Social media, good for the workplace? This HR influencer thinks so

If The Crown taught us anything, it’s that the late Queen Elizabeth II lived a life radically different from us normals. But some queens are a bit more relatable: All hail the HR queen, Jha’nee Carter.

Social media is making it easier for employees to understand the workplace, according to Carter, who says her accessible and engaging content at @_thehrqueen helps to “humanize HR” and explain the why behind some baffling employee policies and procedures.

“A lot of employees are not educated on the different types of things that go into running a business,” said Carter. “So, that’s also part of my…content: educating people so they understand the HR perspective.”

The HR go-between. Carter is using her previous work experience overseeing operations, administration, and HR at prominent law firms to help demystify workplace policies to her almost 170,000 followers on TikTok and almost 150,000 on Instagram. She is one of the first Black female influencers in the HR space, and brings a unique perspective to a job function that’s still overwhelmingly white.

“I believe that sharing knowledge and insight on various HR topics can really help [followers] better understand their rights and responsibilities, advocate for themselves, and then create a positive change in the workplace,” she said.

Her advice isn’t just for employees. As her popularity grew, Carter said, some of her content has evolved to help managers and leaders train, develop, and grow their employees, “so there isn’t a large line between us and them.”

Managers and HR leaders need to be on social media to see what employees are facing and what issues they’re raising, she said.

Free from Big Law’s reign. Now Carter is doing this work full-time, but it wasn’t until leaving Big Law that she felt comfortable sharing more of herself online.

“What’s so ironic about this whole thing is I was so against social media. [In corporate America], you can’t really have all of your personal business on social media, and so I was very reluctant,” she said. “I started posting when I decided to leave corporate and start my own business, and it just took off. I am still amazed at how fast my platforms have grown.”

In addition to gracing your feeds with advice and insight, Carter runs an HR and management consulting and career coaching business. She’s mentoring and building a community of aspiring business leaders and developing a “mentor at your fingertips” app. She keeps busy.

She credits much of success to her popularity on social media and sees HR content creation as a growing space to share resources to improve our lives at work.

“I really hope that my presence has inspired others to start their content creation journey. There’s been a huge uptick of HR influencers, which is great to see,” she said. “We need to work together in order for our workplaces to become better. There’s a lot of hostilities going on in corporations, and the only way to stop that—with social media taking off—is to educate employees.”—AD