In today’s competitive landscape, corporate culture is an important facet of a business.
The culture your company displays will determine whether employees work individualistically or as a team. A healthy corporate culture, one that fosters positivity, is becoming increasingly important in the modern workplace.
A strong, positive workplace culture can affect many aspects of business operations. This includes:
- Brand identity
- Company values
- Employee attraction and retention
- Brand reputation
- Productivity
A workplace with a unified corporate culture drives business success. Investing in a positive workplace culture will foster the right shared directive, organizational goals, beliefs, and values that will harmonize employee behaviors.
And when paired with HR strategies, having a unified culture will allow a company to attain its goals.
The role of HR
Today’s changing work environment means many qualified employees have a much easier time heading for greener pastures to find the right financial compensation and cultural fit.
And while corporate culture is influenced by organization members, HR plays a pivotal role in setting a company’s cultural tone.
An employee’s first point of contact when brought onboard is often the HR department.
As a business function, HR shapes and reinforces how employees define corporate culture. The role HR plays in defining a company’s culture can have an effect on its long-term business success.
Below, we outline HR’s role in developing a healthy and positive corporate culture.
1. Providing feedback
The HR department is many things to different organization members, but its main role in fostering a positive workplace culture is to deploy engagement and feedback tools.
Employees use HR to voice concerns and opinions. Leaders employ HR to issue directives and policies. And HR connects through strategic assessments to effectively engage with team members.
These feedback tools provide HR with opportunities to not only improve management styles but also clarify the company’s mission statement and core values. Consistent collaborative feedback conveys corporate culture and better aligns conversations between organization members.
2. Addressing diversity
The rise of a more globalized workforce has created a dynamic workplace. Different demographics and cultures must work together to achieve long-term business success.Often, though, such a dynamic workforce can result in clashes in corporate desires and expectations.
HR must take a prominent role in providing positive leadership.Evaluating how each generation and demographic works side-by-side enables HR to address the potential disengagement that may follow from such a diverse workgroup.
One way HR can ensure each generation and demographic resonates with the current workplace culture is by incorporating programs such as mentorship. A mentorship program promotes team spirit, ensuring current values resonate with all generations and demographics.
3. Supporting business advocacy
Key drivers in any business are the attraction and retention of top talent. No business can succeed with a high turnover or a disengaged workforce. HR plays a significant role in shaping corporate culture so potential candidates are culturally a good fit for the organization.
HR shapes corporate culture through the literature it publishes.
Advocacy starts with publications that include job descriptions, performance appraisals, and employee development and training. These publications give potential candidates a glimpse into a company’s structure and workplace culture.
Current values are emphasized through these publications and allow the HR department to serve as culture champions for an organization.
4. Becoming change agents
Technological innovation, globalization, and information access are some examples of changes occurring across the business landscape. These changes occur rapidly and can have a dizzying effect on a workplace’s culture, particularly if these initiatives are not delivered in a timely manner.
Businesses with the ability to respond to these rapid changesare better poised to become global leaders in their marketplace. HR’s responsibility as change agents is to ensure that such changes do not negatively impact workplace culture.
Their role as change agents is to spur organization members into action,rather than inaction. Guiding possible changes in culture ensures team members embrace and capitalize on the changes that occur.
Aligning HR with corporate culture
To meet increased expectations in a more globalized work environment, company culture must be a significant focus.Company culture can be a defining point for an organization. It is a deliverable that garners interest from prospective candidates and top talent.
HR plays a fundamental role in emphasizing company culture both internally and externally.
An HR department that empowers workplace culture will drive organizational excellence and success. By playing its role as a culture champion, change agent, and business advocate, HR can shape processes, increase employee contribution, and enrich an organization’s value.
Latest posts by Daulet Zhumagulov (see all)
- The Role Of HR In Workplace Culture - November 1, 2018
