On Wednesdays, we schedule our weekly 1:1 with HR Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.
During her 20-year career in human resources, LynnAnn Brewer says she’s done “pretty much almost everything in HR,” from managing HR on a cruise ship, to working in HR for a tech startup. She spent more than a decade at Texas State University, where she served as director of talent acquisition and inclusion for five years. She is currently the director for HR research and advisory services at McLean & Company, which conducts research in HR and advises organizations on workplace development strategies.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? My role is to help HR analysts conduct and write research on HR areas and create content for HR leaders and partners to implement programming and HR strategies. The most important thing we do is support HR in sustaining a thriving workforce.
What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? The best change I have made is to take down unfair practices and policies that make it hard for women and minority groups to succeed at education institutions. I hope the changes and initiatives make it easier in the future for more people to do well and be happier.
Can you elaborate on that? Going through our policies [at Texas State University] and making sure that we use inclusive language and taking out gendered language. We had a specific policy around reporting of HIV danger, and so we cleaned that language up. In terms of HR, what I found with HR at the university was that it was very siloed, in terms of how it operated. So we took the talent-acquisition piece out of HR there and moved it under DE&I. So I took my team and our HR expertise and moved it under DE&I, to hopefully move that needle to make the organization more inclusive and retain women and minorities.
What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? Many HR professionals do not know that people conduct practical HR research outside of academia. Most people are unsure what we do, and it is a little hard to explain. I am concerned people think the research will not help them do things, but that is not true. I wish I had known about the research and tools we [McLean & Company] create because it makes HR life easier and more effective. They don’t have to do it themselves! HR is so burned out and needs to ask for support and resources. This is one way to get the care they need to elevate their work and allow HR to be seen as the good people function.
Quick-to-read HR news & insights
From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.
What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job? The best part for me is speaking to HR people from all different walks of life and supporting them through whatever is on their minds or keeps them up at night. The second best part is conducting the research and reading about a topic and envisioning how that becomes information and tools HR can real-time use to change their lives. I have been practicing HR for over 20 years, and I have not seen such an incredible resource. I feel like we genuinely support HR in a safe space and allow them to be the best.
What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why? I am super optimistic about shorter workweeks and days. I see the trend of four-day workweeks and 32 hours being something we get to experience in our lifetime. I think it is fantastic to recognize that as a society, we have evolved, and a 40-hour workweek is not required to be a productive and profitable company.
What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why? I am least optimistic about all the women facing challenges and being unable to return to the workforce… I’m just really worried that we’ve moved forward so much, in terms of ensuring our workplaces can accommodate caregivers. I just don’t want to go back to where one person is working, one person’s not, and then the person who is not working is expected to do all these caregiving responsibilities at home. Women are a critical part of an organization and society’s success, and I am very saddened and worried.
Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why: Ongoody is a gifting platform for virtual gift-giving that I am really enjoying. I will send my staff gifts from the platform for Employee Appreciation Day, and I am excited for the team to receive it. Another one I really like is ThoughtExchange. It is an incredible platform to real-time solve problems, and for leaders to hear directly from their employees. It is like live crowdsourcing solutions.