Why HR will not cure your company culture

You are looking for an HR Manager or Specialist to help you develop a great company culture?

Great.

You do it because someone told you that you need HR?

Okay.

You think that this HR person will solve your problems and change your culture?

Sorry, nope.

You can hire the best HR person (which is a good decision), but he or she won’t change much alone. They can be the best individual fighter and they might succeed in reaching other open-minded individuals, but the problem is ALONE. Alone won’t work.

Sounds logical, right?

But the truth is that this happens quite often. HR is left alone or expected to “do that people work”. As long as you believe that this is what HR is for, you are betraying yourself.

Sure, there are tasks like leading through an interview, setting up a legally correct employment contract, or preparing the monthly payroll which can be done by an HR person without other departments’ help. If that is what you are looking for in HR, that is fine as well. Then it is more like HR administration. Which is crucial for a company.

If you want to work on your company culture — with HR support — you might want to reflect on the following points:

• Good HR work is often invisible at first sight. HR would observe and analyze the many layers of your current company culture, define priorities, and give you recommendations about short-term and long-term areas of development.
  

• HR is part of your everyday business. You involve HR in all sorts of processes and projects, because you understand their crucial part and want to have their perspective and saying in every important company decision.
  

• You value HR work as much as you value Sales, Finance, Production, or any other department. You understand that each department or speciality contributes to your company success equally. Whenever you think that one department is worthier than another, you are missing the opportunity to strengthen your business and success.
  

• You make sure that all departments are well connected and think as holistically as possible. Understanding and helping each other will again strengthen your company.
  

• You would listen and follow HR advice, because you understand that not everyone can do HR work. Not everyone’s focus is on organizational and people development. Make use of the asset you have.
  

• You understand that HR work will never be completed. Whenever something is solved or improved, another topic comes up. Or the business needs change and the HR strategy must adapt accordingly.
  

Getting back to your company culture, what do you need to actually change or improve it?

1. Involve HR in strategic business decisions.

2. Take HR advice seriously.

3. Work together as a management team and through all hierarchies on culture topics.

4. Don’t make the topics too big, but rather take small steps constantly. The topics should be an integral part of your daily business.
   

When following these points, your workforce will notice your HR priorities. They will see that everyone works on cultural topics. They will take your actions seriously.

Depending on your current cultural level, you will be able to have some quick wins, which don’t need too much time. In general, cultural changes need time and often manifest over years.