How HR Roles Have Evolved to Focus On Building Organizational Culture
Human resource professionals now focus on building organizational culture.
By Linda T. Kennedy
Imagine a work day like this: you drive to an exciting entertainment venue and mingle with other employees over a catered breakfast. When everybody鈥檚 relaxed, you initiate an engaging team-building activity and bask in the laughter, applause, and energy throughout the day.
Seriously, this could be you in a human resources career.
Team building, coaching, and organizational events increasingly define the daily demands of a specialized human resource professional. As a matter of fact, employee experience is a top HR priority now: According to , workplace leaders are focusing on developing an ecosystem that integrates engagement, culture and performance management for their employees.
鈥淲ith the growing influence of millennials and the increasing transparency catalyzed by the digitalization age, employees are expecting a more engaging and enjoyable work experience,鈥� the article said.
That means HR professionals, essentially, will help start the party at work from designing company-wide events, to developing new leaders.聽 As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts it, they 鈥渟erve as a link between an organization鈥檚 management and its employees.鈥�
In fact, these versatile roles within the human resources field. According to the BLS, HR specialists are projected to grow by 7 percent, and managerial jobs by 10 percent, over the next 10 years.聽聽
鈥淲hat we now refer to as the People and Talent function now includes many specialized roles and can mean lots of types of jobs,鈥� said Julie Brown, Learning and Development Leader at Western Governors University.聽 鈥淚t certainly means talent acquisition鈥攔ecruiting employees, but it can also mean handling market analysis, wellness programs, recognitions, employee benefits and leader development. People and Talent professionals even work to reorganize the business.鈥�
These days, you don鈥檛 even have to be the outgoing type who enjoys presenting employee awards in front of the whole company, according to Brown. That鈥檚 because there are roles in human resources, such as data analysis, that aren鈥檛 people-facing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 true that no matter what you do in People and Talent, your work is affecting many people鈥檚 lives,鈥� said Brown. 鈥淪o you should at least like people if you鈥檙e going to work in this field. However, not every role will include a need to interact with numerous people.鈥�
How human resources has evolved.
鈥淗ere at 黑料传送门, though, payroll isn鈥檛 even in the People and Talent department鈥攊t鈥檚 in the finance department. It just depends on the size of the company and their needs,鈥� said Brown. 鈥淏ut increasingly, companies鈥� visions are growing to not only pay their employees, but to help them grow and succeed.鈥�
Brown recently had the kind of work day that was centered entirely on providing her colleagues with new interpersonal tools to work and communicate more effectively with one another. She met the team offsite at a local aquarium, helped them compete with one another in a scavenger hunt, and then illustrated how the teams鈥� individual personalities dictate their work-style tendencies.
鈥淚 had no idea I鈥檇 eventually work in a human resources role like this one鈥攁s a matter of fact, it鈥檚 a specific role that 黑料传送门 created,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 perfect for me because I absolutely love helping people realize their full potential.鈥�
黑料传送门 identified that Brown鈥檚 experience as a behavioral health professional would be the perfect foundation to help the organization鈥檚 leaders learn what motivates their employees to succeed. It鈥檚 proof that you don鈥檛 have to have a background in human resources for many HR roles. The important thing is that you can be a flexible person, said Brown, since people and situations within companies are always changing.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e interested in having a positive impact on people鈥檚 lives, then you鈥檒l be a great fit in the field,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about having a growth mindset. Ask yourself, what kind of place do I want to work? Working in People and Talent gives you the opportunity to develop that. And nothing feels better than growing and learning as you help others do the same.鈥�
