This month, I want to talk about trust. Given the role that HR plays in organizations, trust is a core component in the success of just about everything these teams do. But what many fail to overlook is just how fragile trust is – something I spoke to in my most recent HRProfessionals article. I based this piece on a recent capstone project out of Georgetown University, titled Establishing and Maintaining Trust. This research, completed by three HR professionals – Amela Orlovic, Kaitlin Memmen, aPHR, and Alexandra Miller – found that at its core, trust is personal.
For HR professionals, that means developing a foundational and functional understanding of what trust means to employees. While trust takes different forms, it is ultimately based on a positive expectation that an individual (or organization) will not act opportunistically at another’s expense. The subtext of that includes factors such as ethical behavior, feedback, engagement, psychological safety – all of which relate back to HR as a discipline and the learning professionals pursue.
That’s one reason that HRCI introduced an ethics requirement as part of the recertification process. This requirement asks our community to be aware of ethical practices and behaviors in the workplace, to help cultivate and reinforce trust across the HR profession. Whether you are seeking to fulfill the requirement or simply learn more about the connection between ethics and trust, here are some course offerings that might be of interest:
There are several other options listed in the Learning Center, including our Certificate in HR Ethics. What’s more, we are running a promotion this month, offering 15 percent off courses through August 31, and please trust me, when I say there’s never a bad time to brush up your skills and invest in yourself.
Keep on learning,
—Amy Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE
HRCI CEO
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