A solid company culture is vital for any business because it determines how sustainable the company is. This is measured in terms of how engaged the employees are as well as for how long the company is able to retain them. As Human Resource professionals, their role is to assist in shaping the company culture so as it is sustainable over a long period of time.
This article will discuss some of the strategies that HR can implement when it comes to building a sustainable organizational culture and future proof their existence. It will highlight some of the values that the HR leaders should carry out their responsibilities. Forbes HR Council’s 15 members shared some of these responsibilities and strategies that HR departments can use to achieve the sustainability of the company culture to impact.
- Be a Proactive Culture Consultant
A HR department is responsible for being an active culture consultant to the organization’s executive team. Ben Weber of Vendor Resource Management points out that HR leaders are supposed to evaluate and understand the present time culture, and come up with a strategic culture plan that matches the organization’s goals and values. Then they should work jointly with the other executive leaders in enhancing and implementing the strategic plan.
- Define and Communicate
The HR department has a responsibility to assist the company’s leaders to develop a clear definition of a company culture that is sustainable. They can help all the stakeholders understand what a sustainable company culture means, how it is measured, how the leaders should be role models and how the employees will have an impact on the long existence of the organization. One Forbes HR Council member, Sandi Wilson, Fin Tek Consulting mentioned that fostering a transparent environment attracts both employees and the leaders in owning the achievement of the company goals.
- Employees’ Inclusion In The Process
For a company’s culture to be sustained for the future, HR leaders should embrace initiatives that are developed using feedback from employees and not just from what they read in books or listen to in conferences. Employee’s suggestions and ideas should be included when building a company culture and they should be allowed to contribute to its success and continue to thrive.
- Sustainability Incorporation Into The Brand
One of the many important roles for the HR department when building a sustainable company culture is to get buy-in from new employees way before they even join the organization. To do this, they should integrate the Organization’s message of sustainability into their Organization’s brand. They should also use it in attracting candidates and also as John Fieldmann, Insperity pointed out, the HR should offer incentives to employees who contribute suggestions of ways of advancing sustainability efforts.
- Enable Strategic Alignment
The HR professionals in a company should work jointly with the company leadership in aligning the performance management process of the Organization with its mission, vision, values and the core principle behaviors. They should act as good role models and embrace coaching other leaders.
- Identify Areas of Focus
It’s very critical for the HR to take the lead role in identifying the best practice areas of focus to influence the desired culture for existence and sustainability. Once these areas are defined,HR is required to facilitate making it clear to others the value proposition for change. Stephen Childs, Panasonic Automotive a member of Forbes Human Resource Council added that there has to be 100 percent buy-in from the top to drive the implementation of these identified areas of focus rather than leaving it to be only an HR driven project.
- Follow The Company Strategy By Walking The Talk
This is a strategy whereby the HR department practices what they preach to others. That is, following through and doing whatever your company’s strategy is and being an example to the other employees. Otherwise, if as a HR professional does things the opposite of what the strategy is, trust from the others starts crumbling down.-Adam Mellor, ONE Gas, Inc.
- Find and Retain The Right People
It is people that make a culture in the company. To future proof an organization’s existence and sustainability, it’s the HR’s sacred duty to help management in bringing in the most compatible employees, maintaining open communication and embracing actionable feedback. The department should also keep proper documentation and protections that can be available for use to usher the wrong doers out whenever necessary.
- Integrate Company Values into Training
It’s the role of HR to integrate the Company values into management and employees training and development. This is desired in maintaining and reinforcing the company culture. Human Resource is at the forefront in acquiring talent and employees who embodies the organization’s values and culture.
- Commitment
For a long term existence and a culture to thrive sustainably, the HR role is to foster a strong commitment from all the company’s departments, ensuring that everyone understands the company’s mission and more importantly believes in it.
- Advocating for the Core Values
HR is the greatest advocate for a company’s values because they are positioned uniquely within the organization to have the greatest impact. Therefore their voices to the others are stronger and should always emphasize the core values to the whole organization. They should be consistent and transparent about the saying that “Culture is King”.
In conclusion, HR in every organization will be sure of having a sustainable Company culture of values that is impactful if it follows the above explained strategies. It is noted that HR is an integral part of an organization and bears a large percentage as a department in ensuring a company’s future proofs its long term existence and sustainability to impact positively. The department employees should lead by example and be role models for others to embrace change and the laid down strategies.
