Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few months you’ve already heard of Swine Flu – it’s not a pandemic for pig farmers across the country, it’s the H1N1 strand of the flu virus. Has the paranoia begun to affect your workplace? Have you been purposely avoiding public areas like the lunch room or over-using hand sanitizer?
According to the Center for Disease Control, H1N1 Swine Flu is “a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic of H1N1 Swine Flu was underway.”
A large component of a human resource professional’s job is to educate the employees of their organization. A successful human resource professional is one who does not remain secluded in an office – they take the initiative to reach out and show an interest in the organization’s employees. We should be seen as a resource, not as the stereotypical “bad news bear.”
In the case of H1N1, education is a key to protecting your work environment. You will help to mitigate any widespread panic through education. If you do some research you will find that there are multiple resources available on this topic. Take an opportunity to do some homework and create a game plan for how to handle the Swine Flu and other precautions in your organization. It will be a good exercise in crisis management.
Most state health departments have created hotlines or websites for the public to use as a resource. For example, the Florida Department of Health developed www.myflusafety.com – providing the latest information on the virus.
Another great resource is the Society for Human Resource Management who has created an entire section on their website devoted to employer resources related to the Swine Flu. Every day new tips and facts are released that cause a stir in the media. For example, a SHRM article states, “Requiring employees to receive any type of immunizations could create possible problems with the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Did that ever come to mind in your thoughts regarding the Swine Flu?
Regardless of whether or not you have super-human immune system or not, as an HR professional you can be the face of clarity on issues such as the Swine Flu. Do some research and help to keep your organization healthy. Oh, and don’t worry about bacon, to my knowledge there has not been any link between this glorious treat and the Swine Flu!
In my five years working in the human resources field I have met a variety of personalities. Some have made me excited to be an HR professional while others made me want to play hooky like Ferris Bueler. A few even prompted thoughts of violently shaking the poor attitude out of them. Seriously people, check your poor attitude at the door!
One thing I have tried to improve upon in my career is the ability to manage my attitude and reaction to others in the workplace in order to accomplish communication. You can never fully prepare yourself to handle everything that may be thrown at you in human resources; all you can do is control yourself.
Volunteers (That's me on the left!)
This past spring I was a volunteer coordinator for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for a build here in Tallahassee, FL. The experience was one I will never forget; thousands of volunteers working around the clock to build a house for a family in need – in seven days! Since I was “in transition” during that time, I took the night shift from 12 am to 8am, went home, slept, got up and headed back to the site every day. One thing that stood out from this experience was the overall attitude of our volunteers. Each day they showed up to donate their time and had to deal with extremes – cold weather, hot weather, sleep deprivation, dust, aches, pains, grumpiness and everything else one may come across on a construction site. Most of the volunteers have full time jobs and other regular commitments but they continued to be invested in a project they were passionate about. Regardless of these obstacles the morale of the volunteers remained positive. These volunteers cared about the family and were invested in their work. Shouldn’t this be how your employees feel about your workplace?
Establish relationships with colleagues in the office that you work with on a regular basis. You do not have to be best friends with everyone but take the time to learn and figure out what makes your colleagues tick. What do they complain about? What makes them laugh? What standards do they hold themselves to? You will begin to learn how to best present things to these individuals. Some you may be able to be blunt with and let them take initiative to complete a project. Others you will have to hold their hand through execution. In the end you should be able to develop a unique delivery mechanism for any interaction with these individuals.
By establishing these relationships and learning how to handle your attitude towards your colleagues, you will take a huge step towards a happier workforce who is typically more productive. Regardless of why you work, the attitude you portray in the workplace is up to you. Whether positive or negative the work will still be there. Help create an environment employees care about and are invested in. Don’t let the Debbie Downers ruin it for everyone else!
Now come on, get to work! Say it with me HR professionals! “Move that bus!”
As chapter president for Big Bend SHRM I am a voting member of the HR Florida State Council. This year I am also volunteering as one of two Technology Directors that manage the council’s presence in social media. On top of that I volunteered to be a member of the 2009 conference team. Needless to say I love it all!
Roger loves stuffing bags!
Today was a long day for us at the HR Florida State Conference. It began with me waking up at 5 am not being able to sleep because I was thinking about all the prep work left to do! After a few hours of web updates, posts on Facebook and tweets I headed down to the conference team room to grab my radio and hit the conference center floor. First big task: stuff over 1,300 conference attendee goodie bags, with help from members of our incredible conference team filling in for missing volunteers. After 3.5 hours, a few dozen paper cuts, a slice and dice from a pair of scissors and some much needed coffee and pastries, a cheer rang through the hall as the last bag was stuffed and ready to go! With the bright green bags piled high we dispersed and found other tasks to tackle.
Kris did a phenomenal overview of why social media should be important to you as an HR pro, including answering the question “Who cares?” – “Your customers, your candidates, your kids, your employees and people who want to give you money as an HR pro!” Kris thoroughly covered tidbits on Google Reader and its importance to an HR pro with a drive to learn. Attendees had their laptops and followed his every move – slowly getting the hang of it.
Next came a detailed look into Twitter. With the help of Jessica, Mike and myself Kris was able to lead attendees to creating their own accounts and tweeting for the very first time. This caused quite a few smiles across the room - that turned into lots of excellent questions. By the end of the session everyone seemed pretty content and proud of themselves – maybe even a little less scared of social media!
As attendees began to flood the hotel and registration area I headed off to a technical rehearsal for our general sessions followed by a meeting with the registration team, making name badges for our blogging panel and finally dinner. No sooner did I set my napkin on the table I was out the door to review pictures taken by our wonderful photographer from Jobing.com for our following day’s presentations. I can’t forget helping the HR Florida secretary prepare gift baskets for our silent auction benefitting the Make a Wish Foundation and the SHRM Foundation.
Last but certainly not least I made it back to my hotel room just past midnight to right this update and head to bed. Another early day awaits me but I look forward to each and every second of it!
Opinions and content shared on this blog are specific to the individual and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Big Bend SHRM, our sponsors or the employers of our contributors.
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