Every December, I look back at the past year through the conversations I’ve had with small business owners. And this year, it was a lot of conversations — well over a hundred.

Builders. Restaurants. Cleaning services. Veterinarian offices. Financial services. Retail shops. Professional service firms.

Every single one with their own quirks and challenges, but all telling me some version of the same story.

Missed lunches.

Late-night emails.

Stress-Googling about compliance.

And sticky notes everywhere reminding them of all the little problems piling up around them.

Underneath the details, there’s one thread I hear over and over again:

“I’m tired of dealing with the same people problems over and over again.”

“There’s got to be a better way to do this.”

“I just want HR to feel easier.”

And I get it. I spent 30 years in Corporate HR — in everything from employee relations and compliance to leadership, operations, and strategy — and it's the same story, no how big or small your business is:

People problems rarely stay small. And they never stay contained.

A dropped ball in one corner eventually shows up somewhere else:

• Frustrated customers

• Overworked staff

• Missed deadlines

• Workplace tension

• Declining performance

• High turnover

• A nagging feeling that you’re always a step or two behind

That’s why December is great time to hit pause — just for a minute — and look at what’s actually going on underneath the surface.

Because most small business owners don’t have “people problems.”

They have a systems problem.

Or a talent problem.

Or a compliance problem that hasn’t caught up with them yet.

Or a leadership capacity problem that’s about to create strain.

In other words, they have a STABLE HR problem.

And the good news?

STABLE HR problems are fixable. Completely fixable.

But only when you know where to look.

Almost every owner I work with is stuck in Reactive HR — or what I lovingly refer to as random acts of HR.

You know exactly what this looks like:

Someone quits.

Someone calls out again.

Someone’s performance slips.

A complaint surfaces.

A situation you didn’t think you needed a policy for suddenly becomes the situation that needs one.

It’s not because you’re doing anything wrong.

It’s because you’re small, running lean, and wearing every single hat.

But here’s the catch:

Reactive HR keeps you tired.

Reactive HR keeps you behind.

Reactive HR keeps you guessing.

And maybe the most painful part?

Reactive HR steals time away from the work you meant to do when you started the business — the work that requires your expertise, generates money, purpose, or pride.

That’s why I teach something different.

People hear “proactive HR” and assume it means more meetings, more policies, more systems, more work.

But that’s not what small businesses need.

Proactive HR is simple. It’s sensible. It’s grounded in your real business, not a SHRM white paper.

And it’s built on the six pillars of the STABLE HR Framework:

S – Systems & Admin

T – Talent

A – Accountability (Compliance & Risk)

B – Business Culture & Communication

L – Leadership

E – Employee Experience

You don’t need all six pillars fully built out to feel a difference.

Even strengthening one or two can change the entire feel of your day-to-day.

Your weeks become more predictable.

Your team becomes more steady.

You stop bracing for the next surprise.

Below are a few examples — real ones I helped owners implement this year — to show what proactive HR looks like in practice.

1. Clear Absence Rules (Systems & Accountability)

One client had constant chaos around call-outs.

No one knew who to notify.

No one tracked anything consistently.

Every absence felt like a fire drill.

We fixed it with a simple one-page plan.

Who to contact → How to track it → What happens next.

Nothing fancy.

But it changed everything.

2. Quick, Honest Check-ins (Leadership & Culture)

I had an owner tell me, “I don’t want to micromanage.”

But what he really needed was a fifteen-minute monthly check-in with each person.

Not a performance review.

Just a conversation.

They started spotting issues early — long before they turned into resignations, resentment, or subpar work.

3. A Real Onboarding Plan (Talent & Employee Experience)

Another business had good people leaving within 60 days.

Not because the job was hard — but because no one told them what “good” looked like.

We created a Day 1, Week 1, Month 1 plan.

Training scheduled in advance.

Clear goals.

Clear expectations.

Turnover dropped.

Confidence rose.

And the owner stopped spending their evenings re-training new hires.

4. Cross-training (Talent & Leadership)

This one is huge — and often overlooked.

One employee held all the operational secrets.

When they were out, the entire business stalled.

We cross-trained a second person on the basics.

Not to replace the first employee — but to protect the business.

Stability, in the simplest form.

5. A Current, Clean Handbook (Accountability)

I know it’s not exciting.

I know it feels “corporate.”

But a strong handbook is like insurance — you don’t appreciate it until you really, really need it.

One owner avoided a costly situation this year because their documentation protected them.

It’s not glamorous, but it matters.

If you’re stretched thin now, imagine heading into the new year without a clear plan for things like:

• How many people you actually need

• Which roles matter most

• Who’s carrying the bulk of the workload

• Where you’re exposed from a compliance standpoint

• What needs to change before it becomes a problem

Now is the time to stop reacting and give yourself (and your business):

A moment to breathe.

A moment to step back.

A moment to look at the people side of your business without the noise of daily fires.

Because when your HR foundation is STABLE — even at the most basic level — everything gets easier:

🔸 You hire better.

🔸 You train faster.

🔸 You spend less time reacting.

🔸 Your team feels more supported.

🔸 Your business runs more smoothly.

🔸 And you finally get your time back

To make this easier, I created the 2026 People Planning Guide — a simple, practical tool you can use to get clear on what your business actually needs next year.

It’s not filled with jargon.

It’s not overwhelming.

And it’s not a massive checklist you’ll forget about by February.

It walks you through the six STABLE HR pillars so you can:

✔ See where your HR gaps actually are

✔ Prioritize what matters most for 2026

✔ Avoid costly “random acts of HR”

✔ Build a plan that supports your goals (not just your to-do list)

If you want HR to feel lighter in 2026 — this is where you start.

👉 Download your 2026 People Planning Guide here

If any part of this hit a nerve — in a helpful way or a hard way — I want you to know something I tell every business owner I work with:

You are not alone in this.

The people side of the business is often the heaviest part.

It pulls at your time, your energy, and your confidence.

But it doesn’t have to feel that way forever.

A stable HR foundation won’t remove every bump in the road.

But it makes the road a whole lot smoother.

And you deserve that heading into 2026.

—Norma