I have ALWAYS been passionate about 'Career Development' and brining this to every team I support as a professional in this so-called field of Human Resources.
 
However, what if we did a small shift and focused on being a life-long learner first?  

Recently I was happy to be a panel guest for an organization taking ‘Career Development’ a step further for their teams throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia! The program discussion was ALL about what it means to be a life-longer leaner and how to tangibly do this. 

If we, as leaders can live out being a life-long learner and help grow THIS in the culture, wherever we are…I believe this will make a larger impact on ourselves and the lives of those around us.  

The learning will not stop at the job (though a huge chunk of learning can happen on the job), but will continue in all areas in life. This spills over to not only better career opportunities/performance…but also to better parenting, finances, being a better dancer, fill in the bank for yourself….and the list goes on! 

Here are 3 top take-aways I’m running with: 
1. Be comfortable, being uncomfortable - Do the next HARD thing! Even if you have to block time on your schedule to move the needle to that bigger goal (typically the one you keep putting off that is sitting outside of your daily emails/tasks/etc.) 
 
2. ‘Feed-FORWARD’ vs.‘Feedback’ – For ourselves and others, focusing on propelling forward in a needed growth area. This means leading with the belief that we can/will grow in this area and how to do it, instead of harping on what we did wrong in the past.  

3. Micro improvements – small baby steps that over time lead to exponential growth. For example, making a few intentional swaps. This reminds me of healthy eating – swapping a yogurt for ice cream…same thing - Swapping a Facebook scroll for a few pages of a good book!  
 
Thank you again to Marco and Nashlene for the impactful discussion and the key learnings that if put into practice are truly transformational. You are both incredible leaders and embody what it means to be a life-long learner!

Author: Erika Butler, CEO​

I decided very early on that I would never start a business!  True story!  I was very adamant about this. The main reason being about 15 years ago my Business Law Professor told our class, “I don’t want to burst any of your dreams…but launching a business is generally a very dumb thing to do!"

He went on to share that only 25% of businesses make it past their 5th year of business and most likely will lose a lot of time and money in their pursuits.  From that moment on, coupled with the fear of failure, I was convinced that entrepreneurship was not for me.  

Fast forward, I learn much more about finances, health, the field of human resources, faith, business, marriage, motherhood and the list goes on!  I decided to go for it, despite all my pre-conceived notions.  I research a ton about why businesses fail…how to start a business…how to run a business…etc…. for hours and hours.   

Last week marked 4 years of launching Higher International Human Resources LLC!  I opened our business in a hotel room in Nashville, TN at Christy Wright’s Business Boutique Conference, recommended by dear friends and business owners John and Lauren Velarde.   

A major theme of that conference was “Do it Scared!”  So, I followed this motto and haven’t looked back!  I’m so excited for the future and the many possibilities we now have with our dynamic, beautiful, impactful organization!   
That doesn’t mean it’s perfect every day…there are problems to solve, kinks to work out, processes to improve… but the adventure and impact is so worth it. 

I’m a big believer in taking baby steps towards those dreams and passions on your heart!  If you have a goal, most likely it will still be there years later…so you might as well jump in and get started with that first baby step! 
We don’t take anniversaries lightly.  You better believe we will do everything in our power to make it to that milestone 5-year Anniversary AND far beyond.  We are very happy to be here working hard on initiatives we love…impacting our clients, community and beyond…and we are just getting started! 

Happy 4th Year Anniversary to our ‘Go Higher!’ Team!  You are some of the most talented, hard-working, trustworthy, result-oriented and KINDEST people I have ever met.  We are so thankful for each and every one of you and grateful to be on the journey with you!"   

Author: Erika Butler, CEO

Safe Place Ministry LLC. provides guidance, training, and care to those who serve in any definition of human services. Safe Place Ministry LLC recognizes that your well-being matters too. There are several common experiences when working with high human need, and it's important that you receive support and care. Whether it's space to process, training tools, or personal development Safe Place Ministry LLC is here for you!

​This is our HIHR LLC Team!  We genuinely enjoy one another and have fun together!  Though we do have in-person components of our roles, in general our team is remote.  Keeping up connection and engagement with remote teams is a top priority.  We love when we can be together as a team and always make the most out of it!  When that is not the case, we aim to find other creative ways to stay connected and keep working relationships strong.

Here are 5 ways your team can stay engaged and effectively execute in the world of remote work: 

1. Team Gatherings – It’s absolutely possible to build great relationships virtually, but meeting in person at least once can really take relationships to another level.  Plan to pull the team together in person at least once a year or preferably more, if possible, for a retreat, celebration, training and development, etc. 
   
