How Not To Burn Out Your HR Staff & Employees

Hi, everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.  

What was exciting for me was that I finally got to meet the SkillCycle team in person! I was so nervous meeting everyone face-to-face for the first time. Our tiny team quadrupled overnight with people from all walks of life across the US. It has ignited every employee in our coach marketplace and learning experience platform to provide upskilling to all. We have hundreds of clients and thousands of learners across the globe, and we’re dedicated to providing education for all. Our community of coaches continues to get bigger and better every day! 

When I took the leap of faith and left HR after 20 years, never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be where we are today. We are, and it’s amazing! But even in leaving HR, my goal was still to support our many HR heroes so they would have the tech enablement, support, and trust they need to build teams every day. That’s why the HR tech market is so hot right now – finally, companies understand that awesome things happen when you invest in HR, because then HR is able to invest in everyone in the organization. 

This story from HR Brew is a case in point. Here’s an excerpt from the article: “Overall, the HR tech space is generating intense interest from VCs, according to LaRocque. ‘For a long time, we used to…talk about HR struggling to get its seat at the table. And then overnight, it was like, ‘You’re not only at the table, but the spotlight’s on [us]. How do we navigate this?’ LaRocque said.”

On the flip side – when you don’t invest in HR and their people – this happens. I was so burnt out doing what felt like thousands of jobs with tiny budgets and resources. Companies are finally seeing how far money, some tech, and the ability to serve all their employees goes and what it means for engagement, productivity, and belonging. So, stop burning out HR, the heartbeat of your company, and invest. Or, as this quote from the article warns: “If this situation continues without intervention, leaders will be looking at serious cultural impact and worsening problems around retention and the employee experience more broadly. Significant attention and focus is needed on the people function, as well as investment in the employee experience for all. In practice, this means committing to more people-friendly practices, like flexible working or increased annual leave, but a box-checking exercise won’t be enough to fix this. Organizations must examine their culture and truly listen to their employees about what needs to change.” 

Don’t believe me? Hear from my better half, Rebecca Taylor, who is also a former HR professional. Here, she provides her insights over the past decade and how you can go about developing leaders who can grow organizations strengthened by learning. 

Here’s a cheat sheet on ways to not burn out your people and your HR teams, how about focusing on things that really matter?

I think we need to understand what matters to people more than in person concerts and beer carts. How about time, flexibility, and truly feeling valued? Are we really going back to work just so we can physically see someone in the office? How about talent that is everywhere, that works where it’s best for them? Some companies are getting it right – check them out here. 

Here’s a great quote from this article: “’Creating ‘the permission to fail is energizing,’ Doyle explains, and a necessary condition for success — which is why he titled his presentation, with apologies to the movie Apollo 13, ‘Failure Is an Option.’ And that may be the most important lesson of all. Just ask Reed Hastings, Jeff Bezos, or the new CEO of Coca-Cola: There is no learning without failing, there are no successes without setbacks. 

In summary, stop forcing the things that do not matter and start failing to learn, grow, and harness development as your guidepost that meets everyone where they are at – now.