1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,960 You a couple weeks ago that the very first thing that I was 2 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:08,520 going to do with the Cozy Earth promo code that I've got was buy 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,760 the pajama set. Let me tell you, I did that like 4 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,560 Day 1. I did that and the pajama set is 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:21,360 so comfortable and luxurious and like soft and silky. 6 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:24,120 I already said luxurious, but I'm going to say it again, 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,840 luxurious. This is why this is like a dream 8 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:31,760 partnership for me. Cozy Earth is really so focused 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,720 on like creating that sanctuary place for people in their 5:00 10 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:37,000 to 9:00. So like when you're done with 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,320 work and you take that deep breath and like you finally 12 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,560 close your laptop, you have some dinner, you take a shower, you 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,800 unwind. That's like the feeling that 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,960 Cozy Earth is all about creating. 15 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:52,000 And I'm telling you now, after trying the the sheet set, I was 16 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,480 already convinced. But then when buying the pajama 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,280 set, I was like, oh, OK, now I'm a big big fan. 18 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:04,800 Very, very big fan. And when I really like take a 19 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,760 step back and think about why comfort is so important to me, 20 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:15,680 it's like you spend all of this time and energy like bulldozing 21 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,160 through the day. Just like get like having a 22 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,960 coffee, getting up, going for a workout, getting stuff done as a 23 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:25,160 mother, like getting my kids ready for the day and giving 24 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,480 them breakfast and like all this stuff, right, changing diapers 25 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,680 still, it's just like a constant Sprint. 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,200 And then when you finally get to unwind for the day, it's like, 27 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,000 OK, you can finally breathe. And so with Cozy Earth, as I 28 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,000 mentioned, I have the bamboo sheet set and these sheets are 29 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,600 so breathable. And the same goes for the 30 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,680 pajamas because the bamboo pajamas are truly so luxurious. 31 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,960 And really, frankly, when I talked about like, you know, if 32 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,840 you're still sleeping in that old baggy stretched out T-shirt, 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,920 it's time for an upgrade, I said that the last time I upgraded, 34 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,040 it's meaningful. It had a significant impact on 35 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,480 my sleep. Just being able to like feel 36 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:07,760 really comfortable when when unwinding and going to sleep 37 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,120 makes a huge difference. At least it did for me. 38 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:13,800 It's really the kind of comfort that makes you want to lounge 39 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,560 and relax all day. And as someone who's a really, 40 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,240 really bad relaxer, like ice really struggle just kind of 41 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,960 unwinding and relaxing and taking a load off this these 42 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,760 between the sheet set and the pajama set, I really have 43 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,920 figured out that part of relaxing is just like leaning 44 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,400 into what feels comfortable and cozy. 45 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,800 And you know, we're going into the summer months and it gets 46 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,480 really hot in New York and most places around the world. 47 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,400 And having something that's breathable and soft and like 48 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,360 cooling is really important, at least for me, I tend to run 49 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,800 warm. And so again, what I really love 50 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,560 about Cozy Earth is that it's there's this commitment to 51 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,440 quality in every way, the commitment to quality in how we 52 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,400 create a peaceful environment for ourselves, especially after 53 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,600 work, and also in what the products are all about. 54 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,080 Like the products obviously are luxurious, but they're also made 55 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,440 ethically and they're produced responsibly. 56 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,760 So when you invest in better sleep, you're also investing in 57 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,200 something good so you can like relax and feel comfortable and 58 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,920 also, you know, be excited that you've invested in something 59 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,720 that does good for others and does good for the planet. 60 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:31,160 And you know, if you are not sure that Cozy Earth is for you, 61 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,840 that's OK Don't worry. Cozy Earth gives you 100 nights 62 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,200 to decide 100. That's a lot of nights. 63 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:37,880 That's more than three months of nights. 64 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:40,320 And if you don't love it, you can send it back. 65 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,480 And with that, there is also a 10 year warranty on what you 66 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,600 purchase because they believe in their products and that means 67 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:48,440 that you can also believe in their products. 68 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,040 So if you're ready to turn your bedroom, your home into a true 69 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,080 retreat and Oasis, a place that feels like a luxury hotel, but 70 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:01,440 even better, go to cozyearth.com and use my code human HR for 40% 71 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,160 off. And you can use it on anything. 72 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,200 Like I said, I use it on the pyjamas. 73 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,800 My, my best friend bought the sheet set and she was like, hey, 74 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,240 Oprah and Kris Jenner and I, we all have the same sheet set now. 75 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,440 And we have, you know, we have the same favorite sheets. 76 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:20,160 So that's a very exciting thing that you can brag about is that 77 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,800 you, Kris Jenner and Oprah all love these sheets. 78 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:25,880 So whatever you buy, you get 40% off. 79 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,840 And don't forget like this is right in time for Mother's Day. 80 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,280 So if you have a very special someone who is a mother or a new 81 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:35,920 mother or is planning or becoming a mother, I should say 82 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,160 these, and you want to like maybe find a gift for the 83 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,400 mother, not just the child or children. 84 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,120 In my case, having twins, many people have multiples. 