What does it mean to be important in 2021?  According to Merriam Webster, it is “having serious meaning or worth.”  For all the human resources professionals out there, being important has never meant more or come with bigger expectations.  That realization hit me about three weeks ago in the most unlikely of places…a cheerleading practice.  As I do three times every week, I raced into the gym with my daughter for her practice time and settled into my spot on literally the most uncomfortable set of bleachers on the planet.  

This will be my after hours office for the next two and half hours as I take up more space than I should with my laptop, hotspot, backpack, and purse.  As I clicked away in my email, I realized that the young lady next to me was reading over my shoulder, and she eventually got the nerve up to ask, “what do you do for a living?”  I shared with her that I’ve done pretty much every job in Human Resources over the years.  As luck would have it, she’s a liberal arts major at our local college pursuing a degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development.  Within a few minutes, I had closed my laptop and realized that I was not going to answer any more emails.  Her questions continued.  “What makes a good HR person?” “Is it hard to do that every day?” “Do you ever get bored?” “I want to do a job where people recognize my hard work and I’m afraid HR is not it?”

During that interaction, I found myself reflecting on my years in “the people business,” pondering questions like “have I made a difference in my organization?” and “would my coworkers say that I’m important?”  I had a unique opportunity at that moment to let that curious person know that human resources is indeed important for so many reasons, and 2021 has given us yet one more…the “Great Recession Resignation?”. 

Geez!  Human Resources professionals thought they were thrown the curveball of all time when the pandemic hit.  There is no way that we could have planned for the world to go back to work only to have people begin quitting their jobs by the millions!  Still not sure if human resources is important?  

Here is the key reason to view HR as important (and here’s a hint…this does not show up in most job descriptions):
HR professionals are where the employee experience STARTS!  We own it at the end of the day and employees will make decisions to stay or go based on that experience.

You don’t have to look any further than the data surrounding the Great Recession Resignation?  Over the last 18 months, the pandemic has reshaped the way work happens, including when, where and how.  Employees are seeking higher compensation, more flexible work structures, and less rigorous expectations and when they don’t find it in their current employer, they are quick to leave for greener pastures.  Employers are trying to combat this trend as best they can and this is where HR professionals can make their mark!  Want to be seen as important? Focus on the employee experience and that doesn’t mean you give in to every request.  

Some of the Ideas HR Have Implemented Include:

1. Recruit candidates that can be shared across roles giving you the ability to pay a little more to secure them, but you get to spread the cost out in your organization. (What Workers Want From HR)
2. Create avenues of creativity where employees can explore ways to utilize their skills in a different way without leaving your company 
3. Create quick, easy, and cost-effective ways for employees to re-engage – Friday trivia is the latest addition to our list

Pull your chair back up to the table and make your voice heard.  Human resources is as important as ever, and there’s no better time to be in our shoes.  And for the record, that curious college student is going to be my intern next summer and I cannot wait to make her feel important!