The challenges facing HR practitioners, the importance of culture, and how to make employees feel appreciated

Kaitlyn:
My name is Kaitlyn Knopp. I'm the CEO and co-founder of Pequity, all in one compensation platform.

Shaked:
What are the main challenges of HR today?

Kaitlyn:
Having things be more visible, but also more specific.
People want accuracy, they want to know exactly what their work is worth.
It makes it much more challenging for HR practitioners because you have
to be aware of all those details and you have to track them, report on them
and be able to communicate them accurately.

Shaked:
We have also 70-80% of the world's
workforce that are non desk employees, right?
How can we enhance their HR experience?
The engagement with the company, the communication?

Kaitlyn:
Technology is an obvious answer to that.
I think you have to invest in it. Leadership has to care to have that culture, which is essential.
Culture is currency.
Someone who wants to lean into making people more connected, making them feel more valued and giving them the information that they need when they need it.

Shaked:
How can you make an employee feel more appreciated?

Kaitlyn:
It really does have to start with just noticing.
You need to have a way to gauge what is the values of your company to notice when people are meeting
those values or exceeding it.
And then to, at the time of that happening, give them a reward in the form of either verbal recognition or if you can put cash or some sort of monetary value behind it. People always want that because it will naturally filter to the people who are the strongest value adds to your culture and to your business.
And for people who don't resonate with that, that's okay too, right? It helps them self filter out,
should they need to.

If you don't recognize people, they're going to leave to find someone who gives them
that recognition and who will help them move up towards the career goals
or path that they want to get to.

Shaked:
Your number one tip to new HR managers or business owners,
something that you wish you knew earlier.

Kaitlyn:
You will feel a lot of pressure to get certain people in the door.
You're going to feel the pressure that you have to get it right on the first try. You're not going to, likely.
Be methodical. Take the time. The number one thing that's going to crumble you as a leader or crumble
your team is if tasks are ill defined.
If you don't know what you were recruiting for in the first place.
So having a definition for everything and being the chief communicator for your team, that is your number one role as a leader.
So lean into that. Learn how to communicate well. Learn how to define well.