What to keep in mind if you’re head of human resources

The New Year is well under way, and I thought it would be interesting to share what HR folks are concerned about in 2024.

We know that any company’s Human Resources department impacts every aspect of that company. Or it should.

And if a company isn’t big enough to have its own HR department, then the role usually falls to the owner, who’d better know how to deal with any number of issues that arise.

Because the importance of employee relations is not to be ignored.

How many times have you heard that employees are the most important assets that companies have? Followed quickly by, when you take care of your employees, they’ll take great care of your company’s customers.

How best to do that is the big question. It’s different for every company but some things are consistent.

The national hiring firm CareerBuilder recently rolled out a survey of what is top of mind for HR professionals for 2024. The following trends are what employers and employees alike should keep in mind.

Prevent burnout

Burnout can be defined many ways and presents itself differently to all of us. At its core is the sense of tiredness and stress that employees feel during and after work, most common with repetitive tasks.

HR needs to continually review job descriptions with department managers to encourage ways to diversify employees’ work. Much like preventing workers’ comp injuries that overuse parts of the body, they need to look for ways to add variety to the job.

Honest conversations about employees’ jobs, expectations, and why they feel stress can bring some relief.

Foster career development

In recent years, jobs have become more sophisticated and necessitate very specific skills. A