Like many HR professionals, you probably entered the field to help people. But what you soon realized is that your desire to help, or even your knowledge of how to do so, wouldn’t be enough to make it.
For many, achieving the next rung on the career ladder means first spending oodles of money on industry certifications, access to networking groups, and expensive conferences.
While the current system is working great for many, there are others who are being left behind, like:
- Small businesses and startups who can’t afford HR training
- “Accidental HR professionals” who are forced to learn HR out of necessity
- Those just getting their start in the field
- Etc
Their searches for networking, mentorship, and learning are all too often met with paywalls, content written by marketers, or advice that’s completely anonymous.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
At Eddy, we’re leveling the playing field by fueling the movement to democratize HR. We believe that the best way to learn HR is from each other. For free. And we’re asking you to be a part of it.
Read on to find out why—and how—we’ll democratize the industry of HR together.
What Does It Mean to “Democratize HR”?
We aim to build a better way to overcome the obstacles that hold people back from learning best practices to take care of their people—by democratizing HR.
So, what do we mean by “democratizing HR” exactly? We want to throw away the antiquated (and exclusive!) playbook on how to get into HR, grow your career in HR, and/or make a real impact on the people you serve.
And in its place, we plan to build a community that freely shares these insights and advice, that talks openly about the challenges of—and opportunities for—the future of HR, and, ultimately, works to improve the employee experience to make all workplaces more inclusive and equitable.
Democratizing HR means giving every member of the HR community a voice and a platform for sharing what they know, so that ultimately the collective body of our knowledge is freely available for the benefit of all.
By democratizing HR, we will:
- Improve the quality of industry best practices by including more diverse perspectives.
- Give more businesses access to the knowledge they need to better take care of their people.
- Support more HR professionals by avoiding the need to pay for expensive professional development resources.
- And much more (you can find additional details, below).
Tune in: Employee Experience and Democratizing Human Resources w/ Stephen Fortuna
Why the Shift Is More Important Than Ever
Today, organizations desperately need access to HR expertise. The past 18 months have had them relying on HR at every turn to:
- Make employees feel safe during a global pandemic
- Drive change around diversity, equity, and inclusion in the face of devastating national events
- Create unity in the workplace during a divisive election
- Retain talent when the “great resignation” is a headline for months on end
- And more
And we don’t see that changing anytime soon.
To go beyond the old ways of doing things—and embrace employee experience to accomplish their talent attraction and retention goals—HR professionals need new strategies and skills to bring their organizations into the future of work.
A democratized HR industry provides that.
How We Can Work Together to Make It a Reality
So, how do we get there? Democratizing HR requires gathering together a large group of professionals who are passionate about the industry and have unique perspectives or expertise in one area or another.
It’s like a potluck.
One HR professional may know everything about how to find, close and onboard a new executive. Another may be a people analytics wizard. When everyone comes to the table with their best experiences in hand, everyone benefits.
We know that there are a lot of people out there who fit this description—who want to make a difference and give back—but don’t know how or where to start.
That’s why we created HR Mavericks.
At Eddy, we’re building the HR Mavericks community for people who want to be a part of democratizing HR. We’re organizing a series of projects that will help facilitate our goal of fostering free learning and community for all HR professionals.
Here are just a few of the things our community is working on:
- HR Encyclopedia: The world’s largest, free source of HR information.
- HR Answers: The go-to destination for quick, free HR advice.
- HR Mavericks Podcast: Insights from the best minds in HR.
- HR Newsflash: Weekly newsletter featuring advice on trending topics to help you navigate the ever-changing world of HR.
- HR Mavericks Community: We know the information you get from your fellow HR professionals can be more valuable in some cases, because you’re talking to people who are doing exactly what you’re doing—and dealing with the same challenges—and they’ve found something that’s worked.
Join the Movement to Democratize HR
Do you want to get involved in one of the “democratization projects” above? Are you ready to join the community of HR professionals sharing knowledge and best practices to build healthier workplaces?
Sign up today—and together, we can make a difference in the movement to democratize HR.
