December 2019 has been a strong month for HR content.  As the year comes to a close and the attention shifts to 2020, HR professionals have been thinking about a lot of different topics.  Some of those include employee engagement, remote work, social capital, and recruitment.  Having said that, the HR Exchange Network has written several articles this month on these topics in an attempt to provide HR professionals with the best knowledge available.  Our contributors also spent much of the month providing real-life examples from which to learn.  As we transition into 2020, here are the Top 10 HR Articles of December 2019.

Best of December 2019

1. C-Suite HR Jobs Growing

The C-Suite is the very top of the organization.  Nearly every leader wants to make his or her way to one the coveted spots with an organization.  Not too long ago, the opportunity was limited.  There simply weren’t enough C-level jobs available.  That’s starting to shift.  This article takes a look at new research from LinkedIn and how HR professionals can make their way into the C-Suite.  Click here for more.

2. Why Employees Aren’t Completing Your Engagement Surveys

The employee engagement survey is as much an art as it is a science.  Regardless of how often you run the program, it involves attention to detail in the design and flow of your survey questionnaire. This is often backed up by a robust internal communications campaign ensuring teams are aware of the activity, how to complete it, and why it’s important.  It’s a comprehensive process requiring great input from your HR team, which is why it can be frustrating when response rates fail to meet expectations. However, with the right how-to advice and partners businesses can simplify the entire process, unlock deeper insights, and lift response rates.  Qualtrics’ Steve Bennetts explains here.

3. The Employee Activated Culture and Its Benefits

Could employee engagement be a thing of the past? Could it give way to a new culture-based strategy?  The answer to the first question is:  no.  Employee Engagement isn’t going anywhere.  The answer to the second question is a bit more complex.  Why?  It’s because of the new strategy mentioned above; a concept referred to as the employee activated culture.  Read more here.

4. Training for Confidence

Confidence is a soft skill many forget exists, but it’s a necessary one for workers to have in today’s environment.  HR Exchange Network columnist Dr. Jeanette Winters takes a look at the skill through the eyes of a real situation she recently encountered.  Click here to read the article.

5. Converting Candidates to Hire with Video Job Ads

All talent acquisition and human resources professional are looking to prove return on investment to their organization’s leadership. When HR spends on recruitment advertising, they need results. Dollars must equal new hires. The lower the cost per hire, the happier everyone is, including the CFO. In order to locate quality candidates and effectively convert the best applicants to great hires, it’s not enough to list responsibilities and qualifications. HR has to sell!  What better way to do that, according to DigiMe’s Lindsay Stanton, then video job ads.  Read more here.

6. Finding the Bridge People

We already know that it is essential that organizations hire the smartest, most capable people possible. However, this isn’t enough. Organizations must also ensure that individuals are relationally positioned for optimal success. In other words, bringing in the best people is only part of the solution. Firms must also bring out the best in people. This means, that people need to be positioned to leverage what they know. Or at least, positioned to find what they need, as they need it.  Amazon Web Services Michael Arena says the best way to do that is by unleashing the potential of social capital to find the organization’s bridge people.  Click here to read more on the topic.

7. Remote Work Stats You Need To Know

Remote work was inevitable.  Given the technology landscape that’s developed over the last decade or so, it was destined to become not only desirable by more employees, but required by them too.  It almost goes hand-in-hand with flexible scheduling; this desire by workers to not only work from somewhere other than an office, but to work on their own time.  International Workplace Group (IWG) says 80% of employees say they would turn down an employment offer that didn’t offer flexible working.  Want to know more?  Click here to see more stats related to remote work.

8. State of HR – By the Numbers

Imagine you were sitting on a panel focused on answering the big questions in the HR space.  The moderator opens the conversation with some quick statements or statistics and then turns to the questions.  The moderator calls on you first and says, “If you were to define the current state of affairs within the HR space, how would you answer that question?”  How would you answer the question?  In an attempt to find consensus on the topic, the HR Exchange Network turned to its audience of 800,000-plus HR professionals to get the answer.  See their responses here.

9. International Hiring Strategy

In today’s business world, there is more pressure than ever to maintain a high rate of growth and reach new revenue goals. And growth usually means hiring.  The work of HR is an important part of that work, especially where fast-growing companies are concerned. There are many reasons why going beyond borders and hiring talent internationally can help a company reach its objectives.  For more information on how to hire internationally and what the strategy can look like, click here.

10. The Paradox of Unlearning to Optimize Performance and Drive Productivity

In this digital world where enterprises are adapting to not only significant changes in the market, but also experiencing a dramatic acceleration in those business deviations, the capacity to be proactive truly determines the have and have nots of the business world.  That said, a new skill is becoming vital to all, not just HR professionals. The capacity to unlearn.  Atrium Health’s Sebastien Girard explains more here.

NEXT:  Top 10 HR Articles of 2019

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