Culture Isn’t a Poster on the Wall: It’s What Actually Happens at Work

I saw a video where the person was complaining that “HR” had been rebranded as “People and Culture”. His complaint was that HR does not actually create culture. He was right about that HR are the guardians of culture but they don’t create it. So I don’t have a problem with the new name (anything is better than referring to staff as ‘resources’, in my book.) I think the bigger problem with the ‘Culture Conversation’ is most companies don’t have a real handle on what it really is.

Culture isn’t a tagline. It’s not what your company says about itself, it’s what happens at work, day by day. It’s how people behave when no one’s looking. It’s the size of the gap between what we say our values are, and what we live through. And in an environment where employees have more options than ever, culture is probably the most overlooked differentiator in attracting and keeping great people.