So what’s happening? What have y’all been talking about in HR & Recruiting over the past week? I’m sure I missed a blog post or two about “When Candidates Act Like Ryan Lochte.” There were, no doubt, numerous posts I didn’t read about the Randstad/Monster deal. I bet there was countless content churned out about employer branding, employee engagement, personal branding, and analytics that never made it to my radar screen. Oh…and for the serious side of HR I’m sure there was loads of stuff about the looming FLSA deadline and chatter about ACA and open enrollment season that I’ll just have to catch up on some other time.
You’ll have to forgive me and the other HR professionals, talent leaders and recruiters of the greater Baton Rouge area; we’ve been just a bit pre-occupied for the last 11 days.
We’ve not had much time for talk because we’ve been caught up doing HR – in all its difficult, messy, imperfect, unloved, “make fun of it all you want” glory.
My peers (and I know this because many of us have been messaging and calling each other throughout the week) have been:
- Making decisions with executive teams and owners about when to close/re-open
- Reaching out to tens of thousands of missing or displaced employees
- Determining how to provide pay and immediate access to funds for employees
- Connecting employees and their family members to EAPs, insurance carriers, FEMA and Disaster food stamp programs
- Setting up disaster relief funds
- Mobilizing 401(k) providers for an influx of hardship distribution requests
- Organizing food, clothing and cleaning supply distributions
- Arranging temporary housing for employees
- Buying gas, clothes, toiletries and food for employees
- Coordinating carpools and transportation shuttles for employees who lost their vehicles
- Volunteering at shelters, meal distribution centers, and animal rescue sites
- Gutting and cleaning houses – for self, friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers
- Crying
- Holding hands
- Hugging
Do we have issues? You bet. But I’ve never been prouder to live in Louisiana. I see the strength and resilience of the human spirit as everyone, from all walks of life, is playing a part in recovery. Together and united.
We got this.
#unBRoken #LouisianaStrong
Robin – I have been thinking of you since all of this started in Louisiana and wondering how you have been doing. Thanks for the post today. As usual, you and your colleagues are on top of things and helping each other out. I’m just another HR lady over here in Oregon that you don’t know from Adam, sending prayers your way.
Renette – we HR ladies (and dudes) got it going on…right? 😉 TY !