Between the onset of the pandemic, the rise of remote and hybrid work, social issues, and, most recently, economic uncertainties, it’s safe to say HR leaders have been under immense pressure. In only a few years, they’ve had to balance keeping their people safe, healthy, engaged, and happy while moving the organization forward through social, economic, and political upheaval. As the backbone of any organization, our HR teams manage the most critical asset—our people.
But who is taking care of them? According to the Executive Networks’ 2023 Future of Working and Learning Report, over a third of HR leaders admitted they are not using the same offerings they give employees.
CEOs are well-positioned to ensure that the well-being of HR is nurtured. Here are three ways CEOs can support their HR teams so they, too, can bring their best to work.
Involve HR in c-suite-level decisions
Even before the pandemic, HR had evolved into a crucial management role. That’s because scaling a business requires building the right team, matching them with the right roles, and fostering a positive work environment that reinforces the organization’s mission—all of which essentially sits on HR.
At FM:Systems, we strategically moved HR out of the finance department and into the C-suite in 2019 to ensure strategic alignment between HR initiatives, our broader business goals, and our mission. We knew if HR remained solely focused on administrative tasks, like payroll, benefits administration, and compliance, we would miss out on their invaluable nuanced insights related to our employee’s needs, well-being, engagement, satisfaction, desires, and skills development. Recognizing HR as a strategic business function has helped us create a work environment that has resulted in high retention. This culture promotes innovation and collaboration and has contributed to our continued growth over the last several years.
Provide the resources and follow-through
For HR to successfully be a part of the C-suite, they can not be expected to manage the same level of day-to-day administrative tasks while also expected to implement strategic initiatives. Otherwise, it can be easy for HR teams to support their employees over themselves if they are limited in bandwidth and are not supported in the same way.
CEOs should schedule regular check-ins with their HR leaders to see how they’re doing and understand if they’re facing any roadblocks. From there, take steps to address any gaps needed to support them because expectations are one thing, and action is another.
Our company has done away with laborious and often ineffective annual performance reviews in place of monthly syncs. Each month, we have a designated focus and set of discussion starters, like well-being, what and how, or engagement and job satisfaction, as a few examples. By increasing the frequency of these high-quality 1:1 meetings, we can have more dynamic dialogues that have helped improve productivity, engagement, and accountability.
Celebrate successes and setbacks
It’s important to celebrate any setbacks they may have experienced, so long as it’s delivered in a way that’s supportive. Taking this approach reinforces that their role is valued while cultivating a supportive culture that empowers HR leaders to give their best, take calculated risks, and look at mistakes or setbacks as opportunities for future improvement.
We have a statement at FM:Systems that encourages everyone to “go make your next best mistake” to foster a culture of trust, learning, and growth. For us, each word is powerful:
- Go = take action now
- Make = build or create something new
- Your = take ownership and put your full self into it
- Next = we’ve made mistakes before, and we will again
- Best = bring your best work, socialize if you need to, this is not an excuse for half-effort
- Mistake = take a chance, learn from what worked and what didn’t
Acknowledgment can be as simple as providing a shout-out highlighting the HR team’s valuable contributions in your next monthly newsletter, on Slack or Microsoft Teams, or with a quick email. Or, you can get creative with an unexpected gift or a team offsite event. What’s important is to be consistent in providing well-deserved kudos, as this ultimately will lead to a stronger HR team.
Kurt von Koch is the CEO and chairman of FM:Systems, a workplace management platform.