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As more Christmas ads hit our screens, it could be easy to think the holidays are in sight.
But with two months - and more - of work ahead, there is plenty for HR to achieve. There's a strange shift in our mindset when we start to see all those festive adverts, singing along and thinking about presents and feasting. We start to think about the end of the year - and our focus can suddenly shift down a gear as we see the 'end in sight'.
Most Christmas adverts are now looping on our TV screens and popping up on social media as we scroll - and John Lewis' advert will 'drop' on November 9th.
Whether it's Michael Bublé for ASDA, or sledging with Amazon, the Kevin the Carrot ad for Aldi... you might well be thinking about Christmas, time off, and a bit of a relaxing time. As an HR professional you might also assume staff are doing the same, with a similar mindset of 'let's pick things up in January'.
Approaching the final two months of the year, there is an undeniable sense of urgency that pervades the atmosphere, exacerbated by those tinsel-laden snowy adverts. Who doesn't want to think more about sledging and turkey than policy and recruitment?
Meanwhile, in the non-advert real world, there's also a gradual shift towards colder temperatures serving as a gentle nudge, reminding us that the year is 'slipping away'.
Only, it isn't.
While it's easy to say 'it's only X weeks until Christmas and New Year', the flip is that there are still many weeks to go - and plenty of time to make changes, focus on goals you set earlier in the year and work towards a grand finale of an end of year rather than a toned-down one.
November and December aren't just about bidding farewell to another year; they're about recognising the significance of these last two months and making the most of the time we have, to do good work and to perhaps get those elements of your plans in place that have been on the back burner.
The two final months of the year provide you, as an HR professional, to not only keep working on projects that inspire you, but to even start new ones. And by embracing the final weeks of the year instead of going slow, you'll inspire your teams and managers, too.
Here are three ways to make the most of this time (ok, you can have a mince pie or two as you go):
Set up meetings with old and new contacts
If you've been meaning to network all year, use this time to reach out to new connections, rekindle old ones and build on your network both in your own company and outside. Spend some time curating your LinkedIn profile, and seeing who might be in need of some 'you time' in the company.
Revisit your policy plans
If you've been considering new policy, there's still time to take that a step further. Whether it's on wellbeing and mental health, benefits, fertility or inclusive language, why not set some of this pre-festive 'down time' aside to research policy you already have and possibilities for change.
Have a pre-Christmas 'clean up'
Whether it's your inbox, your to-do list, your plans you made back in spring or summer, now is a good time to address the things that are stacking up and perhaps causing you more issues than you realise. If things are quieter at work one day, going through emails is a good refresh before the festive break. This can be physical, too - if you're in the office or another place of work, a good tidy is never a waste of time.
As we approach the end of the year, these final months are a bit like the final few miles of a marathon: Time to commit to seeing them through, so that you can start 2024 with a clear mind, plan and goals for you and your team.
