Hi all,
As a HR team of one for a relatively small charity (up to 50 perm staff with workers) and in a leadership role, I am wondering how other lone snr HR managers balance operational duties with strategic goals.
What tools do you use for productivity and Wellbeing while ensuring that you still maintain complete oversight of everything from policies to maintaining relationships with employees and being visible?
I'm a standalone HR Manager for a company a similar size to yours and I'm responsible for the entire department. To make matters more tricky, most of our workers are remote, so the usual great tips like walking the floors etc. don't apply. I've got around this by initiating HR one-to-ones with new starters, so they meet me a month after starting and then at intervals thereafter. I've found this has worked wonderfully, they know who I am, what I do and that I'm approachable right from the get go- we build the relationship from there.
For our established colleagues, I've been attending all of the team work days (we get each team together at least once a year) for visibility etc. Which is where I get to hear a lot of the issues I may otherwise not have been privy to (does mean a lot of travel and away days, but I think it's been very worth it).
I've also made sure to train managers on all the wellbeing initiatives - things I've put in place include partnering with an OH, getting us an EAP, return-to-work interviews and Wellness Plans. I think the most important thing as a standalone HR person is having a brilliant team of line managers who feel equipped and confident to make decisions, so that HR can be the guide, rather than expected to do it all. Further training my managers is my main goal for this year.
I'm a standalone HR Manager for a company a similar size to yours and I'm responsible for the entire department. To make matters more tricky, most of our workers are remote, so the usual great tips like walking the floors etc. don't apply. I've got around this by initiating HR one-to-ones with new starters, so they meet me a month after starting and then at intervals thereafter. I've found this has worked wonderfully, they know who I am, what I do and that I'm approachable right from the get go- we build the relationship from there.
For our established colleagues, I've been attending all of the team work days (we get each team together at least once a year) for visibility etc. Which is where I get to hear a lot of the issues I may otherwise not have been privy to (does mean a lot of travel and away days, but I think it's been very worth it).
I've also made sure to train managers on all the wellbeing initiatives - things I've put in place include partnering with an OH, getting us an EAP, return-to-work interviews and Wellness Plans. I think the most important thing as a standalone HR person is having a brilliant team of line managers who feel equipped and confident to make decisions, so that HR can be the guide, rather than expected to do it all. Further training my managers is my main goal for this year.
