So any one who has wasted their time following my blog over the last 6 months knows that I’m big on little. My premise is that HR’s relentless pursuit to elevate its stature in the business community through lofty strategic thinking has resulted in our losing focus on those things that have a more meaningful impact on our people. Things like listening, communicating, communing, and having fun. Things that promote human experiences which strengthen the five things every employee wants more of: Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie. And I’m not even making that up. The Great Place to Work Institute – the company that conducts and analyzes Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For – has been studying this for over a decade now. After looking at countless organizations who have been lauded as “employers of choice,” those five elements are the only ones that have surfaced consistently over the years as being crucial to building a great place to work. I don’t think we need lofty strategies. I don’t think we even need a “seat at the table” to make a difference.* I think it’s less about what HR does and more about how HR does it. I think it’s about relationships, not systems or programs. And I think its about community, not company.
So I’d like to create a running series whereby we greenhouse, share, and debate a more humanized approach to serving our employees and building Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie. I don’t have all the answers (in fact, I have very few) so we need your input. Share your simple ideas which reflect a back-to-basics approach to the caring and feeding of employees. Email them to [email protected]. Or tweet them to me at @HRFishbowl (use the hashtag #HumanHR).
*HR Fishbowl strongly believes HR should be “at the table”; he’s just less concerned about its relevance to HR’s success.
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