85 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,400 You can then, you know, buy these sheet sets or these 86 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:49,880 pajamas. And these pajamas, by the way, 87 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,000 are totally breastfeeding friendly. 88 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,280 So when you have someone in your life who maybe is a new mom or a 89 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:59,320 nursing mom, these are another great way to say, hey, I'm 90 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:00,800 thinking of you. Here's a gift for you. 91 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,680 Because the kids are usually the ones that are the focus when it 92 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:06,760 comes to give time, not necessarily the mothers. 93 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:11,240 So anyway, that's my advice for you is to really lean into this 94 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,480 promo code. 40% off is like the best discount that you will find 95 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,640 on Cozy Earth or with Cozy Earth. 96 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,760 It's really, really competitive. So if you go to cozyearth.com, 97 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:25,840 use the human HR code and again get 40% off their best selling 98 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,160 sheets, pajamas, towels and so much more. 99 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,040 And if you get a post purchase survey, please let them know 100 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,640 that you found out about Cozy Earth right here at the Bringing 101 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,560 the Human back to Human Resources podcast. 102 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,880 The first thing that I bought, of course, were those pajamas. 103 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:46,760 I also bought more pillowcases because I have probably too many 104 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,280 pillows for one bed and I was like, I just like what and when 105 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:54,080 everything matches. So definitely get out there, get 106 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:58,640 to the code, use it before you can't use it anymore, and buy 107 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,120 those mothers some gifts. They've earned it and they 108 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:03,920 deserve it. So again, prioritize sleep. 109 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:09,040 Prioritize you sleep better with Cozy Earth and be like me and 110 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,760 enjoy the comforts of your own home. 111 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,360 Welcome to the Bringing the Human Back to Human Resources 112 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,680 podcast. I'm Tracy Chernoff, and I've 113 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,080 spent my entire professional career in HR. 114 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,720 Each week, we'll explore the delicate balance between people 115 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,720 and business with the aim to reconnect the two and create 116 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,600 meaningful outcomes. Listen in as I share my own 117 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,400 experiences, challenge the status quo, and chat with guests 118 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,440 from various industries about our mission to bring the human 119 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,280 back to human. Resources Hi everyone, welcome 120 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:40,720 back to the Bringing the human back to human Resources podcast. 121 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,720 Thank you so much for being here for another week. 122 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,720 Guess what? It is my first solo episode in 123 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,200 God knows how long. It has been weeks since I've 124 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,280 done like an episode. Just me, just you and I don't 125 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:57,240 know, maybe you missed these, let me know. 126 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,960 I've had a lot of guests on because there have been so many 127 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,120 amazing topics to get in front of you. 128 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,720 But I, you know, I have to hear feedback from you. 129 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,080 Do you like those guest episodes? 130 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,360 Do you like these solo episodes? What do you want more of? 131 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:10,120 Let me know. You can e-mail me at 132 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,360 contact@hrtracy.com. You can DM me on Instagram or 133 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,280 Facebook. You can message me on LinkedIn, 134 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:19,640 Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, they're all HR Tracy. 135 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:25,000 So whatever the website is, the URL/HR Tracy, you can find me 136 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:26,720 anywhere. You can also go to my website, 137 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,320 hrtracy.com and let me know your feedback there as well. 138 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,280 And with my newsletter, you can always reply. 139 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:39,360 So that said, this week I want to talk about what HR work and 140 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,560 roles actually look like because there are still so many 141 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,640 misconceptions, not only from people who are relying on HR 142 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,840 partners, but more often than not from people who want to get 143 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,480 into HR. I've spoken recently with a lot 144 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:56,960 of people who are like, I really want to get into HR or like 145 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,280 maybe I want an HR job. And when I asked them why? 146 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,720 What is it about HR that you're really interested in? 147 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:05,360 A lot of the time, not every time. 148 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:11,160 A lot of the time there is like a totally warped view of what HR 149 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:16,080 practitioners actually do. And it's not to say that that 150 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,000 every like it's A1 size fits all. 151 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:21,320 Obviously there are different specialties within HR. 152 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:26,040 There are different industries within HR or like industries 153 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,760 that require or need or rely on HR partners that could change or 154 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,840 impact just what the job looks like. 155 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,320 But there are some fundamental things that we have to get 156 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,159 right. And so if you are someone who is 157 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,280 maybe in like an HR adjacent role, whether you're like an 158 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,120 office manager or in recruiting and you find yourself saying 159 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,120 that you want to get into HR, you might need a little bit more 160 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:54,320 information. That might be, you might be a 161 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,760 perfect fit for HR. But there are some instances 162 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,640 where HR jobs are different than what we expect them to be 163 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:07,960 because working in HR is different than working with 164 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:12,480 someone in HR. There there is this like over 165 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,600 perception of when we're working with someone in HR, there's this 166 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:17,560 over perception of what the job is. 167 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,880 But then when you're actually in the job, there's a there's 168 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,560 something totally different there, right? 