Checking in on New Year’s resolutions

Most people give up on their resolutions in less time than it takes to apply mascara in the car, but HR leaders may be the exception. We checked in with some top HR pros to hear about their progress since the end of 2022.

Engagement. Bernard Coleman, chief diversity and engagement officer at Gusto, said that the company would focus on deepening employee engagement and increasing cross-functional teamwork this year. He told HR Brew via email that he believes Gusto is making progress. “It’s largely been due to the focus on intentionality, alignment, and truly thinking about the full through-line of the employee experience, and it’s been an amazing unlock,” he wrote.

New tools. The HR industry is already experiencing massive changes in HR tech (even if it wasn’t ready for it), thanks to generative AI. Progressive Insurance’s CHRO Bill Clawson told HR Brew in December that HR leaders will need to implement new HR tools. “During the pandemic, Progressive launched our IT bootcamp, in which we invested in reskilling current employees, allowing them to seamlessly transition into a high-demand tech career, all while remaining fully employed by Progressive. In 2023, I would love to see more of this,” he told HR Brew in December.

“We are making great progress! We have created organizational focus around onboarding and continue to evolve our learning and development to leverage hybrid environments,” Clawson updated HR Brew via email.

Employee well-being. Jeri Hawthorne, VP of corporate HR at Aflac, said the company would focus on employee mental health in 2023, no matter whether the employee is working in-person, hybrid, or remote. It is acting on its resolution in part by focusing on the various factors that impact an employee’s mental health, Hawthorne told HR Brew in an email.

“Fostering authentic and productive conversations around mental health in the workplace requires reaching employees through multiple touchpoints. Throughout 2023, we’ve continued to host town halls, focus groups, and other events centered around mental well-being. In fact, since we first introduced mental health-focused town halls at Aflac, we’ve seen a 45% uptick in employees’ use of our mental wellness programs,” she wrote.