Can You Provide a Quick Update?

By Mary Lynn Fayoumi, CAE, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President & CEO
Published October 8, 2024

During our September Team Collaboration Day, a group of HR Source staff members were sharing highlights of some HR Hotline and Peer Hub interactions with members. While exchanging examples and providing feedback to each other in hopes of improving the member experience is customary for our team, several of us have been faced with what sounds like an easy request: “Can you provide a quick update on everything employers need to know?” 

Hmmm ... that’s a tough one! The environment that employers operate in these days is extremely complex. Staying competitive and compliant with an increasingly long list of labor and employment laws is getting more challenging all the time. Although some issues are more pressing than others at any given time, what tops the list of HR concerns varies by organizational size, geographic location, industry, and a host of other factors. 

The HR Source team works diligently to stay abreast of what’s happening and relevant to employers, but no single member of our amazingly talented team is both up to date and conversant on every single issue. Fortunately, we have a diverse and talented team with various educational backgrounds, different professional certifications, and unique workplace experiences. As a team, we possess a vast array of knowledge on a wide swath of topics, but as individuals each of us has specific areas of expertise that we utilize to serve our members.

So, when asked to deliver an up-to-date summary of the most newsworthy HR issues, don’t be surprised when our team member politely asks you to be more specific or encourages you to discuss some of your current dilemmas. Trust me, we’re not being dismissive or unresponsive. On the contrary, we are being respectful and realistic. There is so much going on, so much to learn, and so much to do. In short, a quick HR update, relevant and helpful to you, might be quite different from one delivered to another member. 

To stay on top of pressing issues and trends in HR and employment law, I encourage you to read The Source (our newsletter), tune into Straight from the Source (our monthly talk show), attend our upcoming Employment Law Conference, and use the HR Exchange (our online member community) to engage with other members. When you have specific questions, use our most popular and highly valued member benefit, the HR Hotline. Call us at 800-448-4584 or contact us through the HR Hotline Online. We look forward to hearing from you!