Top 10 HR Takeaways - SHRM Conference

Top 10 Takeaways for HRs from SHRM, Chicago – 2018

It’s been a month since the 2018 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition in Chicago and the energy and passion we felt from everyone is still palpable. We were very excited and honored to have been a part of the largest gathering of HR professionals in history with over 20,000 attendees! Our team was able to meet many of you at our booth, give out some cool prizes, and attend some insightful concurrent sessions.

When we look back at those four days packed with networking, mega sessions and a great live show by Pentatonix, we want to highlight some of the key takeaways and learnings we got from the experience.

Our top takeaways from SHRM 2018 experience to help take your human resource practices to the next level.

Employee Engagement and Employee Appreciation go hand in hand.

One of the easiest ways to engage your employees is to show your appreciation. Full appreciation is ranked as the second most important thing employees want from their job. Yet 65% of American worker received no appreciation for their hard work last year. There are dozens of creative ways, which are available at little or no cost, to keep employees happy and productive. The best way to keep them motivated is by showing them your appreciation.

Leaders Are Uncomfortable Communicating

Over 69% of leaders are not comfortable communicating with their teams. This leads to communication gaps between stakeholders.  CEOs think that their CHROs has limited view of their organization, yet they look for help in them to communicate their mission and purpose across the organization.

Create a more Human Workplace through Recognition

Reinforce a culture in which employees give the full spectrum of feedback – asking, receiving, and giving. Adopt technology that provides all employees the opportunity to be recognized and recognize others

Formal Training is Not Enough

Employees are expecting their employers to give them the proper training and information to be top performing employees. They want personalized, engaging training that may be learn-on-the-job kind. Create a learning experience that employees will seek, participate, through game science, gamification, and micro learning

Work with Technology, Not Against it

Over 54% of Human Resources executives believe that artificial intelligence and cognitive computing will affect their roles within an organization. Automation provides a great opportunity to remove low-value tasks from the agenda and help focus on more strategic work that has a bigger impact on the company.

People Issues are Business Issues

Drawing from her own experience, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer spoke about bereavement leave, parental leave and gender issues in the workplace in this year’s closing session. Sandberg championed for bereavement leave, pointing out that it is an inexpensive benefit for not just the people who use it but for the people around them as well.

Prepare for a Remote Workforce

Remote workers need opportunities to be visible and given the chance to showcase their skill and work. More feedback is also needed in order to mirror how their team perceives them. Adopt technology that easily allows them to get continuous feedback and stay connected with the rest of the workforce.

Ask, Listen and Repeat

Employee surveys and action plans are a great way to give employees a much-needed voice. This creates employee involvement which boosts morale and engagement within your organization. Conduct short and simple surveys on a regular basis and on key topics. Invest in technology that will allow you to spend more time responding to your survey data, rather than gathering it. Create action plans from your data that lead to lasting improvements.

HR is No Longer a ‘Last Resort’

United Airlines Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz mentioned he no longer considered HR a ‘last resort’ when it came to addressing employee performance problems on in his session Monday morning. More leaders have come to realize the importance of Human Resources when the talented employees are hard to come by and retain. Communicate with leadership more efficiently by speaking business results rather than Human Resources lingo to let your voice be heard.

Look to the Managers

Employee engagement and employee retention are top business obstacles CEOs face. A managers’ relationship with their team members greatly influences their performance. Employees stay for their managers first and their colleagues second. Empower and give your managers the tools they need to better communicate with their team.

Those are some of the takeaways we gathered and wanted to share with everyone from this incredible event. Thanks for making our SHRM experience truly unforgettable. You’ve expanded our world by sharing your world with us and discussing issues important to your profession. What was your SHRM experience like and what were your key takeaways from the event? We would love to learn from you. Let us know in the comments.

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