HR Fair 2026: Having the courage to tackle difficult conversations and foster autonomy
Last October, we headed to Beaulieu in Lausanne for the HR Fair! Laura, Kateryna and Noémie went along to explore the challenges facing the world of human resources. On the agenda: a few stands and plenty of talks.
Speaking up, even when it’s uncomfortable
One topic that particularly stayed with us was managerial courage. In other words, learning to say what needs to be said, even when we’d rather avoid a delicate conversation.
Because becoming a manager doesn’t make the fear of conflict, judgement or disappointing others disappear. What matters is what we choose to do despite that fear.
One idea we took away: being honest with your colleagues is also a form of respect. Keeping quiet to protect a relationship can, over time, do far more damage than an uncomfortable conversation.
And there’s a simple way to approach these conversations: describe the facts you’ve observed, explain their impact and clearly state your expectations. Without judgement or aggression, but without beating around the bush either.
Supporting someone doesn’t mean solving everything
Another interesting reflection was our tendency to want to offer solutions to everything. Yet helping a colleague doesn’t necessarily mean solving their problem for them.
Sometimes, the best question is simply: “What do you think you could do?”
This idea of autonomy also applies to knowledge sharing. We often share an answer or a result, but much less often the reasoning that led us there. And if we left tomorrow, how much of what we know would remain?
Passing on knowledge effectively isn’t about creating a copy of yourself. It’s about enabling someone else to succeed, even if they take a different path.
HR professionals aren’t superheroes
Managing conflicts, supporting teams, preventing psychosocial risks, promoting inclusion… HR responsibilities are wide-ranging. But do we really need to know how to do everything?
Thankfully, no.
One talk reminded us that an entrenched conflict may require the involvement of a trained mediator. Recognising your limits and calling on the right expertise is also part of doing your job well.
We also attended a discussion on gender and transgender inclusion in the workplace. An essential topic that highlighted the importance of continuing to learn in order to build respectful, inclusive working environments.
What next?
We came away with a few ideas to try, questions to explore and, above all, a stronger conviction: a good company culture relies not only on processes, but also on the quality of our relationships, our ability to communicate and our willingness to improve the way we work.
There’s no need to change everything by Monday. But we can start by asking the right questions.