Category: Communication

From Surviving to Thriving in HR: How to Pave Your Way to Leadership Buy-In

As HR professionals, we’ve heard the phrase “find your seat at the table” ad nauseam. To take it a step further, we’ve rallied not only to sit at the table with our organizations’ leadership, but to stand and model what we want to see – and rightly so (#HROnPurpose shout-out)! But for many HR team members, especially those on both ends of the spectrum in departments of one or the more oversaturated teams, often HR is left out of the collaborative party altogether. Not only do we not know that a change or update is about to occur, but we didn’t know that a roundtable discussion happened in the first place. So, what now? How do you get to the table when you aren’t even asked to be in the room? How do you support a united front if other members of your company’s leadership team don’t share the information or access you need to succeed and drive results? What if it isn’t intentional, but stems from a lack of organizational cohesion? & finally, how can you fix something that nobody else thinks is broken, or trusts you to “fix?”

It isn’t easy, and it requires patience. But in many cases, it can be done if you take a step back, temper your ego, identify your allies, and assess the situation. If this is new territory for you, or if you’re going through it now, you can start with the below!

When you need to earn trust and show your value add:

  • First, identify the true problems, not just the symptoms. If we’re honest with ourselves, HR has a reputation for not being business-savvy. Whether it’s true or not, we’re seen as policy pushers, and haven’t always been as analytical or business-driven as we are today. To bust past stereotypes and to show your skills to your current leaders, start with a fresh perspective. Take a few days or weeks, depending on the scenario, to see where the company’s pain points are actually coming from. Is it hard to access information due to system or software restrictions? Are the gaps limited to a specific department, or departments, not sharing information? Are you in the middle of a cultural shift and unable to navigate the winds of change? Whatever is going on, you can’t fix anything until you have your problem statement, so take some time to observe and chat with trusted stakeholders to understand 2-3 opportunities you really need to address, and why you need to address them.
  • Next, figure out what your solutions look like. Assuming you’ve pinpointed a few key areas for improvement, pretend the status quo and your current limitations don’t exist. If you could wave a magic wand and emerge in a productive, engaging environment where you’re able to thrive, what would that look like in these key areas? Is it simply attending a weekly meeting or getting copied into emails a few days before fresh content goes to constituents? Is it a more elaborate removal of silos across teams? Can you create a collaborative communication plan and flow for future updates or program implementations? Whatever it is, figure out what success looks like, why you don’t have it, and work backwards from there to identify at least 2 proposed “fixes” for every challenge. Jot them down into crisp notes or a couple of slides, as these will become the basis for a proposal you can share with the right people, at the right time. (The rationale behind more than 1 “fix” and this proposal will be elaborated upon below!)
  • Run your initial thoughts by a trusted advisor. Whether it’s an external mentor or your go-to within your company, it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes and ears on your proposed challenges and solutions. Can they help you? Can they provide more information or networking know-how that will eliminate or support some of your ideas? Take some time to hear from them, gain valuable context, and adjust your proposal as necessary.
  • Polish your thoughts into a proposal to share with your leadership team. Rule of thumb when presenting to people with limited time and a lot on their plates: keep it crisp and relevant to the bigger picture. Pop your concerns and solutions into a few slides or an executive summary. Stick to a synopsis of the challenges and their cost/people/morale/efficiency impact, varying ways they can be resolved, the  potential positive impact of their resolution, and recommended next steps + collaborators. This illustrates thoughtfulness in your problem-solving and connects the dots for them, which removes the burden that they have to think through “your” problem for you.
  • Follow through with what you say you’re going to do, and track the results. Your results should speak for themselves, and in healthy environments, or environments that are on their way to a healthier state, data and transparency earn trust among leaders. Moving forward, you should find yourself better equipped to strategically engage in your role, and to collaborate with leadership and others in your organization.

“. . .Sure,” you say. “The above is all well and good if the people we partner with are pragmatic and open to change. What if my office just isn’t ready?”

