14 New Year Resolutions HR Leaders Are Making

From continuous improvement even mid-deployment to being comfortable with the uncomfortable, here are 14 answers to the question, "As an HR leader in your organization, what are some work-related New Year’s resolutions or goals you are setting and why?"

• Continuous Improvement Through Project Development

• Receive CliftonStrengths Coaching Certification

• Focus on Alignment & Balance

• Dedication to Employee Experience

• A “Rest as Prevention” Strategy

• Build a Strong Culture by Putting People First

• Develop a Positive Talent Acquisition Experience

• Place Strategy Above All Else

• Make Time for My Growth

• Monitor Employee Engagement

• Deepen My Understanding WithMy Organization

• Implement Supportive Employee Processes

• Keep the "Human" in Human Resources

• Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

 

Continuous Improvement Through Project Development

Our team has several key projects that will be launched/implemented next year. Keeping that in mind, my New Year's resolution is to avoid falling into the “we just implemented, and we need to give it time” trap and continue to look for ways for our team to deliver enhanced products to our internal customers. 

It is easy to fall into that trap and focus solely on the implementation at hand. My goal is to drive the implementations while continuing to improve and enhance our deliverables.

Sarah Truchard, Talent Management Manager, CITGO

 

Receive CliftonStrengths Coaching Certification

My New Year’s resolution and goal for 2023 is to receive my CliftonStrengths Coaching Certification. Receiving this certification will be so meaningful to me and the work I do as an HRBP. 

Being able to strategically help employees use their strengths to their benefit is going to be amazing. I am excited about all I'll be able to learn from this certification.

Janelle Billy, HRBP, Endress + Hauser

 

Focus on Alignment & Balance

The new year brings an opportunity for fresh perspective and commitment, and this year's focus will be dedicated to alignment and balance. 

The organizational development (OD) team manages a plethora of high-priority human capital programs and initiatives, a consistent stream of leadership and team development interventions, and organization-wide strategic partnerships that support customer performance goals and objectives. 

To be effective, it is essential to create a process to stay aligned with the organization's mission, vision, and values to ensure that we are saying yes to the 'right' work. 

It is equally important to maintain a balance of responsibility across our team so that we deliver excellence while being mindful of creating work-life harmony that keeps our efforts meaningful, sustainable, and energized.

Susan Weiss, Organizational Development Section Manager, Con Edison

 

Dedication to Employee Experience

In the new year, I will be focused on enhancing the employee experience.  

Being in a 100% remote environment can be challenging to workplace culture. My goal will be to use the results of an employee engagement survey, as well as individual conversations with employees, to gather feedback and create an action plan.  

My first step is creating an employee committee tasked with planning events and activities geared toward the enrichment of relationships. It is important to give employees a voice in the organization's direction. 

I am looking forward to finding the key items that really speak to the hearts of my employees.

Christie Engler, Director of People & Culture, Willory

A “Rest as Prevention” Strategy

This year, I am resolving to proactively rest and take time off. I will not wait for burnout or feelings of anxiety to catch up with me before pressing pause. 

My 2023 calendar already has some PTO days sprinkled in, along with bigger stretches of time to rest and recharge. I want to model this "rest as prevention" strategy to my team as something simple that they can do to treat themselves well without needing to justify it or have a concrete reason "why" they are taking time off. 

Let's be kind to our future selves!

Lindsay Orred, SHRM-CP, HR Generalist, PAE Consulting Engineers

 

Build a Strong Culture by Putting People First

My goal for 2023 is to build upon our strong culture and focus on employee experience by putting people first.

Specific actions:
1. Leaders have ongoing conversations with employees seeking feedback and ideas and implementing changes where possible.
2. Create opportunities for everyone to express appreciation and recognition for members of the team.
3. Communicate clearly to the team our goals for 2023 and what we can all specifically do to contribute to that success.

These are a few things we can all do to put people first and create an environment where employees want to come to work and do their best for themselves and the organization.

