McLean & Company’s 2020 HR Trends Report indicated that in their drive to support others, HR professionals too often neglect their own development and challenges. HR stress levels are increasing, and more varied and holistic HR development is required to keep pace with changing needs. Organizations that help HR professionals develop their skills and manage stress have more effective HR departments.

The report indicates that to ensure HR professionals are being adequately supported, organizations should focus on three key areas:

• Resilience – HR deals with a variety of employee issues and needs the skills to be resilient.

• Wellbeing – 39% of HR professionals strongly agree that their stress levels have increased.  An effective wellbeing program can help them learn to handle the stress in an effective manner.

• Talent Development – HR is ever changing and it’s important to keep your HR staff’s skills consistently evolving.

As HR juggles the needs of everyone in the organization, their stress levels rise.  The most common job stressors for ASE HR professionals are:

• Lack of time – 76%

• Resolving employee relations issues – 52%

• Knowing about significant decisions in advance – 39%

• Implementing programs or policies they don’t agree with – 33%

• Conducting terminations – 32%

• Role ambiguity – 26%

• Pressure from senior-level clients – 23%

The most common tactics HR professionals use to manage that stress include:

• Find time to be alone at work – 47%

• Seek support from HR peers – 44%

• Take time off – 36%

• Seek support from their manager – 35%

• Seek advice from external HR experts – 35%

• Access resources – 30%

• Employee assistance programs – 6%

The top way HR professionals are coping is to be alone.  The end result of this could be a feeling of isolation and can eventually result in lost productivity and reduced collaboration.  It’s important to work with HR to ensure they have systems and resources in place to support them when needed.

The top three effective resources for HR professionals are:

1.       Attending Conferences – 82%

2.       HR Association Membership – 85%

3.       HR-specific courses, programs, or certification – 59%

ASE members can access the full copy of the 2020 HR Trends Report via the ASE Member Dashboard.

Additional ASE Resources
ASE offers all the resources mentioned in this report.  ASE members consider us an extension of their HR function. 

HR Research & Tools – ASE members have access to two online resources – McLean & Company and CCH HRAnswersNow. McLean & Company is a leading HR research and advisory firm providing best practice research, tools, and templates designed to drive business performance through practical solutions. CCH HRAnswersNow contains thousands of answers to common HR questions and issues members face every day, including sample forms, sample policies, checklists, and daily news articles.  Both can be accessed via the ASE Member Dashboard.

HR Hotline – ASE members have access to the ASE hotline where they can ask any HR-related question.

ASE Conferences – ASE offers four major conferences each year that span the HR spectrum.  Our next upcoming conference is the Annual HR Conference on March 12^th.  Learn more and register here.

ASE Training & Certifications – ASE is the only pre-approved provider of HRCI accredited courses in southeast Michigan.  ASE offers more than 50 courses totaling more than 200 credits towards recertification for HRCI aPHR | PHR | SPHR. In addition we offer several ASE certifications including a Human Resource Generalist Certification.  View all upcoming courses here.

ASE Networking  – ASE offers our members many opportunities to network and learn from fellow members including roundtables, forums, and special events.  To view all upcoming events, click here.  If you’d like to join a forum, please complete this form.