Resolve to be good to yourself in 2007
By Kathy Gurchiek, HR News Magazine
A new year brings with it the idea of fresh starts and another chance to change things up at work as well as at home.
“There’s no better time to re-evaluate goals, set new ambitions and change up some work habits so that 2007 can be an outstanding year, professionally,” said Ray Roe, president of employment and HR services firm Adecco North America, in a press release.
Some simple resolutions to consider:
• Rest up. Take your full vacation to recharge your batteries and return to work a more productive employee.
• Aim to improve at least one of your skills. Read a book in your field, attend a lecture or seminar, work on certification, take advantage of your employer’s tuition reimbursement program, or find a mentor or coach.
• Reconnect with co-workers. Take time while getting your morning cup of coffee or waiting for the elevator to say “hello” and catch up in person. Attend employer-sponsored events.
• Rejuvenate. Take your full lunch break, drink more water, eat more fruit, take a 30-minute walk, get some sleep and take advantage of wellness programs
• Realize that you can’t always do it all and ask for help when necessary. Also, make sure your employer is aware of the situation rather than waiting to deliver a late or incomplete assignment.
• Make and retain professional connections. Join a professional organization or renew your membership, take up golf, or attend a conference.
• Try to unplug from the office, such as by easing up on your BlackBerry.
• Re-evaluate your career path. Think about whether you’re on target with your goals.
• Start planning for retirement.
“The key to succeeding in your resolution, whether it is related to career, health or personal finance, is to set specific objectives and reasonable deadlines for achieving them,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas outplacement consultancy CEO John Challenger said in a press release.
“Instead of making it your goal to find a new job, focus on the smaller steps needed to get that job. For instance, resolve to join a professional association or find other ways to meet 10 new people in your field,” he advised, noting it’s important to focus on things you can control and act on personally.
“Resolving to get a promotion requires your employer to take action. Resolving to keep your supervisor regularly updated on your accomplishments and joining a workplace committee are actions that you can take that will help position you for a promotion,” he pointed out.
Continuing their education is on the minds of some HR professionals planning their 2007 resolutions.
“My New Year’s resolution is to sit for the GMAT [graduate management admissions test] exam in March, in preparation for starting an MBA program the following year,” says Rebecca Heyman, PHR, human capital consultant at TriNet, an outsourcing firm.
“I spend a lot of my time working with C-level contacts at TriNet’s customers, and it’s become increasingly clear to me that the HR path is continuing to rise up to meet the executive suite,” she said in an e-mail, noting that she’s trying to understand her customers’ businesses better from a strategic level by “striving to beef up my business background and education.”
Cathy Henesey, SPHR, manager of talent acquisition at Trane/American Standard—a manufacturer of residential and commercial heating and air conditioning products—is resolving to “network more across company divisions to share best practices and learn different approaches to common solutions, continue educational classes to learn about my company’s industry, [and] implement an HR Dashboard with key metrics that affect the bottom line.”
She urges other HR professionals to resolve to develop themselves through more education.
“We spend so much time on developing others, but are you really taking the time to develop yourself?” she said in an e-mail to HR News. All HR professionals, she noted, “should attend continuing education classes, seminars, conventions and work toward certification.”
She also suggests committing to network more with other HR professionals, “not just attend [Society for Human Resource Management] meetings and sit next to friends you know, but really reach out to new HR professionals and really share best practices and tools that make you successful.”
Organizing their offices is the most popular RH department resolution for 2007—specifically, reducing paperwork—among HR professionals responding to an online poll Halogen Software conducted Nov. 27-Dec. 15 with its customer base.
Twelve percent indicated that was their top work-related resolution, followed by 5 percent who want to improve performance appraisals and 5 percent who want to improve training for themselves and others in their organizations.
Those looking for work-related resolutions also may want to consider:
• Making disaster planning a priority.
• Making sure all required state and federal posters are up.
• Making sure that in states where the minimum wage increased, affected employees are receiving the new minimum wage.
• Widening understanding of diversity at your organization, such as by implementing Disability Mentoring Day.
• Limiting the use of Social Security numbers to forms required by the government, such as income tax forms, to help protect employees’ identities.
• Promoting wellness programs that are comprehensive and long term.
• Making sure annual performance evaluations are completed on time in 2007.
No matter what your resolutions, “lots of small steps result in great leaps,” Adecco’s Roe pointed out. “Taking a few minutes each day to review your goals or plans for the day can help you stay on track with your ambitions, be it getting a promotion [or] raise or finding that perfect new job or career.”
Kathy Gurchiek is associate editor for HR News.
