Lisa Oyler has served as HR director for Access Perks / Access Development for over a decade. In all, she has over 30 years of experience in the human resources field. Her time with Access Perks has made her a leading authority on employee discount programs, especially on how employee benefits impact employee retention and engagement. From June 29-July 2, Oyler attended the SHRM Conference in San Diego, CA.
Last month, I returned from the largest gathering of human resources professionals in the nation, the SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) conference. I always find it so inspiring to be surrounded by good people with the same goal: to build better workplaces.
SHRM25 gave me a lot to think about. Here are my top takeaways from this year’s conference of what will be important in the year to come.
The Role of HR Must Evolve
Do you remember last year’s conference, where keynote speakers talked about the gathering storm of multiple crises headed our way? While it was a little unsettling, the messages quickly became a powerful reminder to stay agile and meet the challenges head on.
This year, everyone came positively bursting with ideas, strategies and mantras to help us build a stronger future of work. In short, this conference felt empowering. We in human resources can make such a big difference. However, to do so, we’ll have to be willing to redefine rolls and take on new responsibilities.
The very definition of HR, and our role within our companies, must evolve. Of course, this has always been the case, especially since the pandemic. Right now, the changes are bigger and they’re coming at us faster than ever.
How Must Human Resources Evolve this Year?
Develop Resiliency in Ourselves and Our Leaders
Amidst all the changes coming our way, we as HR leaders need resilience, or the elasticity to bounce back from difficulties. You know who else needs this skill in the coming year? Managers.
Where HR develops connection and culture from the background, managers are on the ground level, interacting with employees face-to-face and day-to-day. They set the tone that builds company culture through hundreds of tiny interactions. Right now, more managers are reporting that they feel more stressed more often, and it’s bleeding into the rest of the workforce. Supporting and developing leaders is a top priority.
Start Developing Future Workers Now
We’ve discussed for years how to attract and retain top talent. Now, we’re forced to face the question, what if there’s no talent to be had? Johnny C. Taylor, CEO of SHRM described the talent pipeline as “leaky, busted and broken.”
The organization of SHRM rolled out their E² (education-to-employment) initiative. They’re recruiting the efforts of government, education and businesses to join forces in ensuring workers are prepared for tomorrow’s jobs.
So what can we do now for the businesses we serve? We can start reskilling and upskilling based on what will be most important in the future. For example, the more we integrate AI into workplaces, the clearer we see the need for human intelligence to work alongside it (AI+HI). This synergy requires workers trained to use AI to its fullest potential, and ones proficient in the interpersonal “soft” skills which AI completely lacks.
Offer Benefits that Matter
Statistics regularly show that the top three employee benefit must-haves are healthcare, retirement and leave. But something interesting is happening. The first two are so ubiquitous and so expected that they’re practically invisible. This means while you’re basically required to offer them, they’re unlikely to help you stand out.
Leave, on the other hand, is evolving quickly. Companies are showing they’re listening by offering more leave for varied life situations, like for mental health, elder care, siblings adopting younger siblings, and women going through menopause. Specific types of leave can help those going through tough situations feel seen and supported.
Another way to show empathy is to offer meaningful lifestyle benefits. For example, an employee discount program can address the number one stress that is keeping employees up at night: financial worries, by helping them stretch their paychecks and feel like they’re getting an extra pay raise.
Foster Wellbeing and Trust
HR professionals have to wear so many varied hats, and keep track of so many details, but one goal should be at the heart of every task we tackle: To foster wellbeing and trust in the workforce.
Wellbeing and trust are essential elements in a thriving workforce. Moreover, they’re intertwined. Employees who trust that their employer cares for them are 4x as likely to feel holistically healthy and 2x as likely to be highly engaged at work. Therefore, when we’re developing managers, implementing AI tools, choosing benefits, implementing DEI, or any other initiative, empathy should be our guiding star. Industry trends like those we learned at SHRM25 can give us a place to start, but ultimately we should look to the needs of the individuals making up our unique workforces.
When fostering wellbeing and trust is our goal for every small decision, it can certainly be our end result as well. Empathy is the pathway to stronger, more resilient workplaces.
Access Perks Unveiled Latest in Paycheck-Stretching Solutions at the Expo
Were you at the SHRM Conference too? Hopefully you stopped by the Access Perks Booth in the Expo. With hundreds of vendors available to demo the latest in HR products, services and benefits (and, of course, handing out premium swag), the Expo is enough reason to attend the conference all on its own.
Our very own Kelly Passey, Ryan Marvel, Brandon Hess and Jordan Maier connected with record numbers of HR professionals searching for ways to build better workplaces. Our favorite way? Employee discount programs can be a powerful addition to your employee benefits program, one that addresses the number one worry keeping your members up at night (spoiler, it’s personal finances).
If you missed us, we set up a virtual booth just for you. Here, you can see a product demo of the employee discount program that focuses on relevant, local and everyday deals at your convenience or pick up some fun HR merch.
What challenges are you motivated to tackle this year? Let’s keep this conversation going so we can evolve our roles together in the years to come.
