HR – It's time to tear down the wall. Our job is to build up people, not walls, so let's dig into our why, our purpose, and how we can build successful HR relationships. Prejudice of all kinds exists, whether it be race, gender, sexual orientation, or difference of thought. And for those of us in HR positions, our goal is to let all of these go.

We need to let go of all the things that weigh us down because we can't help anyone if we are carrying such a heavy load. The beginning stages of shedding this heaviness is asking ourselves the hard questions. Are we over processing and over-engineering people to make them fit into a certain culture? Are we putting people into a box instead of looking at the things that they add value to? Are we becoming hypocrites of our own mission?

Get clear

In order to be the change, you need to keep it simple. Your choices are what matters, and getting clear on the tough questions is what will begin tearing down the wall for a brighter future. What do you want that future to be and who will help you bring it to fruition? What are the most important things that your team needs? Start here and focus on understanding what you have in an organization, rather than focusing on what you don't have. What's important to an organization are the people that add value and bring a team to success on both a mental and spiritual level. Every hire is a representation of your company, so you need to define what you want the HR department to look like - good ideas plus good intentions, and a clear mind will create success.

Erase fear

Don’t stand in your own way and let fear run your business. Especially in HR, we need to be the change and to be fearless in our endeavours. Those who have entered into HR are there to be the voice for the ones who can’t speak up. They have integrity and a fiduciary responsibility to ethics and equality for all. We need to eradicate the walls and work with people to bring a positive change into the workplace. Be the HR hero that leads with human compassion and empathy, and the reward will be success and equal opportunity.

Provide support

It’s so important to provide a safe and supportive work environment. This leads to positive ROI, creativity, inspiration and an inclusive workplace where walls don’t exist. It is our time to disrupt, change and evolve. We support the masses – we support everyone and this change begins with education. What drives diversity and inclusion is education for all. Education is our salvation for a brighter tomorrow and has an impact on our communities, our customers and ultimately our ourselves.

Build from the inside out

You must build from within. Today’s statistics prove that there’s still far to go before we see significant success. 71% of people with jobs are looking for other jobs and the average tenure for millennial's is 15 months in their first 3 job positions. Retention rate starts with proper hires, fostering education and growth within a workplace. This is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed. Many work environments place unneeded pressure on employees and view them as replaceable and just a number. They should instead be putting time and energy into building a culture that’s about education and training for success. Recycling employees has now proved to be an issue and has led to a skills gap in this country.

Education is key

You need to look at every role with an education component in mind to ensure success. Companies and the teams within them win when they have education and a solid cultural foundation. Start with the basics and place more of an emphasis on hiring based upon personal qualities and skills. Many things can be learned, and hiring genuine people is extremely valuable to the future growth of a company. When you focus on obtaining quality skill sets and quality people, your company will begin to progress and move forward. This ultimately opens the door and the market for people that are actively looking to learn, work with your inclusive team, and wanting to make an impact. Focus on your active talent and invest and educate the people within your team. And when we focus on education, it leads to diversity and inclusion amongst your entire organization. We did not get into HR to stand down - we got into HR to stand up for inclusion for all, and education is our path to success for all.

Kristy McCann is the founder of GoCoach, an employee training platform.

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