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Well, it&#39;s that time of the year again. December is here and for HR that has a multitude of connotations. End-of-year performance appraisals, hiring freezes, book closings, the mad rush to use up vacation days so that they&#39;re not lost (except for Californians whose earned vacation days are legally protected), and the last-minute planning of holiday celebrations (all within budget, of course!) to recognize a year&#39;s worth of valuable contributions? the list goes on and on.&lt;p&gt;The truth is, despite all the hype and talk about strategic planning, business partnering, consultation, and value-add, the Human Resources function seems to continue to be somewhat associated with the &quot;party-planning&quot; reputation it has been trying to shake for years. So is that a problem? It doesn&#39;t have to be, especially when keeping in mind that more and more work is being taken on by every member of a work team in today&#39;s bottom-line-driven and bare bones staffed business environment. One can look at this type of employee morale boosting event as an integral component of a systematic employee retention strategy, recruitment and retention being a number one priority in today&#39;s tight and ultra-competitive labor market (note that, however, it as been shown that an employee&#39;s relationship with his/her supervisor is the best indicator and predictor of retention).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now I&#39;m not advocating a return to the time when HR was solely viewed as the policing and party-planning department of the organization. I&#39;m proud to be associated with a profession that has grown to be included in myriad organizational effectiveness activities more and more every year, as organizations realize the value, importance, and impact of Human Resources interventions including:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Organizational competency/behavioral-based interviewing and recruitment to proactively place the right people in the right place at the right time&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Career management paths with appropriate training opportunities to develop and grow the organization and ensure its future competitive advantage&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Business consultation services to assure that the strategy and operations are in alignment&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Executive coaching and team cohesiveness functions to maximize organizational effectiveness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;~&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Developing market-competitive, creative compensation and benefits packages to meet diverse, individual needs in changing times&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Promulgating the business case for diversity to show managers the importance of a diverse staff in terms of increased market base understanding and expansion, new ideas and approaches, etc.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;So in light of all of the business and strategic functions that HR performs to perpetuate the success of the organization and its people, isn&#39;t it nice to know that the organization still recognizes our ability to have (and plan) fun as well?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Happy Holidays everyone ? and best wishes for a rewarding New Millennium filled with happiness and satisfaction, however you may choose to personally define it! And please try to take it easy at those holiday parties - and try to avoid or prevent any &quot;CLMs&quot; (career-limiting moves) and embarrassing situations for you and your co-workers.&lt;/p&gt;

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