Hey there, 2017! We are so happy to see you after the year many of us had. We’re grateful for this fresh start—365 blank pages to write a better story for ourselves, personally and professionally. And for those of us in Human Resources, we’re also using those pages to write better stories for our team. If you’ve already set some amazing goals for yourself, you’re halfway there! Allow us to suggest some New Year’s resolutions to improve your team’s success and stability.

To improve your team in 2017, resolve to focus on:

1. Employee health. The biggest cootie plaguing employee health isn’t smoking, sleeplessness, or seasonal allergies—it’s inactivity. And it’s ringing in the new year with health problems and lost productivity. Research suggests that each health risk piled onto a person—everything from serious health problems to lost sleep or poor diet—robs a percentage of their potential productivity. Consider the losses when just one person can have between 10 and 12 health risks each day! Incentivize employees to move with a wellness plan or an informal fitness program. Whether you encourage employees to walk at lunch, offer discounts on gym memberships, or hold standing meetings instead of sitting ones, every bit of activity contributes to employees’ overall health and the business’s overall productivity.
2. HR staff’s skills. The world of Human Resources is always changing, which makes professional development that much more crucial. Set up a solid continuing education plan to cover the basics (people skills, conflict management, sexual harassment prevention), encourage employees to use available tuition reimbursement plans, and offer timely training on changes in laws and regulations.
3. Social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram…? Yes, social media can be scary, but with the wrong content, it can be even scarier. This year, set aside the fear and start developing a smart communication plan that conveys your team’s brand. Use social media to garner interest in the company and to attract fresh talent. Develop your company’s intranet or private social pages as a tool to build community, wellness, and HR awareness. Social media is too important an outlet to be stopped by fear of the unknown!
4. Performance appraisal processes. If your company is guilty of the end-of-year data dump or the surprise “You’re on a PIP!” appraisal, this is the year to encourage change. Not only are those appraisals universally loathed, they are ineffective at shaping performance. Monthly or quarterly status and goal checks will do a lot more good than one info dump. Employees will appreciate the opportunity to reshape their goals and behavior throughout the year, with no surprises dropped at the last minute.
5. The future. Study HR and industry trends, as well as current legislation, to anticipate and better prepare for upcoming changes.

Aim for one or two resolutions or shoot for the moon with all five! And who says you have to make all your resolutions up front; if you check off a few resolutions early in the year, you can always come back for more. Here’s to a stable and successful 2017 for you and your team!