169 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,600 And that's with anything like I could think, Oh yeah, being like 170 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,360 professional baseball player is probably so cool because you 171 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,760 work out and you get to play a game for for work. 172 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,320 But that's my perception. That's not necessarily reality, 173 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,120 right. So also, before I go on, look at 174 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,360 this mic flag. Isn't it so cool? 175 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,280 It has my logo. It says HR Tracy. 176 00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:46,800 And then like around the sides of the circle, it says bring the 177 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,760 human back to human resources. So this is a very new addition 178 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,920 to the podcast world for me and I'm really excited about it. 179 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,000 I feel very official with a mic flag. 180 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,320 So if you are watching this, you see it. 181 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,680 If you're not watching this, take a look on Instagram in a 182 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:09,240 few days when we post a video from, you know, a clip from this 183 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,120 episode, you'll see the, the, the mic flag. 184 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,400 I, I feel really legit like move over journalists here I come. 185 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,720 Anyway, OK, let's talk about this. 186 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:22,240 So if, again, if you're new or to HR trying to break in, 187 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,120 there's a, there is probably this perception that you have 188 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,760 around like HR helping people. And The thing is, it's just not 189 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,240 that simple. You know, when I started out, I 190 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,520 don't even know if I had a perception of HR. 191 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:37,640 I worked with a really strong HR partners. 192 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:42,600 I found them to be very helpful people and I found them to be 193 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,200 people that that others in the business relied on. 194 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,680 And so I think for me, I was like, Oh yeah, like I could be 195 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,840 that I am that person for people. 196 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,000 Like it would be kind of cool if if I was also that person. 197 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,720 And so maybe I also had this perception like I would be able 198 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,840 to help people and, you know, taking us back, I used to work 199 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,320 in where I kind of sharpened my knife, so to speak, was in 200 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:05,480 Target. That's where I had my first HR 201 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,040 job working in store. And the reality is it's like so 202 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,640 much more than that. Sure, you probably do help 203 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,640 people at some level at some point during the day, during the 204 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:21,080 week, month, quarter year, but that's not the job. 205 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,320 Like your job is not to help people. 206 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:30,560 Your job is in some ways to have that outcome of like helping the 207 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:34,240 team or guiding the team, helping managers, you know, 208 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:39,200 which ultimately does help people, but really the job is to 209 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,680 focus on the business needs and the employees needs, mitigate 210 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:47,480 risk, manage operations and so on and so forth. 211 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:52,840 And also, it depends on the role or the specialty that you have 212 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,040 in HR. If you're an HR business partner 213 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:57,120 or generalist or a manager, you're going to have more 214 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,120 interaction with people. And so you have you have this 215 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,840 potential of helping people, hurting people, not being what 216 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,520 people expect you to be, being everything you people expect you 217 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,680 to be. There's a lot there that we can 218 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,240 break down. That's my background. 219 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,720 And then you have like HR jobs that are payroll or benefits or 220 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,480 compensation focused or admin focused or coordinator focused 221 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,080 or talent management focus, performance management focus, 222 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,640 like it's everything, right? There's so many facets to this. 223 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,840 If someone is in payroll and comp and then compensation and 224 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,720 benefits, they're not necessarily interacting with the 225 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,920 team much. So when it comes to like helping 226 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,760 people, that's not really the thing that they're doing. 227 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:47,440 They're managing a lot of operations, looking at how to 228 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:54,840 manage a budget potentially effectively, like executing on 229 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,280 some of those operational things. 230 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:02,600 Some of the most intelligent, strategic, innovative, 231 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,360 interesting people that I've ever worked with have been in 232 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,000 comp. And then people who are very 233 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,960 analytical take this sum of money and think about how they 234 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:17,160 can take that, compare it to like market data and research 235 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,520 and create this whole compensation strategy as a 236 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:21,320 result. Like it. 237 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:25,920 It's really fascinating people who are in compensation and like 238 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:30,760 where they or how they impact an organization. 239 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,360 Like it's it's really phenomenal. 240 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:37,800 If I'm sure that there are people listening who have worked 241 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,320 with comp and bend people, they are like when you find someone 242 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,720 really good in that, like don't lose them. 243 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,080 They're amazing. Anyway, let's talk about what 244 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,760 people think HR is some common expectations, of course, from 245 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,480 people entering HR especially are that they love people. 246 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,040 So HR makes sense, or they want to make workplaces better or 247 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,920 that they're a great listener and they'd be good at conflict 248 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,280 resolution. And these are good instincts. 249 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:12,080 These are good, you know, initial iterative moments where 250 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,680 we're thinking about like what HR is, but they're incomplete 251 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:18,960 thoughts. So for example, I love people. 252 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:23,840 So HR makes sense. HR can really expose to you the 253 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:25,960 downsides of working with people. 254 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:31,120 It is very hard to work with people and as much as like I 255 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,560 love people, but I also find it very challenging sometimes to 256 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:39,240 work with people. Not because like, you know, I 257 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,920 get frustrated and things that's not really like my personality. 258 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:45,880 No, it's instead because in HR you have this like 259 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,680 responsibility, especially in my role where it's like more of a 260 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,720 generalist adjacent, like business partner, like that 261 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,800 track, right? I find myself having to do a lot 262 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:01,320 of influencing and influencing is very hard because there isn't 263 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,760 necessarily this like problem solve it, problem solve it. 264 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:06,360 Oh, now that's solved. Like let's move on. 265 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:10,240 It's not like that. The it's like a constant uphill 266 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,120 battle, especially depending on who you're working with and if 267 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:17,760 the people that you're working with don't like necessarily 268 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:22,440 trust or believe in like that methodology or that focus or 269 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,480 that the reasoning, you have even more uphill battles. 270 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,000 You have to like really, really build a lot of relationships, 271 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,760 get people to feel, you know, part of that solution. 272 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,680 And it's just, it's not necessarily this like, oh, I 273 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:39,720 love people. HR makes sense. 274 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,640 I'm going to love this job. You have to really be OK with 275 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:48,320 not always seeing eye to eye with people, getting a lot of 276 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,720 pushback, having difficult situations that you have to 277 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,520 overcome, and then being able to move on from that and keep the 278 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,400 ball rolling. And that's not something that 279 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:01,800 everyone is capable of doing or actually enjoys doing this. 280 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:03,760 I want to make workplaces better. 281 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,800 That's great. But actually, I would say that 282 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:12,840 you can do that in any job. Anyone and everyone influences 283 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:15,040 and impacts cultures and workplaces. 284 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:19,560 And for people who maybe don't see that responsibility within 285 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:21,920 themselves because they're not an HR and they think it's just 286 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,080 an HR job, probably are contributing negatively to 287 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:27,280 workplaces. So you've heard it here first. 288 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,280 If you don't think that you're impacting A workplace, you are. 289 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,760 And so this, if you have other interests outside of HR, like 290 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:39,600 you can do that elsewhere. HR is like, you know, there is 291 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,240 of course that that element there where you impact workplace 292 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,400 or you make things better for people or you improve a culture. 293 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,120 But if you're working in payroll, if you're working as a 294 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,000 nature admin, you might not feel that direct link, even though, 295 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,920 if you ask me, of course there's a direct link. 296 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:00,280 Because when people, you know, see their promotions happen 297 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,680 effective, you know, on the date that they're told that they're 298 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,040 going to be promoted and they don't have any issues with their 299 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,319 pay and they don't have any issues with their org structure, 300 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:11,319 things are moving smoothly, then that creates a great experience 301 00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:14,599 for them, right? But it's not necessarily so A to 302 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:18,400 B. It's kind of like A to D to Z to 303 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,839 B to C, You know, it's like it's a little bit more triangulated 304 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:26,520 when you're in a role that isn't necessarily direct to the 305 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,640 employee. But again, you do still impact 306 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:33,320 the workplace, but you really can impact the workplace and do 307 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,120 impact the workplace in any role with this other common 308 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:38,840 expectation around like, oh, I'm a great listener. 309 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,840 I'd be good at conflict resolution listening is is 20% 310 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,720 of it. The other 20% is being able to 311 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:50,480 problem solve. The other 20% is being able to 312 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,480 strategize. What am I at 60%? 313 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:56,040 The other 20% is I'm like adding the the percentages here. 314 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:02,000 The other 20% is actually being able to influence those who are 315 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,920 maybe like part of the conflict. And then the other 20% is 316 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,600 figuring out how you come back from that and how you ensure 317 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,360 that that doesn't happen again. So it's not just about being 318 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:18,000 good at conflict resolution, it's understanding what conflict 319 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:23,840 resolution actually looks like and what what is required of you 320 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,520 when you are resolving conflict. And by the way, not everyone is 321 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,680 good at resolving conflict. And so when it comes to like 322 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:35,080 employee relations issues when you are working in HR, not 323 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,120 everyone actually enjoys employee relations. 324 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:41,800 Most people will say do not allow me to manage employee 325 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:46,040 relations or do not expect me to manage employee relations issues 326 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,520 because it's it can be very challenging and it can be very 327 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,000 exhausting, frankly. And so when it comes to conflict 328 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,080 resolution, that's also just not always part of every HR job. 329 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:04,200 Some HR jobs don't ever expect employee relations resolutions 330 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,360 or or managing from certain people. 331 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:10,400 Again, when we look at payroll or performance management, 332 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,640 sometimes it kind of depends on like how big the organization is 333 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,080 and how many people there are within HR. 334 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,120 But especially for more administrative roles like 335 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,720 payroll comp and then even HR admin, like you're not going to 336 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,320 be dealing with ER. So it doesn't matter if you're a 337 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,320 good listener. It doesn't matter if you're good 338 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,480 at conflict resolution because you're not necessarily really 339 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,840 going to have to deal with that. If you're on the HR business 340 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:39,400 partner, generalist, director manager track, like in that in 341 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,960 in that arena, so to speak, you're going to be doing a lot 342 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,600 of conflict resolution. And just because you're a good 343 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,360 listener does not mean that you're good at it. 344 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,320 And so you have to really, you have to really know what you're 345 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:55,800 good at in order to assess like where within HR you should or 346 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,440 should not sit. I know I'm not great at payroll. 347 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,200 It's just not the way my brain works. 348 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,960 I don't really enjoy it. So I've said this before on the 349 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:08,120 podcast, like I'll never take a job or be interested in a job 350 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:09,720 that requires me to manage payroll. 351 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,080 And that's fine, I don't need to do that. 352 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:20,320 I am a a conflict resolver and a strategic person and I like to 353 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:24,200 help people with their problems and solve those problems with 354 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:28,480 them and guide managers to managing their teams better and 355 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,760 being stronger leaders and all of that stuff that comes with, 356 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:34,760 you know, a strategic approach to things. 357 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:38,480 And that's why I'm on I'm like a director and a business partner 358 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,680 within my role. And this is all stuff that you 359 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,840 do learn on the job. Also, like you could say all of 360 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,480 these things that you think HR is and you could still, you 361 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,760 could still get in the job and realize that you like other 362 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,360 things and that's OK. So let's talk about what HR 363 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,520 actually is. Of course, there's a lot of 364 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,000 administration. You don't always get to build 365 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,440 like cool programs and, and things like that. 366 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,280 You're very often maintaining systems and tracking metrics and 367 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,560 answering questions and potentially answering the same 368 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,800 question like 15 times. You could send an e-mail with 369 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:19,800 all of the answers and you will still get questions to those, to 370 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,040 that e-mail or to the communication that you've just 371 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:23,240 sent. And you have to be OK with that. 372 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,440 It's just part of the job and every job has that thing about 373 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,440 it, right? Has that admin heavy element to 374 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,160 it or you know, whatever that you know, potential quote, UN 375 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:37,800 quote downside downside might be for that role like there it 376 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,040 exists in every job. There's also a lot of compliance 377 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,000 and risk mitigation. So sometimes your job is just 378 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,200 simply to say no or to hold the line when someone, whether a 379 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,080 manager or otherwise, wants to skip a process or do something 380 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,920 differently. For example, like I've had in my 381 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,560 experience where people are like, oh, you know, I'm just 382 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:00,840 gonna terminate this person. Like they're just not working 383 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:01,800 out. And I'm like, no, you can't do 384 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:03,160 that. That's just not the way things 385 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,960 work. We have to understand, like, 386 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:06,880 what are the reasons? How are we doing this? 387 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,520 What's the communication? What's your plan for 388 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,520 backfilling? Do you have like reasonability? 389 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:13,240 Is this person going to be surprised? 390 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,880 Have you talked to this person about their performance before? 391 00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:17,920 You're eliminating a role. Why? 392 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,440 What does that look like? Do you understand you can't fill 393 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,160 that role for another year? You know, if you create another 394 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,680 role, it has to be distinctly different or it has to not be in 395 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,600 the same location. Like there's so many things I 396 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,120 just rattled off. I don't even know what 20 or so 397 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:37,120 things that come with managing risk, mitigating risk and 398 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:40,480 compliance. And depending on the role that 399 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:41,840 you're in, that looks a little bit different. 400 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,560 If you're in payroll, you have to think about shift 401 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:48,360 differentials and, and predictive scheduling and 402 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,560 overtime and things like that. And if you're on a business 403 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,320 partner side, you have to do all of those things too. 404 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,280 And you have to know employment law and you have to know when to 405 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,760 partner with an attorney, when not to partner with an attorney, 406 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,560 when you can assert a decision without that partnership. 407 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,920 Like there's just so much and some people, you know, don't 408 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,720 necessarily understand all that comes with that and how 409 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:16,760 impactful it is on the role. And of course, still dependent 410 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,840 on the role that someone's doing in HR, but it is very much 411 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:26,200 embedded in in HR job. Also, when you're in the middle 412 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:31,560 of like complex, potentially highly emotional situations, 413 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:37,360 things are not always solved in a clean way or in a way where 414 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,960 people are without their emotional response. 415 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:41,600 And you have to kind of manage through that. 416 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,240 People will yell at you, they'll cry with you, meaning like in 417 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:50,160 front of you, they will be angry with you, they'll be upset, 418 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,560 they'll ask why, they'll tell you that they know it's not your 419 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:56,760 decision or that they know it's not your fault. 