   
2. Regular two-way communication – Ensuring there are solid communication routines in place from always communicating on video, regular team meetings, team surveys or focus groups, leadership weekly office hours and leading with approachability
   
   
3. Encourage Health & Wellness – Remote workers can miss out on the coffee chats and natural healthy personal interaction.  Encourage team members to find outlets for this in other ways whether it’s supporting some team personal catch-up within work time, community involvement and/or support in-person meetings/events whenever possible for those living in a commutable distance.  In addition, allowing schedule flexibility to promote getting outside/walking/exercise/etc. will benefit the individual and the organization. 
   
   
4. Foster culture of recognition and celebration – Starting meetings out with team recognition is one great way to do this.  There are lots of wins to regularly celebrate progress and this also provides personal connection and relationship building – key to any remote team! 
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5. High Trust & Accountability – Ensure there are core values and behaviors in place that support integrity and trust across the organization.  This is of course important whether remote or not, however, in a remote setting can be even more damaging and more difficult to catch and address if this piece is lacking.  It can be disengaging to strong performers if a team member is taking advantage of the remote arrangement and not adding the same value to the team.  As leaders, it is important that we address these cases head-on through strong policies, goals, communication, performance feedback, ensuring everyone is doing their jobs effectively and adding value to win as a team.  

Working remote has many advantages and putting these practices into place can make it an even more enjoyable and successful team experience. 

Author:
Erika Butler, CEO

DISC is a powerful development tool used all over the world.  We like it because it is simple to understand, easy to apply and extremely practical.  You can put the learning into practice immediately and participants gain more understanding of themselves and those around them.  One of the main take-aways is how to better communicate and work with different personality styles and preferences to gain improved team outcomes - and have more fun along the way!
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On July 7, 2022 The HIHR Team held a DiSC Training supporting 8 organizations and about 70 leaders to promote teamwork, collaboration and communication! 

DiSC is just one kind of Leadership Training we offer! While this training is often used for front-line leaders, the focus is on important foundational principles of leadership. Though this can be customized to meet specific gaps and needs that you are identifying, the recommended additional training sessions are as follows:

• People Leadership Best Practices
• Team Engagement Toolkit
• Performance Management
• Diversity & Inclusion Culture
• Change Leadership

Authors:
Erika Butler, CEO
Aurora Brunovsky, Sr. HR Business Partner
Nancy Southard, HR Coordinator

We have learned that the partners you take and relationships you make throughout your business network are so key to sustain growth and future impact!  Over the last four years we have made some incredible connections of high trust and of value fit with our organization which has been a game changer for us.
 
In our newsletter we have highlighted three investments we have made with organizations that we've had great experiences with!  These partnerships have made us a stronger and more capable organization and we highly recommend them to anyone specifically working to improve their compensation accuracy, recruiting process and their internal team and leadership growth/development!

Author: Erika Butler, CEO

A company's culture is essentially its core values, traditions, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs shared within its workforce. One of the biggest pros of a great company culture is that it will attract the best employees. Companies want the best talent and having a great company culture will help to hold onto these employees for a long time. From hiring the best talented people, to improving employee’s happiness, it’s the foundation of a happy workplace. When people are happy and fulfilled at their jobs, they work harder and are more willing to stay at a job long-term. Improving a company's culture will not only help you see positive results right off the bat, but you’ll attract talented professionals who can help take your company even further.
 
To start, revisiting your company’s core values is a great start toward improving company culture. A strong corporate culture stems from a thoughtfully determined set of values that guide everything from behavior to business decisions.
 
Secondly, addressing and evaluating the company's current culture is important. There are a ton of creative ways to evaluate this but taking a look at your employees and how they are working together is a good start. This means checking for low employee engagement, gossip, high turnover rates, and poor teamwork. When looking into turnover, it’s important to really look for trends. Examples of trends can be losing first year employees vs. more tenured employees, losing a certain demographic, etc. One notable way that our company implements this is by conducting an anonymous employee survey. These surveys really help to gain a sense of how the employees feel about the company, the culture, leadership, and overall work experience. These surveys are an eminent strategy for companies to find out what is working well and what needs to be improved especially when working to improve their organizational culture.
 
From this step, be prepared to make improvements and then track your progress.
 
Overall, a good company culture involves trust, respect, and the opportunity for employees to participate in shared values and love what they do. It truly sets the foundations for actual business growth. Start envisioning a celebrated workplace supported by active and continuous growth now. 

Author: Jani DiNapoli
​HIHR Intern