Rebecca's Reflections - December 2025

By: Rebecca Harris, President 

We’re just over a week from Christmas, and while it may feel like things are slowing down for some, HR professionals know this time of year is anything but quiet. 

Between open enrollment, holiday bonuses, planning for 2026, annual reviews, managing time off, and updating policies and handbooks, your plate is already full. That is why the conversations at our holiday event last week felt especially timely.

One of the sessions I attended was HR Department of One, presented by JoLynn Haresign. JoLynn focused on building strong vendor partnerships to support small HR teams made up of one or two people. The ultimate goal is being able to outsource the tasks you do not enjoy or that drain your time and energy. I thought of it as Marie Kondo-ing HR responsibilities. If it does not bring you joy, it may be time to outsource it to someone who enjoys doing it and does it well.

Another session, Manifesting Resilience Partnerships, presented by Jen Massey, included a simple but powerful exercise. We partnered with the person sitting next to us to create a mini accountability partnership and committed to checking in one week later to see if progress had been made on one specific goal. It was a great reminder that accountability does not need to be complicated to be effective.

The keynote presentation, Capitalizing on Chaos, was delivered by Rob Karwalowsky. As a small business owner, the topic resonated with me immediately. Even though I probably won’t be walking through fire like Rob, his book did help me focus on my ‘human operating system’. Something many small business owners
struggle with.

Beyond the learning and connections, the event also gave us an opportunity to give back. Together, we collected nearly two full giant boxes of donations for Toys for Tots. Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped make the season a little brighter for local families.

During the annual meeting portion of the event, I was voted in as President for CRHRA, alongside several other new officers. I’m incredibly excited for my first year as President and for the opportunity to help lead CRHRA into 2026. I know many of us have also seen the recent $11.5 million judgment against SHRM. It has sparked a lot of important conversations within the HR community and serves as a reminder of just how complex, high-stakes, and evolving our work continues to be.

As we look ahead, my focus as President will be on supporting our members through education, thoughtful dialogue, and strong partnerships so we can navigate these challenges together and continue to elevate the HR profession in our region.

If you do end up having any free time in the next few weeks to start thinking about your work goals for 2026, the OMG Goal System is a simple way to get started. OMG stands for Outcome, Milestone, and Goal, and focuses on breaking large goals into smaller, more manageable steps. Outcome: The main result you want to achieve in a six-to-eight-week timeframe. Milestones: Checkpoints that show progress toward that outcome. Goals: Weekly actions that support your milestones.

I will be using the OMG system for my first few months of being CRHRA’s President. If you are working through your goals and are finding them to be daunting, consider using an accountability partner, outsourcing certain tasks, or even reading a book to help work through more complicated challenges. Speaking of books, if there is interest in a CRHRA book club, be sure to fill out the poll. Have the happiest of holidays!