With the news that workers in the UK can start to return to offices from 1st August there has, not surprisingly been some concern and worry along with a number of companies giving reassurance to their people that returns will be phased, and in come cases won't take place until 2021.

Over recent weeks I've seen more and more questions in HR groups from HR teams and HR Independents asking what action can be taken against employees who have so far refused to come back to work when the manager has told them to return, and my plea is that we need communication, compassion and common sense before forcing anyone to return.

I've seen and heard some of the following conversations (and iterations of them):

Company A wants employee A to return to the office but has told them they can use a separate entrance, use a separate kitchen and won't have to come into contact with any other people throughout the day. Employee A has refused and the manager wants to know what to do about it - seriously!...

Before lockdown, I was hearing from and speaking to a lot of HR pros who felt undervalued and unappreciated with very little recognition from their peers and colleagues for a job well done. One particular client had gone over and above in some project work and yet the Customer Service, the IT and the Procurement teams were the ones praised publicly for their work on the project and HR didn't get a look in.

This isn't uncommon, this isn't a one off, this isn't an isolated event, so what's the issue?

Since lockdown, I have seen HR work tirelessly, waiting until the Friday updates to then set to work at 5:30pm to have calls, write comms, and change policies and working practices for their people. The hours are longer, the stress is increased, and still many feel undervalued and unappreciated.

And I wonder if this is in anyway linked to how we see ourselves.

Back in 2011 I was asked if I would take on a new role, the salary was between £70k and £90k. I said yes. My boss...

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...