Here’s where it can get tricky, but it’s still salveageable – for you, at least.

  • If you don’t have another HR pro or leader to lean on, seek external support. You can do this through professional organizations like SHRM, mentors or previous managers and leaders from your past, and even HRNet and LinkedIn connections, where countless, passionate experts volunteer their time to provide on-the-fly guidance and ideas to those who seek it. Your growth doesn’t ALL have to come from within your own organization; in fact, it’s beneficial to shake it up!
  • Identify your allies. Should HR be “friends” with non-HR coworkers? The short answer is: yes. Just be selective. You are a person and can seek sanity and solace with other people, as long as you don’t violate your responsibilities of course. If you find a peer or person willing to support you, hear you out, and help you remove obstacles, it’s more than OK to let them in!
  • Pick your battles. The important stuff involves integrity, our people, and our business. When you’re trying to build trust, it’s important not to “culture shock” everyone by unleashing your ideas like a firehose. Sit back, observe what small steps will make the largest impact for the most people, and start there. It can start to give you motivation and confidence as you cultivate relationships. Those little wins are important!
  • Assess what you’re up against and whether or not it’s a fit for you. If you reflect and you find you’re consistently people and business-driven, and are simultaneously going nowhere despite your most logical and earnest efforts over appropriate lengths of time, ask yourself, “Do I want to be here?” An environment that wants nothing to do with HR, or intentionally disregards any functional department, could be a symptom of toxicity issues that are out of your hands. Organizations are made of people, and people – as we all know – can’t change unless they really want to. Don’t forget that you can thrive in or out of your current organization, and if you need help updating your resume, many of us are here for you! Myself, @HRJazzy, and @_strclaire will be happy to start you off on the right foot, for starters 🙂

Obviously the scenarios and environments are endless, and there are many more solutions than what were summarized above! On that note, what are your thoughts, fellow #HR pros and #HRTribe? How have you earned trust and your place among leadership, if you weren’t in a leadership position? What worked, what crashed and burned? When did you decide it was time to leave, if it got to that point?

Until next time, stay true to yourself and you can’t go wrong! Can’t wait to hear from you!

All Roads Lead to Communication

marketing-man-person-communication

It doesn’t matter who you are or what industry you’re in: if you’re struggling at work, the odds are, your communication needs a fix.

“No way!” you think, “We’re struggling because we’re not hiring the right people.” This means you haven’t assessed or communicated what you truly need to your managers, your recruiters, or your candidates.

“Nay!” you say, “It’s because our employees have lost their passion.” This means you haven’t ironed out, effectively shared, and/or gained buy-in for your vision and purpose. Or, you haven’t hired the right people for your vision. See point one above!

“Never!” you yell, “It’s the economy.” This is one of my personal favorites because “the economy” is “happening” to everyone, and everyone is not flailing. What this means is that you haven’t showed or told your team members that you care enough to recognize and compensate them in non-monetary, meaningful ways when times are tight. & if your times are tighter than usual and it really is a deviation, you can simply . . .tell everyone what’s going on and give them the option of staying to pitch in, or beginning their search in a non-hostile environment before they find themselves jobless. Loyalty will go a long way there, too, but you’ve got to open up a little!

We could give more examples, but in my experience, no matter the scenario, it all boils down to what we say to, and show, our people. If you disagree, or know you’re killing it with your communication and culture, that’s awesome! Please comment what you’re doing and help out the rest of us 🙂 If you reflected and realized your communication approach could use a little work, what’s next? How can we take steps to improve our communication throughout our work day, when our jobs as HR and/or leaders can be so sensitive? We can start with a small list, and go from there!

