6 Ways for HR Professionals to Relieve Stress

As an HR professional, the list of potential stressors can seems endless. From being available to all company employees, managing crises and staying educated on the latest trends, there comes a point when time to reflect and recharge is vital. Depending on the time of the year, the burdens put upon the HR department can feel almost impossible to fight. Being able to understand how to execute HR functions correctly means knowing how to prepare now and worry less later.

  1. Employee Relations – It’s the HR professional’s job to negotiate problems with employees who have grievances with their supervisor or are upset about pay or performance, etc. Unfortunately there may be times when a solution does not exist and employees leave the company. Remember that a key role as an HR professional is maintaining relationships with employees during their entire journey with the company – that means being attentive and supportive of the employee in the beginning and most importantly, the end.
  1. Company Liaison – Whether a company is growing or downsizing, it is the HR professional’s job to relay that information to employees. Stop the rumors and go straight to the employees. If the company is downsizing then alert employees first and find ways to accommodate them. Honesty is always the best practice and employees will appreciate it and be more responsive and loyal to the company as a result.
  1. Crisis Management – The organization operates smoothly with large support from the HR function. During a unique crisis, however, it’s hard to know how to prepare for an attack. The best way to stay proactive is to make sure that the company has employees that will remain loyal. Stop a crisis before is erupts by providing team-building exercises that explore various scenarios. Also prepare general communication templates that cover the most likely crisis to arise. As a result, the HR team will spend less time discussing a plan of attack and instead start executing what’s already been rehearsed.
  1. Privacy Enforcer – Office gossip is an unfortunate reality in today’s workforce. Ensure employee security by having an open-door policy with employees. Encourage employees to share information and gain their trust by keeping that information private. Instead of allowing office gossip to spread news about an employee’s personal life, send out a newsletter that enforces employee privacy and sets boundaries for appropriate conversations at work.
  1. Technology and Policy Guru – In today’s global economy technology is rapidly changing and with that change comes a need for new policies and rules to be enforced. Whether mandated by Congress or your company’s CEO, all employees need to be updated on changes. As an HR professional, feelings of loss of control can begin to take over. Instead of waiting for a new change to happen, be proactive and foresee the change before it happens. Reserve time throughout the year to go to technology and HR conventions and schedule an informational interview with the IT department to stay up-to-date on current trends and changes to the company website.
  1. Employee Education and Training – It’s important to educate employees on HR fundamentals, but at a large company there simply isn’t enough time in the day to hold each employee’s hand during training. Make it a point to introduce oneself to new hires, but leave the training to a subordinate. The best way to fight stress and save oneself time is to delegate tasks to others.

 

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By |2018-07-03T00:18:39+00:00July 30th, 2012|Atéssa Blog|0 Comments

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