First and foremost- Happy Valentine’s Day!

Any HR professional knows that the bulk of their job involves customer service. Every profession has a customer they are supporting, and in HR its the employees. Regardless of title or position every employee should receive prompt follow up for the issues or concerns they have brought forth. Following up in a timely manner should be a primary goal for you. When you follow up you can ensure the following:

Trust

When you not only resolve but follow up throughout the process, you are able to build trust with employees. They know that they can come to you and you will do everything in your power to make it it right. No one wants to be viewed as unreliable! Even if the problem has not been resolved you should inform the employee of where things are in the process. They will respect you for this and even more important trust that you can resolve things for them.

Communication

When you practice good follow up this keeps line of communication open. By doing this you show that you respect the employee and their problem and it allows for the employee to feel comfortable to communicate other issues with you in the future. As an HR professional it is critical to have a pulse on the business and the employees alike.

Accountability

Even if you are not the one who is able to fix the problem you must hold yourself accountable to ensure it gets done. Having a long “to-do” list is not fun! Following up is not only catered to the employee but also to whomever is able to resolve the problem. It is important to check in and ask for updates often. This holds you and the fixer accountable. It’s a great feeling knowing that something can be checked off your list.