From the President - April 2020
From the President – April 2020
#alonetogether
Hello Friends!
Are you there, are you okay? Human Resource professionals all over the world are going into a tailspin. Are you there, are you okay?
Of course you are! The main takeaway from this month’s correspondence is that you are not alone. We are all “here” together. On the days where you are “not okay”, you have questions, doubts and concerns about navigating your company and its employees through the waters of the FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act), the Cares Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) and the PPP SBA loans (Paycheck Protection Program) we must be here for each other.
I have been at odds with determining the response that would be the best fit our membership. THERE IS SO MUCH information available. The number of email communications HR Professionals are being inundated with have gone off the charts. Webinars are exploding at an unprecedented rate. Owners and C-Suite executives are clamoring for answers and trying to keep businesses afloat.
Going to the source. I have long been an advocate for utilizing the governing agencies as the premier source for information pertaining to laws and regulation. But we all know that the rubber hits the road in the interpretations of those laws. In this very moment, even those direct agency sources are producing information that is evolving everyday.
Rely on support and guidance from these agencies, from SHRM National and your preferred professional support systems, such as your competent and trusted consultants or legal resources. But please, remember your local peers are here for you too. If you are not sure how to move forward on something in particular, we are all here for each other. Reach out and let us know how we can help guide and support one another. Feeling frustrated, alone or overwhelmed? Its no surprise and guess what, we are all alone together! We can be the first step toward support and solutions for one another
Our Chapter is made up of HR practitioners just like you. We are struggling through the trials and celebrating triumphs everyday, just like you. As I write this, I can’t help but think how tired I am from the strain. In my workplace alone, we have laid off over 2,500 people across hundreds of clients. Many terminations have been processed and many, many lives have been touched since Fateful Friday the 13th of March, 2020. We wonder what this will mean for those individuals, their families, entrepreneurs, cornerstone businesses, the economy at large and not least of all, our own families.
As HR professionals, we are there for all of them, we are the HUMAN, in Human Resources. I also have to think of how our teams have scrambled, rallied and said “We’ve got this!” Weeks are now in the rearview mirror and we continue to press onward figuring out how to navigate this new challenge and pushing toward finding solutions for our companies.
So, in this letter to you, I am not going to throw out another list of webinars, resources, websites and FAQ’s. I know you are smart, capable professionals and have already found a plethora of reputable resource materials and as a Chapter, we can add references to our website as well.
Instead, I want to encourage you, to lean on one another. To be patient and kind. To be understanding and compassionate. To remember those who need you to lean upon and for you to lean upon others when you need it. For some of us, this COVID-19 pandemic may be the most challenging event to cross our career paths and when we look back we will be able to say we were #alonetogether.
I welcome your direct feedback. You may contact any time. melissa.amaon.shrm@gmail.com
---Melissa
