We've all come up with an excuse, or many excuses as to why we shouldn't do things in life. Time is usually one of them and for me often the biggest, but I've realised over the last year or so, that every excuse I have for not doing something is met with even more reasons as to why I should. And then I make the time to make things happen.

Last week I launched kellyswingler.com and I can tell you it was scary. It was scary, mixed with a lot of excitement, a lot of apprehension, and no excuses as to why I shouldn't do it, I had no more left.

I left internal HR in 2013 to start The Chrysalis Crew at the beginning on 2014 and in 2015 I had this niggle that I also needed something that was me, so I bought the kellyswingler.com domain, and did nothing with it. Over the years this niggle has gotten bigger and bigger and I've continued to ignore it. I told myself I didn't have the time. I told myself it would detract from Chrysalis, I told myself it would be too much hard work, I...

Last week I offered the chance for HR Professionals who wanted to talk about Diversity in HR, or Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, my LinkedIn article platform to help them get their message out to a wider HR Network, and here's the first - The End Goal - Fostering that Sense of Belonging in a Workplace by Sinead Sharpe.

Sinead is HR Director with a large FM business based in Northern Ireland (approx 2,000 employees across the UK and Republic of Ireland). She's also a 42 year old mum of one teen and three cats and she lives on the beautiful North Coast of Antrim. 

She started her career with a degree in Law & Politics and went from specialist learning and development roles to generalist HR roles. Sinead has about 18 years' experience overall and recently completed an MSc in Communications, Training and Development and is a Fellow of the CIPD. 

This piece is Sinead's personal view and I hope you enjoy it.

Connect with Sinead here.

Let’s be honest –...

Or, how to have better ongoing conversations with your people.

Appraisals have always been an issue and for many, they are never something to look forward to.  Stuff is stored in folders or on email and presented to people in this once a year meeting and can come as a shock.  Despite annual reviews taking place at the same time each year, many managers still ask for extensions to the process because they don’t have time to arrange the meetings and to fill in the forms.  HR are bombarded with requests of copies of last year’s appraisals, sickness absence data, any training that may have been completed.  And the value of the conversation is lost.  

The whole process becomes a tick box exercise and if it’s related to a bonus then it’s rare that real conversations take place as grades are upped for the ‘favourite’ person and downgraded for others. Plus, actually being able to remember what someone did...

I’ve been slow off the mark with the People Perspective so far in 2020, work has been non-stop, which is fabulous and great to be working with so many new and perspective clients, but it has meant that headspace and time to write have been limited.  And for those of you that saw my post on Sunday evening about our new addition to the family, you’ll understand that family life has also not slowed down this year.

This year, in addition to my usual brain-dumps, I’ve been asked to create a suite of ‘How To’s” for the People Perspective and I have a list to get through, a list of 52 to be exact.  I’ll stick to these as much as I can, but as I get bored with lists and feeling boxed in, I may deviate from these from time to time, but I promise to try.  

I was also asked to give a view on what HR may look like this year, I didn’t get chance to get my thoughts down, but I have recorded a podcast if you’d like...

At the end of each year I like to look back and reflect on the year that's passed and consider what I've done, what I've learned and how I feel before putting together an action plan for the year ahead, and this year is no different, except I've reflected not only on the last year, but on the last 10.

At the end of 2009 I was wondering what would be in store when I turned 30 the following September. I already had children, the house, the job, the holidays and the money, what would be next? Would my life just continue in the same way?

I made a decision to hit 30 with something big on the horizon, and I signed up for a charity cycle across Kenya. Since then I've upped my charity support considerably and now support in schools as a mentor, sleep in a cardboard box each year to raise funds and awareness for the YMCA and have been part of an incredible group of HR Professionals supporting staff and children for Hope For Justice.

10 years again I was in a different house, a different...