420 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,920 And you're going to feel like crap sometimes, maybe all the 421 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:02,560 time. And you have to be able to let 422 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,680 it roll off your shoulder and someone yells at you because 423 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,520 you're, you know, communicating a change to their employment 424 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,600 with their manager. Like, it's a, it's a totally 425 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,720 sucky situation no matter what way you fold it. 426 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,560 But you have to be able to process that feeling and move 427 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,000 on. And you also have to keep the 428 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,040 momentum within the organization while you move on from that. 429 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,720 And it can be very tough. I've spoken with HR 430 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,760 practitioners before who say, you know, I just couldn't do it 431 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:35,120 anymore. It was too emotionally 432 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:40,160 exhausting, especially for people who are deeply involved 433 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:45,200 in ER issues. It like I, most of my jobs, it 434 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:50,080 was like 60% ER most, at least most of my retail jobs. 435 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,560 Now I don't really deal with ER as much, but it is exhausting. 436 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:58,760 You have to really know how to process all of that stuff that 437 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,000 you deal with and that you're confronted with when you're 438 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:06,320 dealing with ER, because you're also sometimes making very 439 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,080 difficult decisions. And sometimes the decisions 440 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,400 don't always feel right, but they are what's right for the 441 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,080 business. And again, you just have to, you 442 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:15,360 have to be able to deal with that. 443 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,640 And you can't really talk to anyone about how you're feeling 444 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,520 unless it's another HR person that is like on a similar level 445 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:27,480 to you because of, you know, whatever, whether it's 446 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,320 confidential or whether it's sensitive, whatever it might be. 447 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,440 So you also have to kind of just like deal with it on your own 448 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,160 and process that on your own. And again, not a lot of people 449 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:38,880 are really good at that or want to do that. 450 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:44,600 And I've always talked about how HR is strategic, but it's not 451 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:47,840 always exciting. And so like, whether it's 452 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,640 workforce planning and analyzing your head count, figuring out 453 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,080 what performance systems work and what don't work. 454 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,680 These are the, the quiet things in the background that are 455 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:04,000 strategic but don't necessarily feel very fulfilling or don't 456 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,920 necessarily invoke a lot of excitement. 457 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:11,320 And that's like a, a, a very real reality that, you know, 458 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,560 they're all of these things that allow you to be a strategic in a 459 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:20,960 business and really drive an organization's planning and 460 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,600 strategy and development forward. 461 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,080 And especially as you, you know, grow in your career and you 462 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:32,280 become like more senior, you have even more of an influence 463 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,240 in your hands, are even more involved in that. 464 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:37,440 But it's just not always that fun. 465 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,920 And so depending on what really excites you or what you're 466 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,040 looking for, and some people don't necessarily need 467 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,960 excitement, but if you feel, you know, challenged or if you want 468 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,960 to feel a challenge, sometimes being involved in strategic 469 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,040 projects as much as they are strategic don't necessarily feel 470 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,800 like a challenge. So all of these things are 471 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,880 really important to know about that there is this strategic 472 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:03,080 side of things, but it's not necessarily, you know, as 473 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,520 exciting as one might think. It kind of depends. 474 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,160 I find things like that to be very exciting. 475 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:13,120 But do I think that when I'm analyzing our head count that 476 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:14,640 I'm having like the most fun ever? 477 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,040 No, most of the time I'm like, why can't we figure out where 478 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,800 this one person went? Like, is it a transfer? 479 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,000 Was it a term like where, where were they last month? 480 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,480 And so like, sometimes you like want to pull your hair out when 481 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,120 you're doing strategic work. Other times you're like, whoa, 482 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:33,120 that was really cool. So it's, it's all in ebb and 483 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:36,360 flow, right? And then also something that's, 484 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,280 you know, fundamental is that there's like this duality and 485 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,880 loyalty. There's the, you know, balancing 486 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:48,200 support for employees and, and their goals, and then also 487 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,360 balancing what the company needs and the company's goals and how 488 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:55,520 we drive that forward. And it's a very hard space to 489 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,240 live in managing both. And this is where that 490 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,760 misconception of like OHR is 2 faced quote, UN quote comes 491 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,600 from. And it's not that. 492 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,800 It's just that you have to be able to live in the Gray and you 493 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,120 have to be able to manage the duality of an HR role. 494 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:15,520 And regardless of whether you're in payroll or you're an HR 495 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:19,360 business partner or you're an admin, there's always that 496 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:21,040 duality. People are going to ask you 497 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,280 questions and you're going to have to assert the business 498 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,800 direction. And that doesn't always go hand 499 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,160 in hand with helping employees, for example, or building better 500 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:33,920 workplaces. Some people will be really 501 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,760 pissed at the direction or the decision of a business. 502 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,280 But you have to be able to assert that without really 503 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,440 wavering or or giving information on what your 504 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,520 feelings are because it's irrelevant in that moment, 505 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:48,640 right? Like you are. 506 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:53,120 You have to be able to take that employees feelings and help them 507 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:56,400 work through those feelings so that they can understand the 508 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,200 business direction. So I've talked a lot about what 509 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,480 we think HR is, what HR actually is. 510 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,280 But I'm going to also tell you what makes working in HR still 511 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,120 worth it because I love my career. 