  • Be prepared. When possible, particularly when sharing new information, gather answers to the questions you anticipate before making any kind of announcement or update, so you can share them in real time or in follow-up messaging. If you don’t have all of the information you want, but you tell everyone you’ll follow up to get them answers, then follow through and keep it timely. If you’re just as in the dark as everyone else, take it upon yourself to pull key people into a room to get whatever information you can to guide others. Model what you’d like to see, and do what you can to set the company, & yourself, up for success in times of transition.
  • Keep your managers informed. Managers are our first line of defense: they see most of our employees day in and day out, sit alongside them in the trenches, and ideally know more about them than we ever will. If they know what’s going on and that new initiatives or decisions are in everyone’s best interest, they will gladly diffuse challenges, dispel myths, and settle their teams before rumors have a chance to get out of hand. Yet, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen information shared with managers and their team members at the same time, or with less than 24 hours to spare. They hear new information while sitting next to the people who report into them, & as human beings, they get confused and then frustrated, too. Next time, whether it’s a less complicated employee relations issue or a full-on transformation, loop them in ahead of time so they can process their own emotions and get their questions and concerns addressed before their teams find out: this can only help you form the united front you’ll surely need.
  • Trust more often than not. Along the same lines as above, trust is crucial for everyone, not just managers. When one of your people is upset or curious about a situation, sit down with them and openly share what you can. Does this mean you should breach confidentiality or alert them that even you feel like the sky is falling? Not necessarily. Can you say, “This might change so I’d like to keep this confidential so as not to cause challenges down the line, but here’s what I understand is happening/can share . . .” Most people will just be happy to be heard and out of the dark, and can at least temporarily go back to being more productive and calm. Can a gossip occasionally slip through the cracks and take what you say out of context? Sure! We’ve all been burned, but don’t let fear stop you from being a light for those who are mature enough for the truth and your trust.
  • Tone matters. Yes, we’re all human beings. While vulnerability is crucial and emotions can be impactful, it isn’t optimal to show disrespect, negative sarcasm, or rudeness. If you find yourself saying, “I’m just blunt,” “They don’t get me,” “They’re too sensitive,” or any variation of this more often than not . . . the problem might be you. Even if your message isn’t negative, assess how you’re delivering it. Although this is hard, it isn’t impossible! In your next potentially upsetting or challenging conversation, take a breath and put yourself in the other person’s shoes before responding. Also, before going into a meeting you know will be challenging, go back to tip number one above and prepare: ask yourself how you’d like to receive new information, and what information would be important to you. Then model that behavior and transparency for more of a win-win.
  • Don’t assume your vision is crystal clear. How many times have you said or heard, “Didn’t I already say this? How does So-and-So not know this is going on?” We’ve all played the game telephone. But we still sit in small meetings and make comments, delegate messages to distracted peers, and assume that the right message made it to the right people as soon as we leave the room. If only it worked this way! Moving forward, make sure you directly send/say/share the information with the intended recipients, or check in with your team to make sure everyone’s on the same page before assuming all is well. Note: this doesn’t mean you have to micromanage or take everything on yourself. This tip is more helpful if you’ve found yourself wondering what’s going on more times than you can count, and need to recalibrate. If you and your team are aligned and this isn’t a problem for you, all the better, and please feel free to share how you got there!
  • Remember that the little stuff counts. Whether you set a calendar reminder that pushes you to send a follow-up announcement to a group, or add “Say ‘thank you’ to a team member” to your to-do list, it only takes 28 days for new behaviors to become a habit! The more you reflect and share, the more relationships and loyalty you build, & the easier transparency becomes across the board.

There’s always more to say when it comes to communication (ha!), but these are a few of my go-tos! & if you need inspiration to get back on track, think of Warren Buffet’s wise words: “Without good communication skills, you won’t be able to convince people to follow you, even though you see over the mountain and they don’t.”

Ultimately, all of our challenges start and end with us, and what we put out there! Whether it’s through our actions or our words, we send a message to people. What do you want yours to say?

What about you? What challenges have you faced or had to overcome with your or your company’s communication? What other tips do you have when it comes to effective communication at work? Thank you for reading, and please feel free to comment or reach out any time! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!