In this blog to mark International Human Resources Day, I first want to recognise the 17,000 or so NHS HR/People professionals with a special mention to my People and Culture team at ELFT who work hard to support the delivery of the Trust's strategy, from recruiting and on-boarding, to supporting staff when they get here so they thrive, and looking after those going through HR processes.
Adapting and Modernising
International Human Resources Day has made me reflect on the fact that during the pandemic, support services such as IT/Digital and HR came into their own. They were up there, front and centre, supporting organisations - and I don’t just mean at ELFT and within the NHS but in all sectors. HR teams had to adapt quickly to enable their organisations to have what they needed to operate in those challenging circumstances.
This has prompted me to think, how do we maintain that level of innovation and responsiveness? How do we transform and modernise? How do we become what our organisations need us to be? How do we do that and bring people, P&C teams and the wider organisation, along – winning their hearts and minds? How can the profession in the broadest sense modernise in terms of artificial intelligence (AI), automation - changing our processes so they are slicker?
Removing Obstacles to Attract Good People
If you think about what they can do in the private sector, people can apply for a job in a matter of clicks, simply uploading a document without the need to fill in a lengthy application form. If we truly want to attract people to join us, we have to make it easier. Not by cutting corners or dropping standards – just by making it more simple and attractive! Because if you’re not used to applying for jobs in the public sector, it can be a really daunting experience. But along with the wish to streamline application processes, we have to think of equity. At a time when we’re trying to attract new talent, how do we do that?
Gathering Broad Experience to Grow and Lead Confidently
Today presents an opportunity to discuss how we can create HR career paths, to ‘grow our own’ and enable people to work across every aspect of HR. I feel strongly that in order to work at a senior level or lead specific HR functions, you need to have done it all. Not all HR teams have cracked this and some might not necessarily see that there could be a benefit in NOT having a linear career path. But I think aspirant staff need to approach it differently to get the broadest experience. That might mean opting for a sideways move, jumping into a different role or specialty, gaining specific expertise, and then shooting off into another area.
I think it is key to obtain as much exposure to different parts of the HR profession as possible to make you a well-rounded leader, confident and knowledgeable in your field.
Staff Wellbeing
In closing, I’d like to touch on our role in supporting the wellbeing of our staff. We have come a full circle in terms of wellbeing support. I know at ELFT, we have debated where the responsibilities of an employer ends and we draw the line in supporting staff beyond work boundaries? How much support should we should offer staff outside of their working lives?
We started that journey pre COVID and motored through the pandemic with a high focus on staff support because, at that time, they needed it more than ever before. Supporting them meant they could carry out their functions in the NHS pandemic effort. But now, like other organisations, we are wondering which of these initiatives should we keep, and pondering on what will help with the broader remit of recruitment and retention?
Our communities are struggling in this period of austerity and high costs, and our workforce are from our communities. Staff have so many challenges: the cost of living, burnout, stress, staff turnover, housing costs, dissatisfaction with pay, sickness absence, long-COVID ... to name a few. We need to be and ARE there for them, but we need to determine how we keep hold of the innovation of that time to make for a better experience for our workforce/people.
I’m really proud of our profession. Happy International HR Day.