512 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:13,520 I love that I've picked this as a thing to do for the rest of my 513 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,600 life, right? In terms of like work. 514 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:21,360 And The thing is, is that HR isn't only admin or compliance. 515 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:26,600 It's really the potential to change how people experience 516 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,320 work fundamentally, full stop, end to end. 517 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,880 They can experience work from the moment they're interviewed 518 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,240 to the moment they leave a company. 519 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,560 And that full end to end experience is what you have the 520 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,400 potential of impacting when you work in HR. 521 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,160 If you're in recruiting, you have the potential to to really 522 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,080 set them up for success in their full interview process. 523 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:51,920 And then as they move into onboarding. 524 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,960 If you work in in HR, whether it's payroll comp and then HR 525 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,400 business partner, generalist, etcetera, you have the, the 526 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,680 ability to impact what that on boarding feels like, what that 527 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,520 employee experience feels like, and then what it feels like when 528 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,560 they're off off boarding. And that off boarding experience 529 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,480 is also so important because that's what determines whether 530 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,360 they're like, oh, I loved working at that company or like, 531 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:19,320 you know what, I'm glad I left and there's really so much 532 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,960 impact that we have on that full end to end experience. 533 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,920 So take that and run with it. Feel inspired by that and over 534 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,400 time you do become the trusted advisor, the coach, the 535 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:35,320 strategist, and that's amazing That's like what I aspire to be 536 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,840 for every single person that I ever work with in my entire life 537 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:43,240 is like this trusted person, an advisor, someone who's strategic 538 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,680 can be relied on like that. If you ask me what success looks 539 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,160 like, it's that if every single person that I ever work with is 540 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:54,320 able to say that I've won and that looks different for every, 541 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,160 you know, for everyone, someone in payrolls, like I just want to 542 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,360 be the, the person that never has a pay issue. 543 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,160 And that's great. That's someone who's trusted, 544 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:06,680 who is, you know, really analytical and detailed. 545 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,280 So whatever it is, you, you will get there. 546 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,080 It's just knowing that it takes time. 547 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,800 And then of course, the moments that do feel human, which 548 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:19,040 obviously is a very important part of my world. 549 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,600 Obviously, it's this the whole like ethos behind this podcast. 550 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,040 But supporting someone, whether it's through a tough transition 551 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,920 or creating a better parental leave policy, seeing people grow 552 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,240 and get promoted and develop in their roles, these are the 553 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,880 moments that really matter and that we have to really like 554 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:40,200 reflect on parental leave policy is a great example of how you 555 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:44,680 have a strategic, you know, project and you really are 556 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,720 helping people and you're impacting their lives and their 557 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,080 families lives. And that's really cool to be 558 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:53,960 able to do that. And for those of you who are 559 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:56,840 starting out, of course, hopefully you see like that that 560 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,520 still worth it piece of this conversation as something that 561 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,240 continues to inspire you to pursue this career. 562 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,880 But I would recommend that you're curious about all aspects 563 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,120 of HR Don't skip over the boring stuff or like don't skip over 564 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,400 payroll, something that I really don't enjoy, right? 565 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:15,160 Like you have to go through all of it. 566 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,200 My first HR role, I did everything. 567 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,040 I was an HR generalist. I did everything. 568 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,320 That's how I learned that I didn't like payroll. 569 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:23,800 It wasn't because I would like watch someone else do it. 570 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,880 It's because I did it. And so this is where like 571 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,800 learning about everything, getting involved in everything 572 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:32,880 can make a huge difference and get close to the business, 573 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,040 understand how decisions are made and why those decisions are 574 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:40,720 made, how they come about. Ask a lot of questions, get as 575 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,720 involved as possible. And even if you know, maybe you 576 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,760 don't want to be the one making those decisions, that's OK. 577 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,960 If you can understand how they're made, why they're made, 578 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:55,560 when they're made, it will help you to really look at things 579 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:59,680 more holistically and have a better grasp of kind of what's 580 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,560 going on. Just generally also find a 581 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:06,520 mentor, someone who can really guide you and help you to see 582 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,680 the big picture. Mentors are hugely impactful on 583 00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:11,880 all of us, whether we're in HR or not. 584 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:18,120 And just know that it's OK if you feel a little disillusioned 585 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,240 to like, especially after this conversation, If you're like, Oh 586 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,120 my gosh, I really thought I knew what HR was. 587 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,160 And I have no freaking idea based on what Tracy said, that's 588 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,880 OK. You are don't feel like you're 589 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:31,360 not cut out for HR, that this is the wrong career. 590 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,400 It's all about asking those questions, finding a mentor, 591 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,360 getting to know someone. I've had people reach out on 592 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,520 LinkedIn say, hey, can I just like understand what your 593 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,320 day-to-day looks like? Like, are you available for a 15 594 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,000 minute call? And I always say yes, of course, 595 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,240 maybe not all, maybe not always. It kind of depends. 