EPISODE 24: HOW TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A TEAM WITH HR EXPERT LAURA PURSWELL

Live Date: November 1, 2021

 

Show Description:  In today’s episode, Heather sits down with HR expert Laura Purswell to talk about building a team, maintaining a team and the steps managers can take to protect and sustain their employees. In the midst of rapid change and turmoil, leading to the Great Resignation, companies across the globe took a hit, but so did their employees. So how can managers make sure their employees are feeling secure at work? Listen to today’s episode to find out. 

Link to Full Episode

 This Episode Will Teach You:

  • Trends that HR experts are seeing across the board in employees and managers

  • The biggest challenges as it relates specifically to HR 

  • How to pivot and adjust amid The Great Resignation

Biggest Takeaways:

  • Laura discusses the benefits of a hybrid workplace. Employees need to interact with one another, they need to see their coworkers to interpret body language and tone. But Laura is seeing that if employees are trusted to do their job and given the tools to do their job. Then in some ways, it’s not going to make a difference where they’re located, 

  • Heather and Laura discuss navigating the dichotomy of caring for employees well while holding them accountable for the job that they are hired to do and how that boils down to setting expectations. 

  • Laura shares the trends that she is seeing with the younger workforce. This is a group that really is concerned about impact. This younger generation really brought social entrepreneurship to the forefront and she dives into how to implement those values into the workplace.

About the Guest: Laura Purswell is an HR expert with more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of Human Resources and more than 15 years at an executive management level. Demonstrated expertise in healthcare, financial services, retail, manufacturing, printing and broadcasting. Exceptionally strong business partner with vision and desire to lead preferred employer efforts for strategic advantage in the marketplace.

Quotables:

  • “The first and best thing that we need to continue to do is to talk to our employees, talk to people” – Laura Purswell, 7:58

  • “We don’t want to be spending more time on the people who are leaving and ignore the people who are staying.” – Laura Purswell, 8:53

  • “But just repeating the communication was a light bulb for me. I tell people this all the time for a living, when I’m advising as a communications professional, I need to take my own advice internally when communicating with our team is exactly you can’t just tell them once and think that they are going to remember, or it’s going to sink in.” – Heather Adams, 12:42

  • “All of these changes that we’ve undergone, they’re not going to go away, even if we move in the new year to a situation that more approximates what we tend to think of as normal. I think it will be a new normal, but it will be more like what we experienced before March of 2020.” – Laura Purswell, 14:10

  • “I think we’ve seen in a lot of cases that point to, ‘Okay, if we trust our employees to do their job, we give them the tools to do their job, then in some ways it’s not going to make a difference where they’re located, because if we have that trust factor, we don’t have to be looking at them every moment.” – Laura Purswell, 17:15

  • “Exactly, and the idea that now what people are looking at is I want a job where I can live anywhere. Yeah. I’m more interested in, you know, my lifestyle and in some ways. And so, and, and so if you’re not prepared to, to offer, you know, some level of remote work, then you’re missing, you could be missing out on a pretty significant part of the workforce.” – Laura Purswell, 19:11

  • “Understand that there are always going to be positions that cannot work remotely, but employers that are unwilling to take a look at what can be done remotely are definitely going to miss out. And I think it’s going to have an impact on how their workplace is viewed.” – Laura Purswell, 20:22

  • “If there’s been just a lot of turmoil across the board, it doesn’t hurt to establish, or reestablish, ‘what are the expectations for this role?’ And then incrementally, ‘What are the expectations and how do I meet those expectations?’ You know, something that I think you use fairly effectively is a one-on-one.” – Laura Purswell, 31:27

  • “This is also a group that really is concerned about impact. It’s this younger generation that really brought social entrepreneurship to the forefront. I don’t know of anybody in my generation who would have looked and said, well, I can have a for-profit business that does good.” – Laura Purswell, 37:04

  • “​​I have to communicate to the current team; here’s where your voice matters. I value your opinion. I want you to have a seat at the table in the decision-making, but ultimately it’s my call.” – Heather Adams, 42:02

  • “​​Intentionally talk with that person about what’s going on in their life, not what’s going on at work, but what’s going on in their life that might be causing the most concern or sparking the most joy.” – Laura Purswell, 46:13

  • “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.” – Laura Pursell, 49:11

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November 3, 2021

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