HUMAN RESOURCES

BY ELIZABETH BRUNO, MSN, RN

Reprinted with permission from HR Pulse, Summer, 2025.

A few months ago, I attended a conference. I had dinner with a group of colleagues, and they shared that they felt their work had doubled over the past few years with no additional resources. They told stories of failed recruitment and retention initiatives. Others focused on burnout and poor morale reflected in disappointing employee and engagement scores. They talked about all the new technology being added. Some spoke about the anxiety some of their customers were expressing around the talk of AI taking over jobs.

Given the dynamics and priorities of today's organizations, it's easy to lose sight of yourself, your need for self-care and your plans for the future. In this two-part series, we'll explore three broad suggestions that can act as a structure for considering professional development and career growth. They are: Looking in the Mirror, Looking Around You, and Looking to the Future. Depending on where you are in your career, some questions or elements may seem simplistic or may be more applicable than others. That's fine. This isn't one more to do list. You have enough of those. Just know that these three suggestions/categories bear scrutiny no matter your specialty, rank or tenure in HR. Also, this work isn't meant to be a "one and done." Based on your current role, your interests, and potential opportunities, refer to the concepts and use them as you see fit.

Look in the mirror

As you consider what you need to do to grow in your career, begin with a courageous self-assessment. Today employers are looking to recognize and promote people who consistently add value and take charge of their own development. Here are some questions to get you started:

In the eyes of your boss and your customers, are you exceeding expectations in your current role or simply meeting them? One of the key components of promotability is strong performance in a current role. If you've received feedback on improving your performance, have you acted on it? Have you shared that with your supervisor? Have you demonstrated the ability to work well as part of a team? That has become an even more important characteristic post-COVID. Cross functional teams figure prominently in the way work is being accomplished in today's world. How are your communication skills? The ability to speak and write clearly and succinctly are essential as you look to enhance your career. A rather more important question is, how well do you listen? Real active listening is a skill unmatched in importance as it results in greater empathy, truer insights and more powerful connections.

How are you at adapting to change? It's one of the certainties of life, like death and taxes. How would your boss and colleagues define your historical response? Kicking and screaming is seldom a good look nor is being passive aggressive or digging in your heals. Have you demonstrated an effort to learn something new? What skills have you undertaken to acquire in the past year that might prove useful to the organization? Have you shown a willingness to assist new or transferred team members? A bit of caring and assistance to someone new benefits the newbie and the department. It will also remind you of what it was like when you wore those shoes. Speaking of willingness, do you ever volunteer to assist with departmental or system initiatives or do you wait till you're "voluntold"? Yes, healthcare week can be exhausting, but so is a twelve-hour shift in a patient care area. Your willingness to help colleagues celebrate the work they do can mean more than you know.

What aspects of your job do you particularly enjoy? Why? Pay attention to that as it can help you as you consider your future. Are you considered a problem solver, or do you simply complain about issues and process problems? Have you taken the initiative to make suggestions to solve any of those process problems? Even if your suggestion isn't implemented, the fact that you made a thoughtful contribution will be noticed. There are many other success factors you might consider, but the point is to take the time to honestly assess your current skills and overall performance. Use the insight you gain to identify opportunities for improvement. Having self-awareness is essential to success.

Look around you

One of the realities of a busy workplace is the tendency to focus strictly on what's in front of you to the exclusion of everything else. It's understandable, as we only have so much time and energy. The problem is that it limits your perspective and can easily lead to mistakes, distortions and an inability to innovate. It also limits your ability to see and act on opportunities. In leaders, it can cause you to miss signs of conflict, burnout, poor morale and favoritism. Individuals and teams can miss opportunities for valuable collaboration. It can also impact your ability to spot trends and recognize patterns. All of these can adversely impact creativity, problem solving and the outcomes for which we strive. Some questions and points for reflection include:

In your department, what are the priorities about which leadership is most concerned? Where are the staffing hot spots? What are the system wide projects in which HR figures prominently? What are the broad issues your organization is focusing on right now? No doubt they are many and complex. What strategies are being employed to deal with them? Who's your competition locally? Regionally? How does your work impact the overall organization? Attending the system or Town Hall meetings will help you gain a clearer picture. The broader and deeper your understanding of that big picture, the greater your ability to add value, be it with ideas, sitting on a task force, a committee, taking on some other stretch assignment or stepping into a new role.

Another important aspect of looking around you is the development and nurturing of relationships. Successful people recognize the importance of forming relationships beyond one's immediate work group. Who within the larger HR department do you know well? With whom do you have coffee/lunch? Sitting in the cafeteria with non-HR staff can expand your understanding significantly. Have you read an article a colleague might find useful? Is there a video or podcast you think would be helpful for one of your customers? Send it to them. Read the company newsletter and follow it on social media. Send congratulatory and thank you emails as appropriate. Get to know the people in learning and development. They can be very helpful with resources and information you might not have considered. How's your LinkedIn profile? Is it up to date? Whom do you follow and who are your contacts? Being exposed to wide and varied perspectives can only improve your understanding and value. To what podcasts do you listen? What professional newsletters or web sites do you visit regularly? Are you a member of a professional organization? Do you ever attend the local meetings of those organizations? Consider how all of these efforts to build a network of relationships and contacts benefit you and your organization.

Going back to that dinner with my colleagues, it wasn't all gloom and doom. People shared success stories and ideas they had implemented or were considering. They spoke about the spirit of the caregivers and the difference they made every day for their communities. Despite how easy it is to become discouraged and even cynical, the work you do every day is important and meaningful. You make more of a difference than you will ever know.

In part two of this article, the focus will be on the rapidly evolving landscape of US healthcare and the implications for our work in HR. The challenges of shrinking margins, virtual care, the role of AI and some of the skills that are projected to be vital in the future will be covered. Finally, the topics of leadership, certifications, advanced degrees and visibility in both the organization and the community along with a link to valuable resources will be included in an effort to tie it all together.

Liz Bruno is an accomplished educator and human performance improvement professional with over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Her work has included learning and development, performance consulting, organizational development and leadership in addition to a variety of clinical roles. She is a skilled coach, facilitator, team builder, and communicator across diverse groups and a frequent speaker on podcasts and at national and regional events.