Mid-year check-in: How 2024 is shaking out for HR pros

We started off the year by asking people leaders what they were looking forward to in 2024.

Now that the year is halfway over (*internal scream*), we checked in to see how things are going.

Helping employees decompress. “While, unfortunately, the levels of stress haven’t subsided in our workplaces, I’ve seen some amazing examples of leaders leaning into these principles, for example opening the doors for uncomfortable and sensitive conversations by leaning heavily into listening. I’ve seen some great leaders not just approving but encouraging their teams to take time off to decompress from work for personal high stress periods. I’m hopeful that six months into 2024 that we’re already setting up foundational practices like the above to make a substantial change this year.”—Hannah Yardley, chief people and culture officer at software company Achievers

Building feedback loops. “We’ve built in time throughout the year to pause and reflect, giving employees the chance to go back through all of the recognition they’ve received for their work, the catalog of one-on-one meetings they’ve had with their leader, the values they’ve been recognized for that connect directly to Workhuman’s culture—all of this signals how they’ve progressed and how they have contributed to larger strategic goals, and developed in a professional sense…This process has also allowed time for leaders to reassess priorities against where we’re at in the year, and realign based on the new data we have on macroeconomic trends and how fast or slow progress is tracking against our overarching plan.”—KeyAnna Schmiedl, chief human experience officer at employee recognition software company Workhuman

Creating a customer culture. “The team at Catchafire has been focused on building our customer-driven culture. A few things we’ve done so far this year include bringing more customer stories and insights to our all hands, as well as sharing user research that helps our team understand our customers and end-users really well. Knowing who we serve and who we work with remains a priority for us, because it enables us to build the best solutions when it comes to transforming communities and the nonprofits that serve them.”—Mila Singh, VP of people and culture at Catchafire

Offering new tech. “We have launched a new AI-powered career development platform that helps employees find opportunities and learning experiences that match their skills and aspirations. It’s early, but so far the response has been very positive. We’ve also deployed a new set of tools to generate data-driven insights for managers to help them coach and reward their teams. And we are supporting all of our employees to learn more about AI through a guided, self-paced curriculum to create fluency, with opportunities to practice delivered through daily nudges. At the corporate level, we’re rolling out [Microsoft] CoPilot tools across the organization and experimenting with how to use them at work.”—Kristen Ludgate, chief people officer at HP