HR, don’t walk out for the holiday break until you’ve done this

With everyone itching to sign-off for the end of the year, there are still a few things HR and people leaders should do before saying goodbye to 2022. We’ve listed them out for you in a handy checklist.

Ready to put on your out of office and enjoy a well-earned holiday? Before you power down your computer, check if you’re finishing 2022 on the most productive note by considering the following.

• Recruitment

Have you had a good look at all the recruitment you did in 2022 and prepared an end-of-year analysis of learnings for 2023?

You could look at the volume and consider whether you recruited more than expected perhaps due to high turnover. Or maybe you didn’t recruit as much as you anticipated, and you’ve noticed your employees all seem a bit burnt out from carrying the extra load.

Did you spend what you anticipated in recruitment agency fees? Could you do more to tighten that budget up, or to improve your relationship with your external talent suppliers to maximise ROI on your spend?

We all know that talent acquisition is one of the most competitive parts of HR, and business in general, right now, so it pays to really understand how your recruitment efforts went in 2022 to excel next year.

• Tech

Do you think you and your team have made the most of your HR tech this year? Do you really understand all of its functionality, and have you tried to use tech to solve your most pressing HR issues?

If you didn’t have the time to really play with your HR technology when it was implemented, or if you’ve had it for some time but not kept up with its capability, now is the time to redress that. Too many businesses and too many different departments invest in technology they don’t really understand and then don’t derive the maximum benefit.

Why not ask your tech provider to run you through all the latest features before you break for the end of the year? They’ll be happy because they know that a customer who is using the tech well is more likely to stay with them, and you’ll be beginning 2023 with enhanced skills in your HR tech, as well as a tech lens for solving any new challenges in HR or people leadership that might come up.

• Skills gaps in HR

If you’re always busy making sure the rest of the business has the learning and development it needs to succeed, it wouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve neglected to invest in your own learning as an HR professional. Now’s the time to do an honest audit of skills for yourself and the HR team and start to plot out how you’re going to fill any gaps.

HR Leader recently covered Hays online and free learning options: Hays encourages professional learning over the coming break. There are lots of ways to learn, though. As mentioned above, simply finding out more about the tech you have on hand is an important development step.

When you’re thinking about skills gaps, don’t forget to think outside the square. How’s your knowledge of HR in the rest of the world? HR Leader frequently covers stories from around the world to bring new insights to the Australian market. How up to date are you on the latest academic papers in the HR field? If you think about learning as broadly as possible, you’ll give yourself an edge.

For more on end-of year activities for HR, read: What HR needs to focus on this December