Jennifer Bouquot, Chief People Officer, Moss Corporation

 

Develop a Positive Talent Acquisition Experience

With the current state of hiring and job searching, my HR New Year's resolution is to develop a positive talent acquisition experience for both hiring team members and candidates. 

Hiring and job searching shouldn't feel like a burden for anyone, and there are ways we can develop a holistic strategy so that we remove barriers, improve communication, and ensure everyone feels valued and treated with respect.

Carrissa Hsieh, People Manager, ISRG

 

Place Strategy Above All Else

With the economic turmoil and a tightening of budgets, strategic alignment is the most important focus for HR leaders in the new year. Business leaders will look to their HR leaders to advise them on innovative strategies to get through uncertain times.

Each initiative an HR leader implements has to add the most value to the workforce and prevent unnecessary spending. The HR leader has to focus on making meaningful decisions that drive the business forward but also prevent employee burnout and stress. They can do this by implementing open and transparent communication with their teams. This strategic focus will be crucial for successful HR leaders in the new year.

Ciera Parks, MHRD, SHRM-CP, Vice President, People Operations, & Culture, Vangst

Make Time for My Growth 

I did not achieve some of my 2022 goals because the urgent (many of them not of my making) took me from what would get meaningful results for me professionally. 

My 2023 resolution is to address those important but not urgent activities systematically. I will schedule time every week for these activities, shut my office door, turn on the Block and Focus app to keep me from being interrupted, and work on what will make a genuine difference for my business in 2023.

Shelley Piedmont, Career Coach, Career GPS

 

Monitor Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the root cause of several organizational challenges (turnover, productivity, employee morale, and burnout), so it should never be taken for granted. 

As an HR leader, my focus for 2023 is employee engagement. With the current competitive unemployment rate, post-COVID-19 pandemic, employee engagement should not only be a focus for 2023, but for at least the next five years. 

For employees who I believe are currently engaged, I will assess ways to increase their engagement. Since employee engagement is one of the leading causes of quiet quitting, 2022's top HR trend, it's only helpful to include it in HR strategic plans for 2023.

Remone Robinson, Chief People Officer, Revolution Consulting

 

Deepen My Understanding With My Organization

One New Year’s resolution I set for myself to better my work is to learn more about my organization. 

I've been in my current role for a year and still feel like I still have so much to learn more broadly about my institution. I know my division really well, but want to be more resourceful, and to do that I need to keep educating myself.

Laura Clark, Talent Acquisition Partner, Cornell University

 

Implement Supportive Employee Processes

In the new year, my goal is for our team to really focus our efforts on streamlining our internal HR practices that impact employee policies or processes that come up often within the employee life cycle. 

Having easy-to-navigate, clear-to-read/understandable, and accessible processes and resources for the employee journey are key to building foundational trust within the organization and in how HR supports all employees. 

It sounds too simple, but too often HR departments have convoluted and siloed processes that cause employees to ping-pong around until they reach "the right person" for the answer they are seeking. 

We are pulling together as a team to really fill in the common pit holes our employees are running into for basic employee questions/processes to give them the accessibility, transparency, and answers they want to feel trusting and empowered within the workplace.

Sarah Adda, Employee Experience Manager, HighRadius Corporation

 

Keep the "Human" in Human Resources

From the COVID-19 pandemic to working through the developing economic environment, it is sometimes easy for Human Resources professionals to lose touch with the human side of working in Human Resources. 

My New Year’s resolution is to make sure I look through each and every situation with a lens that is sensitive to the human experience. 2023 will revolve around keeping the "Human" in Human Resources.

Adrian Szymonski, HR & Safety Manager, Uni-Systems Engineering

 

Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

As a leader in my organization, I will hone my coaching skills by helping my leaders get comfortable having tough conversations and feedback with direct reports and peers. 

Over my career and regardless of what company I am in, I have found people dislike giving feedback or having hard conversations. 2023's focus will be on me ensuring I step into these difficult conversations so I'm practicing what I'm preaching, all the while coaching and training my leaders how to craft a difficult conversation or how to give feedback properly so our people grow and develop through these conversations.

Jennifer Neilson, Founder & Chief Growth Officer, My Lead Advantage