Many HR execs are fed up. Here are 5 pieces of timely advice for people leaders who manage the moment.
Ebony Flake
- The pressure of managing today's tumultuous workforce landscape is pushing HR pros to their limits.
- Top concerns include managing layoffs and return-to-work policies, and expanding abortion benefits.
For the people in charge of overseeing how and where many of us work, the last couple years have brought unprecedented challenges.
The era of pandemic shutdowns and born-overnight experiments in working from home have pushed some human-resources executives to their limits.
The reopening of offices and much of public life didn't do much to reduce workloads for many HR departments. They had to help craft and then implement contentious policies over remote, hybrid, and in-office work. HR teams also had to try to minimize worker attrition during The Great Resignation and then, in some cases, shift to cutting workers — all while trying to keep up employee morale.
Whether you're the chief human-resources officer of a Fortune 500 company or the HR admin at a startup, here are five pieces of timely advice for managing the moment.
Consider permanent hybrid-work options.
Amazon, Google, and the accounting giant EY are among the companies requiring employees to resume their old commutes and return to work. Meanwhile, employers including Atlassian, Coinbase, and Gusto are offering permanent remote- or hybrid-work options.
Insider spoke with 10 industry leaders who shared their thoughts on the future of work.
Manage layoffs with compassion.
In the high-stress environment of a layoff announcement, corporate leaders can get so fixated on rehabilitating the bottom line and checking off the legal boxes that they lose focus on the workers whose lives are about to be upended.
To help get it right, Insider pulled together a tool kit for HR professionals who carry the weight of conducting layoffs.
Address the social and political elephants in the room.
The Supreme Court's striking down of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision forced many CEOs to weigh in with a written memo or statement.
Insider spoke with crisis experts on how chief human-resources officers can work with executive leaders to craft the perfect crisis memo. They said leaders should consider five critical components: aligning with core values, communicating in a timely manner, concise messaging, appropriate tone, and key components.
Expanding abortion-related benefits? Be sure to consider state restrictions.
After it became clear the Supreme Court was poised to toss out nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion seekers, companies in various industries pulled together teams to craft speedy responses. Corporate leaders had to hammer out policies that could withstand a more complex, state-by-state environment.
To help HR leaders navigate these murky waters, Insider spoke with executives from companies including Patagonia; Match Group, which operates the dating platforms Tinder and Hinge; and the software giant SAP to learn how they crafted their policies, dealt with roadblocks, allocated funds, and engaged with employees on this controversial issue.
Prioritize caring for yourself as well.
Behind every executive decision to downsize lies human-resource professionals facilitating the layoff plan. When a workforce faces cuts, it's human-resource professionals who enable organizations to address issues that inevitably arise from layoffs and facility closures. It's a heavy lift for HR pros who must evaluate employee performance, reallocate job responsibilities, and maintain engagement while supporting remaining employees after all of the layoffs have left.
Valerie Miele, the vice president of people and culture at Lifesize, a video-and-audio telecom company based in Austin, Texas, shared advice and experience on how human-resources professionals can balance priorities and manage job-related stress in difficult environments.
Read more: An HR VP shares advice for professionals managing layoffs
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