Unlimited PTO makes this HR pro mad

Here’s this week’s edition of our Coworking series. Each week, we chat 1:1 with an HR Brew reader. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Sharon Rosen’s kids were having a hard time understanding human resources (TBH, many adults do, too), so she tried to frame her work in the values that she hopes to instill in her children. To them, Mom helps people get jobs, enjoy their job, and “ensure that people are kind to one another” at work.

Rosen moved to the HR function from nonprofit fundraising after realizing how important the employee experience was to mission-driven work. At the marketing and communications firm Antenna Group, she’s now helping source candidates, nurture company culture, and make life better for her colleagues as they work with clients on important issues like healthcare, climate change, and clean tech.

What’s the best change you’ve made at work?

As Antenna Group has grown significantly over the last two years, I’ve helped develop programming and initiatives that have helped Antenna hold onto that small agency, community feeling, even as we have nearly doubled in size. Whether that’s through events led by our culture team that pair folks together who wouldn’t normally work together, challenges that give extra points for sharing pictures of your pets, kids, or friends with all of the staff, or fostering a culture of growth and gratitude with feedback and shoutouts, we’ve held onto what makes Antenna Group so special and stayed close to what we value.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

There is the belief that HR is a stuffy, paper-pushing function that only has the company’s interest at heart, which may have been somewhat accurate in the past. HR has evolved so much over the years as companies have realized how much the employee experience impacts their workforce in terms of productivity and retention. A good company and successful HR department realize that what’s good for the employee is also good for the company.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?

It may sound cheesy and cliché, but nothing makes me happier than getting to know my staff and watching them grow. Being at Antenna Group for three years now, I’ve seen people I’ve sourced and hired get promoted and become leaders within the company. We hire on the potential we see in candidates, and it makes me incredibly proud to see the individuals we hire flourish within their roles at our agency.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?

I take a balanced approach to all aspects of my life, which is why I could not be more excited and happy about the hybrid office schedule.

I love telling candidates that Antenna Group was hybrid before it was cool. For years, I wanted a job that allowed me to work from home some of the time, while still having the opportunity to go into the office and work with and learn from my colleagues. I was really impressed when I interviewed with Antenna Group in July 2020 and they told me they were hybrid pre-pandemic. That signaled to me that this was a forward-thinking company that focused on and listened to its people.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?

My biggest pet peeve when it comes to HR trends is unlimited PTO. It sounds flashy, exciting, and generous, but it can be more complicated than it sounds. When I hear that companies are offering unlimited PTO, I worry the staff won’t take the days they need and deserve over concerns that it may seem excessive. Also, internally, managers and HR must then monitor the time taken to ensure staff isn’t abusing the policy, and define what is considered “abusing.” With that, it’s again a limited PTO plan! I much prefer companies offering a general PTO package and a cap on [what employees can] carry over to encourage staff to take those much-deserved breaks from work.

Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why.

Adopting Greenhouse as our applicant tracking system was life-changing for me! The system is easy for recruiters to use, intuitive for hiring managers and interviewers, and has a great process for referrals. More importantly, and why I ultimately chose Greenhouse, is the DEIA reminders throughout each step of the hiring process; as a company, we aim to weave DEIA into everything we do, and Greenhouse allows us to do so seamlessly.