Human resources leaders play a huge role in helping build a solid, value-based company culture for employees. Their job is also to promote that culture to future employees who may consider that as top priority at a company. In order for human resources to do this, leaders must come up with methods that keep everyone happy.
However, many human resources professionals struggle with their role in sustaining company culture. Below, 14 members for Forbes Human Resources Council share what their role is to help maintain their company's culture.
Forbes Human Resources Council member discuss strategies to build a sustainable company culture.
Photos Of The Individual Members1. Create A Way For Sustainable Policies
HR, by nature, has the pulse of the people, executive leadership issues directives and mandates. Society demands increased sustainability, so HR must “manage up” to the executive leadership, present date or real-time metrics to decision makers and create a pathway to sustainable policies that make it easy for buy-in. - Patricia Sharkey, IMI A Global People Company
2. Make Sure Employees Are Heard
HR should be the pulse of any company ensuring that employees not only feel heard, but are excited to be a part of the company culture and help companies reflect on what is working and what needs work. Culture is an evolution, and HR should spearhead the changes in the culture while keeping everyone grounded in the values and mission. - Imani Carroll, Just Food For Dogs
3. Have An Open-Door Policy
HR needs to know the team and have a pulse on what's happening company wide in each department! Without immersing yourself in the team, you will not be able to build and support what you need to create a sustainable company culture. Spend time with the team by sitting in on some of the department meetings and check in with managers to support and guide them. Use an open-door policy to engage with the team. - Robin Page, Bluedot Innovation
4. Set The Direction Of Company Culture
HR should always embody the core values of a company, act as ambassadors for the culture and carry that approach throughout the entire employee lifecycle. HR can set the direction and the vision to help influence and sustain the culture, but cultivating that culture is incumbent on leaders walking the talk and employees helping co-create the culture they want to be a part of. - Kathleen Pai, N-able
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5. Model Acceptable Behavior
HR's role in building a sustainable company culture is about stewardship and experiences. All employees in an organization are responsible for creating, building and maintaining the company culture. HR and the leadership of an organization need to model acceptable behaviors and take action when there is a lack of alignment. HR's role is to lead with empathy, listen and be a business partner. - Sherry Martin, Government Administration
6. Clarify The Cultural Values
HR serves as role models and ambassadors for what it means to be a good organizational citizen. Building a sustainable company culture is paramount and HR needs to pave the way with clarity of cultural values and communication on how various activities align with those values. If "giving back" is a value, HR could be a role model by creating volunteering opportunities and encouraging employees to sign up. - Megan Leasher
7. Invest In Everybody In The Building
At the heart of any sustainable, successful company culture is an HR department that helps ensure there is an investment in each employee. This investment can come in a various ways, with one of the most valuable investments being employee recognition. Recognizing and acknowledging your people’s achievements can go a long way in ensuring your company culture is both sustainable and exemplary. - Jennifer Reimert, Workhuman
8. Link Company Culture To Employee Experience
HR is the link between what a company professes its culture to be in its employer brand and how its employees experience and demonstrate it. For example, rather than simply dictating how employees should behave in the company handbook, HR leaders should act as role models for company beliefs, reinforce organizational values and ethics and facilitate communication between employees and management. - John Feldmann, Insperity
9. Promote A Relaxed Workspace
HR sets the stage for company culture throughout the hiring and onboarding process. As one of the first points of contact for new hires, HR team members have the opportunity to build key parts of the company culture into the process—for example, by asking candidates a series of fun, “get to know you” questions to promote a more laid back and light-hearted atmosphere. - Laura Spawn, Virtual Vocations, Inc.
10. Organize People Processes
HR plays a critical role in supporting the behaviors that are foundational to company culture and ensuring these are modeled daily. Institutionalizing behaviors are accomplished by embedding them into key people processes such as organizational health surveys, leadership assessment tools, performance management and recognition platforms. - Andrea Ferrara, PepsiCo Beverages North America
11. Make Employees Feel Comfortable
The best company cultures are constantly evolving. HR can facilitate an open door mentality where every team member feels comfortable voicing their feelings. At my organization, we hold regular skip-level meetings where members of the leadership team meet with team members in a non-performance review style to chat about goals, culture and anything else that can help strengthen the workplace. - Joshua Siler, HiringThing
12. Influence The Team
HR leaders model the way for their teams with their behaviors emulating the culture's values and mission. Each leader influences their team and is a force multiplier that cascades throughout the organization. - Britton Bloch, Navy Federal
13. Stick To The True Roots
Culture eats strategy for breakfast! So while we are all focused on strategy our true roots are in the culture we create. A firm's culture is its people and a firm is people. Hence, culture is not what we become, but what we create for our people and our firm! - Ruchi Kulhari, Coforge Limited
14. Align Company Decisions With Company Values
HR is the heartbeat of the company and supports the culture of the organization by ensuring that the company's decisions align with the company's values, which should support the culture the company is aiming to create. For instance, HR must be empowered to influence what gets rewarded and what isn't rewarded, which is the behaviors of the company. Values in action will determine culture. - Raven Lee, Raven Lee Consulting LLC
