No one doubts that human resources leaders stepped up and guided organizations through unheralded events during the height of the pandemic. There's a running joke: if you worked in HR and didn't earn a degree in public health or urban planning in 2020, did you really work in HR?
Now that we know HR departments helped organizations survive and thrive during one of the most challenging times in modern human history, what's next? Or is it too soon to ask what's next?
If you're working in HR and not asking what's next, how will you empower the workforce to return to normal?
Now is not the time to take your foot off the gas. Instead, companies need HR departments to help employees step into the mode of self-leadership, create skill-building and personal/professional development programs, and model the right behaviors required in the 21st-century workforce.
Organizations also need HR professionals invested in their own individual learning, working hard to overcome stagnation and boredom, and creating cultures of agility to help organizations recover and move forward. And no matter what HR does, we need to teach workers to lean into a company's innovation agenda by taking more risks.
One thing is for sure: HR will help the world re-open, and that work begins now.
An in-depth discussion
In our webinar, “Open for business: Betting on HR to enable post-pandemic recovery,” Jeff Miller, Cornerstone AVP of Learning, dove into the state of HR (burnout, anyone?), the challenges in front of HR leaders today and what needs to happen in 2022 and beyond. We also opened the discussion to attendees and tackled tough questions from real-life HR professionals.
A few of the questions we explored in this interactive webinar:
- “Self-leadership” is one way that HR can proactively address the organization’s needs — and their own. What does self-leadership mean to you? What role does it play in re-opening?
- You can’t fix work unless you fix yourself first. What is happening with wellbeing in 2021 (for HR, leaders, employees), and what does that look like moving forward?
- Learning can counteract burnout because it helps move us from boredom to action. What are you learning right now?
- A culture of learning can help organizations (and people) recover. Let’s go beyond the buzzword. What is a culture of learning? What does it look like? How do you get there when you’re also doing 1000 other things?
- Now is the time to be bold. The HR market is hot. If you’re not taking risks or working with a truly creative organization, you’re missing out. And you may never get another chance.
- If the job market is hot, what does that mean for HR professionals who want to take risks? How do they finally test out their ideas, learning, and implement their playbooks?
Get the answers
Interested in answers to any of the above questions? Well, you’re in luck. The webinar is now available on-demand for you to watch. Watch below to explore the power HR leaders have in opening up the world.
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