HR processes and procedures. Now days, we see people are more engaged, educated, sophisticated and more emotionally intelligent as they approach their work, to the satisfaction of the employer.
In my experience, people don’t come to work to do an unsatisfactory job. So, what is it that drives humans to come to work, to do a good job considering there may not always be actual human elements included? Well, it might be ego, to pay the mortgage, to get away from the kids or all the above. How about in these COVID (may I mention) times, with more people working from home applying hybrid working models. Where and what are the human elements here that need to be considered? As HR practitioners, how can we continue to be human in our HR worlds as we move in and out, up and down and along the curve. Following are 5 actions I have put in place to ensure there is a continuous human side to my HR relationships.
- Respectful greetings – over my years in HR, workers have told me, “you know around here, they don’t even say hello”. Good morning, good afternoon, how are you etc.; are normal human greetings. In these current times, sometimes we forget or are unconscious, to respectfully say these greetings due to our busy schedules. To engage we need to re-set, re-frame and re-distribute our greetings to demonstrate authenticity, integrity and even elegance. I always respectfully greet and smile (even behind my mask) as a way of creating, assimilating, and integrating with my clients and their teams.
- Ask about feelings – to ask is to empower, to tell is dis-empowering. Asking about someone’s feelings, or how they are feeling elicits emotional responses. If you want to create good relationships, take the time to ask, not always tell.
- Listen to responses – quite often we are conjuring up a response to someone’s advice, judgement etc. even before they have finished, what they are saying. I make it a habit to listen for tone of voice, the words being used and how the person’s body language is aligned or not. Consciousness around listening creates greater productivity and more focused outcomes.
- Check and reiterate – once a response is provided, in terms of two-way communication, I either paraphrase or double check the response. To reiterate and check creates rapport and trust and further engages the relationship.
- Follow up – by following up based on the last conversation or topic per se demonstrates curiosity, accountability, structure, and emotional intelligence aligned to social competence and empathy. I like to pick up with my clients, where we left off. This demonstrates listening, interest, respect, and courtesy.