596 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,320 Like if it's someone like trying to sell me on something versus 597 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,720 someone actually interested in breaking into HR, like if you're 598 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,400 actually just interested in this career, spend some time with me. 599 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:59,200 I'm happy to schedule 15 minutes with you to go over what my 600 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,000 day-to-day looks like. Or to expand on this 601 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,400 conversation. Do it with anyone, someone maybe 602 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:07,160 that you have seen on LinkedIn or maybe even in your own 603 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,719 organizations who is in HR and is doing a really good job. 604 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,320 I'm sure that they would love the opportunity to share a bit 605 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:19,320 more. And if you, if you like, listen 606 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,880 to this podcast and you're like, oh, maybe this is not the right 607 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:25,159 career for me, Don't don't stop just yet. 608 00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:28,320 Just ask those questions. Find someone that you can either 609 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,920 shadow or ask more of and really try to understand like, is there 610 00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:35,360 a certain part of this that you really want to pursue? 611 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,320 Is there something else that you want to find out about? 612 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,880 Asking questions is often like the the best thing that we can 613 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,679 do in our personalized professional and especially in 614 00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:48,280 this type of situation. And then of course, something 615 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:52,880 that I always reiterate is that you don't have to know exactly 616 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:56,920 what you want to do in HR today and you certainly don't have to 617 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,400 do it all. You can find your lane, find 618 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:04,200 your niche and really lean into it, Lean into that specialty. 619 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,520 And whether it's people analytics or operations or DENI 620 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:12,520 or payroll or compliance or whatever it is, you can really 621 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,120 lean in. There are so many facets of HR 622 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:20,280 and so many specialties that you can really just, you know, 623 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:24,480 specialize in, be a part of and grow your career within. 624 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:29,800 And so on that note, you know, while HR isn't always what we 625 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:34,280 expected to be, it's really one of the few places where I would 626 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:38,960 say we can drive an impact between, you know, this at least 627 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:42,120 in this intersection between people and businesses. 628 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,880 It's the whole reason why I started this podcast to try and 629 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:49,800 really give back to HR leaders and non HR leaders. 630 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,120 And I think that's really, really powerful to really think 631 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,440 about like leaning into that Gray area where people and 632 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:01,920 businesses come together and how we really, you know, figure out 633 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:05,000 what that like best case scenario looks like when the 634 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,720 business is happy and thriving and when the people in the 635 00:36:07,720 --> 00:36:10,680 business are happy and thriving. If we can solve that, we're 636 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,440 doing an amazing job. Or maybe it's not even solving. 637 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,600 But if we can improve that, if we can have an impact, that's an 638 00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:18,640 amazing thing and it's really fulfilling. 639 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,920 And if you're currently an HR leader, I would love to know, 640 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:27,560 like, what were your previous perceptions of HR? 641 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,440 Were they accurate? Did were they misconceptions? 642 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,360 Like what did you expect? Is your job what you expected it 643 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,760 to be? Maybe you reflect on your first 644 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,680 job in HR or your most recent job in HR. 645 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:42,720 We've all been there where we're like, what? 646 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:45,560 Even like when we've been in HR for a long time, maybe we go to 647 00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:47,840 a new job and we're like, oh, I thought that was going to be 648 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,400 totally different than it is, and that's OK too. 649 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,360 So I would love to hear your reflections on this. 650 00:36:55,360 --> 00:37:00,240 So please e-mail me contact@hrtracy.com, DM me on 651 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,680 Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. Let's get connected. 652 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:04,560 I'd love to hear your reflections. 653 00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:07,120 You can also comment if you're on Spotify or YouTube watching 654 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:13,640 this and you know, I always post the episode material on LinkedIn 655 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:14,960 and social media and stuff like that. 656 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:16,280 So you can always comment there also. 657 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,960 But in any case, if you are interested in breaking into HRI, 658 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:21,520 hope this gave you a little bit more insight. 659 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,720 If you're already in HR and you're like, oh, this is totally 660 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,720 it or like no, there were other misconceptions that we didn't 661 00:37:27,720 --> 00:37:28,640 talk about. Let me know. 662 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,720 I'm interested to hear. I hope you enjoyed this solo 663 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,360 episode. I have so many amazing guest 664 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,040 episodes coming up and another policy post coming up for the 665 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:41,280 month of May. So please like, continue to 666 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:44,240 listen, subscribe, rate, review, whatever you've got to do to 667 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,480 engage with my podcast. Really appreciate you being here 668 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:50,200 and I appreciate your feedback as well. 669 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:52,560 So have a wonderful rest of your week. 670 00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:54,480 Looking forward to hearing your feedback. 671 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:56,920 And I'll see you next week for our next episode. 672 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,360 Hey, just before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the show 673 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:02,200 so that. You are the. 1st to hear when an 674 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,800 episode drops each week and maybe leave a five star review 675 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:07,960 and a comment about how much you love this episode. 676 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,760 Plus, if you have someone in mind who would really enjoy this 677 00:38:10,760 --> 00:38:12,400 episode, make sure you share it with them. 678 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,320 Thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you next week.