HR Trends of the Future with Sabrina Baker

Published: Jan. 2, 2020, 5:01 a.m.

b'Sabrina Baker is the founder of Acacia HR Solutions, an HR consulting firm focused on the startup and small business space. She started her company in 2011 after she was laid off from her corporate job. Since then she has been helping startups and small businesses with their HR needs. She joins Mike Wood to chat about the biggest HR trends of the past decade, and what we should expect moving forward.\\n\\nSocial Media Is The Biggest Thing\\xa0\\nWhile the #MeToo Movement of 2017 was certainly one of the biggest stories of the last decade, Sabrina says that it would not have been as big without social media. She feels that social media has had the biggest impact on the last 10 years. It has given a voice to people to share their stories and a platform to impact many long standing issues on a global scale. Mike comments that many issues had been open secrets until the advent of social media. People had heard about them but there were never enough voices advocating for change. Social media has made it possible for one person to share his or her story and then have other people join in, until the veil is lifted off the problem.\\xa0\\n\\nLifting The Veil Off Mental Health Issues\\nMike says that he believes the issue of mental health is going to get more and more coverage in this new decade. A lot of people struggle with mental health challenges and it\\u2019s being understood that we should talk about it more. Employees are also recognizing that they need to take care of their employees\\u2019 mental health. Sabrina agrees and adds that it\\u2019s a positive sign that people are willing to speak more openly about mental health and learn how to better deal with the issue in the workplace. Mike comments that what your employees are dealing with is a mirror of what society is dealing with. As a company, you need to address it and provide resources to help your people.\\xa0\\n\\nWhere\\u2019s The Line?\\nEmployees can\\u2019t leave their problems at the door when they come to work, Sabrina says. We need to figure out our role as employers in helping our people through their challenges. Mike poses the question, Where is the line? How can employers help without crossing boundaries? Sabrina responds that small businesses are great at helping employees because of their small teams and close bonds. The problem arises in large companies, she says, where they are afraid to get involved because they don\\u2019t want to cross the line. However, they can help through their company policies. Large companies can keep it diplomatic, while creating policies for employees to get the help that they need.\\n\\nStaying Human In A Tech-Oriented World\\nAs the world becomes more technology-oriented, will we need to address the lack of human to human connection? Sabrina says yes. If we don\\u2019t put limits on how we use technology to interact - if we don\\u2019t put our devices down sometimes and just speak to each other, and model the same to our children - we\\u2019re going to struggle to make meaningful connections. Technology is only going to increase, Sabrina says. We have to figure out the balance of using technology for all the great benefits it provides vs letting it take over all our interactions.\\n\\nResources\\nAcaciaHRSolutions.com\\nSabrina Baker on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram\\xa0\\nWorkHuman Live 2020'