The Best HR Decisions Usually Happen Before They Become Urgent

What I’m Seeing

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with employers facing very different challenges, but many have one thing in common.

They’re waiting.

Waiting until someone resigns before thinking about hiring. Waiting until a workplace issue becomes an actual conflict before having the conversation. Waiting until everyone is overwhelmed before asking for help.

And I get it.

Running a business means there is always something that needs your attention. Clients. Employees. Deadlines. Budgets. The issue sitting quietly in the background rarely wins against the problem making noise today.

Until it starts making noise too.

And suddenly the position you were “probably going to hire for this fall” needs to be filled yesterday. The conversation you’ve been putting off has turned into a much bigger workplace issue. The policy you’ve been meaning to update is now the exact policy you need to rely on.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the best HR decisions are usually made before they become urgent. Not because we can predict every resignation, conflict, leave, performance issue, or change coming our way. We absolutely cannot.

But we can pay attention to what is already telling us it may need attention.

If you know a key employee is getting closer to retirement, start talking about succession.

If your team is stretched and you know another hire is probably coming, start thinking about the role.

If there is tension between two employees, do not wait for it to become everyone else’s problem too.

Being proactive does not mean creating a giant HR project every time something might happen. Sometimes it means having one conversation. Reviewing one job description. Updating one policy. Asking one uncomfortable question.

Small things, done early, give you options. And options are a whole lot nicer than urgency.

Chats with the Goldens

Lennon: “Finn... why are the humans always saying they’re ‘putting out fires’?”

Finn: “It’s an expression...”

Lennon: “Oh.”

Finn: “It means they waited until something became a problem.”

Lennon: “Wouldn’t it be easier if they noticed the smoke first?”

Finn: “Exactly.”

TREAT FOR THOUGHT

The best HR decisions are often the ones made before they become emergencies.

Finn and Lennon may be onto something here.

There will always be fires. Someone will resign unexpectedly. A great candidate will turn down an offer. An employee issue will come completely out of left field. That is HR. That is also business.

The goal is not to somehow eliminate every surprise.

It is to stop standing beside the smoke detector wondering whether we should maybe check where that smell is coming from.

Sometimes the signs are already there, make sure you pay attention to them.

HR From the Trenches

One of the most common things we hear from employers is:

“I wish we’d started this sooner.”

Not long ago, we spoke with an employer who had been meaning to recruit for months.

Business was busy. Everyone was stretched. They knew the role needed attention, but there was no immediate crisis, so it kept getting pushed down the list.

Fair enough. We all have one of those lists.

Then someone resigned.

Suddenly, the timeline changed from “sometime this fall” to “we need someone yesterday.”

Instead of having time to really think about the role, what the business needs now, what has changed since the last person was hired, and what kind of candidate would actually be successful, the goal becomes:

Find someone ASAP!

That is when recruitment gets reactive.

Maybe you settle for a candidate you would not normally choose. Maybe you rush interviews because the rest of the team is drowning. Maybe you dust off a three-year-old job description because there simply is not time to rethink it.

And maybe it works.

But “maybe it works” is not exactly our favourite recruitment strategy.

Waiting until something is urgent does not necessarily mean you will make a bad decision. But it does mean you are making that decision with fewer options, less time and usually a lot more stress.

The organizations that navigate these things well are not necessarily the ones with enormous HR teams, unlimited budgets, or perfect plans.

They are often just the ones willing to start a little earlier.

5 Quick Takeaways

✓ Review hiring plans before you actually need to hire.

Who would be difficult to replace tomorrow? What roles do you already suspect you may need in six months? You do not need to start recruiting today, but knowing the answer puts you several steps ahead if something changes.

✓ Schedule difficult conversations early.

If something feels off, talk about it. Small issues have a funny way of becoming big issues when nobody wants to be the person who brings them up.

✓ Don't let policy updates sit on the “someday” list.

If your workplace has changed but your policies have not, make time for a review. The worst time to discover a policy is outdated is when you actually need it.

✓ Build a succession plan, even if it's informal.

Who holds important knowledge in your organization? Who could step in if a key person left? Where are you vulnerable? You do not need a 47-page succession planning binder. You need to start the conversation.

✓ Small proactive steps today save major headaches later.

Pick one thing.

What is the HR issue you keep saying you will deal with when things slow down?

Start there.

Need Another Perspective?

Maybe you read this and immediately thought of something that has been sitting on your “we’ll get to that” list.

A position you know you will probably need to fill.

A conversation that needs to happen.

A policy collecting virtual dust somewhere.

Or maybe nothing is actually wrong and you simply want another perspective before making a decision.

Those are good conversations to have too.

HR support does not need to start with a crisis, and we actually prefer when it doesn’t.

Whether you're planning ahead, dealing with a current challenge, or simply wondering if you're on the right track, we'd love to connect.

No pressure.

Sometimes a quick conversation is all it takes.

See You at East Coast Legal Ops?

And speaking of planning ahead...

I’ll be presenting at the East Coast Legal Ops Conference in Dartmouth this September, leading an interactive session on succession planning.

Which, given everything I’ve just said, feels pretty fitting.

September 23–24 | Dartmouth, NS

If you’ll be there, come say hello.