Disrupting Things

My coworker and I recently went to an event called DisruptHR. It was great, well thought out, and worth going to if it’s in your area. Especially if you’re in the HR realm.

The thing that really stuck out to me was how often employees view HR departments. Often as grumpy sticklers who care more about the bottom line than their people. 

At Backyard Bookkeeper, the HR Department has become the impetus for creating company culture. The HR department ensures that our core values of love, respect, kindness, and feedback are reinforced. Everyone makes mistakes, causes offense, and breaks a rule (knowingly or unknowingly). The way HR handles those moments can create an environment of openness, honesty, and owning our mistakes.

Do you, as a manager or employee, feel it is OK to make mistakes? Human Resources mean things will never be perfect. Our reactions to mistakes, gentle reminders, direct feedback, and course correction can ensure our employees feel safe letting us know what’s going on. Spending time diving into WHY something happened is important. Often it reveals the simple things that can change to prevent missteps in the future.

As an HR manager and leader of culture, I’ve made it my goal to ask more questions. Instead of telling people what they should do and why I’m going to focus on why they do what they do. How can I help my coworkers? What can I do to create more collaboration? What questions can I ask to help my teammates come to their own conclusions instead of telling them the answer?