HR 101. If there is one thing I could give a new HR Pro it would be this simple advice. No matter how prepared you think you are, you really only need to prepare yourself, for one thing, being surprised.
You don’t really get judged on your daily stuff. Let’s face it, 99.9% of the time that goes off without a hitch. You get judged on how you handle surprises.
Surprises make and break great HR Pro careers.
There’s really the only way to prepare for surprises. You need to expect that a surprise will always happen. That one employee you can’t lose or the entire project will blow up, be prepared to lose them. Talk about it, plan for it, and basically come to grips that it will happen. Then it will happen, and you’ll be the only one not surprised by it.
The best HR Pros I’ve worked with had this one common trait, they were unshakeable when surprised. Almost like they expected it.
This is so relevant and a great reminder for the HR newbies! Nothing could’ve prepared me for my 1st HR management role and I was often surprised and challenged. A great learning experience and test of one’s resilience in HR.