HR musings with added sparkle!
It’s the weekend, but there are still ways in which we can spread joy to those dearest to us, our families.
Task two – Call a loved one you may not have spoken to in a while
Don’t forget to share the task online via Twitter #HRElfOnTheShelf and on Linked In.
It’s 1st December and many of us will be dusting off those Christmas jumpers or finding a new way to decorate the office with those old decorations!
Right now, all over the world, parents are scratching their heads to think of new and inventive ways to reintroduce their Elf on the Shelf for their little ones. The purpose of the elf is quite simple; he causes mischief deliberately to encourage children to be on their best behaviour before Santa visits at Christmas. It’s a bit of fun and helps generate excitement leading up to the big day.
But it’s not all fun and games for the parents; there is a committed requirement for creativity, hard work and most of all effort, so what is in it for the adults I hear you cry?! It is simply to see the joy of their children faces (and for them to go to bed on time!).
Spreading joy this time of year can be difficult, so I have given HR Acts of Kindness a festive makeover for advent, for no other reason but to spread joy to all the HR folk from far and wide!
It’s 13th November which means that it is World Kindness Day 2017.
Whilst an act of kindness may sound like a great marketing campaign, it is simple to do and absolutely necessary to positively contribute to society given the tragedies we too often see in the world.
Continue reading “#HRActsOfKindness It’s World Kindness Day 2017”
In June this year I launched a small idea called “HR Acts of Kindness” after witnessing the impact of the brexit result. The result not only divided opinion but also divided relationships and had a big impact on the way organisations conducted business.
I remember driving home after seeing the impact it had on my work environment and thinking that there must be a way to turn this divide into a positive and to unite people again and that’s when HR Acts of Kindness was born; in the driving seat of my Mini Cooper!
Little did I know the overwhelming response I would receive to those 5 challenges!
Due to the support and people asking me to bring it back; I wanted to re-launch HR Acts of Kindness with a festive twist in hope to keep the kindness going. You don’t have to be in HR, you just need to have a desire to make a difference. Thank you to all of you who have messaged me, told me your stories and encouraged the success of this small idea that escalated rather quickly!
Christmas can be a difficult time of the year for so many people and I’m asking the HR community to help me kick start a kindness movement which will help those who need it most at this time of year.
At the Annual Conference and Exhibition, Peter Cheese spoke of how HR needs to adapt and be relevant to the needs of not only businesses but our communities and by us working collaboratively we can inspire the future of our profession. By launching HR Acts of Kindness, I believe this provides the perfect opportunity for us to make that impact and not to let what we learnt at ACE become a distant memory as we return to our day jobs.
I gave an interview to Ady Howes at DPG during the CIPD ACE 16 event and if you’d like to see it, I have put the You Tube link here: https://youtu.be/cmeotrPzTS8
Unlike the original HR Acts of Kindness, this time around, I am providing a full list of challenges tomorrow morning which will run from now until Christmas and it covers a whole list of different ways we can utilise our skills to support our work environment, employees, families and communities.
What I’d like to do is to get as many people involved and I want to hear your stories, pictures and anything else you’d like to share with me as you undertake one or more of these challenges.
Most of the challenges are free and there’s bound to be something for everyone to get involved with. Get your teams, departments and anyone else you can think of involved, we need as may people as possible to spread the kindness and reach as many people as we can.
As a thank you; when I receive your stories and pictures I have a special gift to send you so make sure you get those success stories in. After all, it’s nice to say thank you for taking part.
Together we can make our communities a better place; one small act of kindness at a time.
It’s Friday and what better way to celebrate than to take a break and not “talk shop” for once with your colleagues?
HR professionals are notoriously known for not taking breaks yet we spend our lives telling others to make sure they do! Practice what you preach and take a few minutes, grab a sandwich in the canteen/breakout area or head to the local café/pub/restaurant and spend some quality time with your colleagues and why not invite other colleagues along too?
Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for taking part in the challenge so far, see you on Monday for challenge four!
#HRActofKindness
Natalie Ellis HR 