5 New Year’s Resolutions for HR Professionals

A new year is here (thank goodness!), which means it’s time for some New Year’s resolutions. And while 50% of Americans make resolutions, the reality is, fewer than 10% actually keep them through Valentine’s Day — yikes! So, this year, we thought we’d give you some help by offering five HR New Year’s resolutions (with some tips) we think you can keep for 2021. 

1. Continue to Put Employees’ Health First

2020 introduced COVID-19, which prompted HR professionals to pivot and address unprecedented safety needs. As we embrace 2021, employee health and wellness should still be a high priority for every organization. Follow and stay up-to-date on the latest guidelines and regulations regarding COVID-19. Also, be prepared to address health and safety issues throughout the year, including:

• Addressing and minimizing workplace risks
• Workplace contact tracing  
• Cleaning and disinfecting
• Employee screening and testing
• Staying OSHA compliant
• Safe remote work practices

Along with the direct threat of COVID-19, employees face yet another health challenge — mental health. Nearly 20% of adults in America struggled with mental health in 2019. In 2020, the CDC reported that working Americans felt an elevated struggle with mental health due to COVID-19 and additional challenges 2020 presented. That said, while you continue to take precautions and implement protective measures for your employees facing COVID-19, 2021 is the year to also commit to addressing mental health in your organization.

2. Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

While many organizations have made tremendous strides to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace (or remote workplace), social injustice events of 2020 have shown that we still have a long way to go. In 2021, put DE&I at the top of your list to address company-wide. To help do so, consider developing a strategic DE&I plan by:

• Incorporating DE&I initiatives into your organization’s vision and mission
• Gaining commitment from top management and board members
• Providing company-wide training and development
• Communicating openly and honestly about inequality and injustice
• Measuring DE&I efforts and keeping leadership accountable

For more tips on creating a DE&I plan, check out our guide on making diversity and inclusion efforts a key part of your hiring process. 

3. Start Rescreening Your Employees (or start screening)

2021 is the year to start rescreening your employees! Most organizations commit to pre-employment screening (if you’re not doing that, let’s chat), but now is the time to regularly rescreen your employees. 

What is rescreening? Put simply, it’s the process of screening current employees and volunteers again after hire. It’s often not as broad as pre-employment screening and tends to focus on criminal checks, credit records, and other dynamic factors. 

Rescreening employees and volunteers helps you:

• Maintain updated records
• Verify initial or past background checks
• Stay up-to-date on background screening requirements

As you consider rescreening in 2021, keep in mind that rescreening needs can (and often do) differ from organization to organization. If you’d like more information on which rescreening factors might be helpful to your organization, let us know.

4. Reinvent Your Candidate Experience

While the talent market has changed exceptionally over the last year, the candidate experience is still a top priority for HR and TA professionals — but you already know that! However, 2020 brought the challenge of creating a positive and effective candidate experience in a remote work environment today. 

Whether you add some new remote onboarding activities or make candidate screening more accessible with texting, spruce up your candidate experience strategy in 2021. 

5. Give Yourself Some Self-Care

Last, but certainly not least, give yourself some self-care and love in 2021! As an HR and TA professional, you do a lot—all the time. While you consider the above resolutions for 2021, keep in mind that you matter too and it’s important that you treat yourself well in this New Year.