Reshaping Human Resources (HR)

Reflections on the November 2018 live-webinar

During our live-webinar on 22 November 2018, Martijn Kersten spoke with Franca Leurs about the changing role of HR. Franca is currently working as an HR Business Consultant at the Dutch bank ABN AMRO. She has many years of experience in Human Resource Development.

Below are some extracts from this conversation, including comments from participants.

What does it mean for a company to be “people-oriented”?

Franca: To me, this means that an organisation has the ability to allow people to develop themselves. To take ownership of their own learning and development.

Martijn: Indeed, a people-oriented company has developed the capacity to create an environment where people can unlock their potential, to develop themselves, to become more human, if you like.

Franca: An environment where you can be yourself and where you are also challenged to develop yourself further. You acquire new skills and learn new things. This is what fascinates me so much: what is needed for people not to stop developing and learning?

Martijn: It is interesting that we are speaking about the quality of the work environment when we are talking about personal growth and development. Isn’t this quite paradoxical? Instead of focussing on the individual, we wish to create the right conditions for individuals to flourish. Just like growing plants, once the conditions are in place, they will grow and blossom naturally.

A poll with the participants

Imagine yourself back in a place that was rather tense or even hostile. A time when you were living or working in a place where you didn’t feel comfortable. And this can be quite subtle as well. Think of a time when you felt judged by others when people had prejudices about you that weren’t true when people criticized you constantly or pulled you down. Where sexist jokes were made? Can you recall how you felt? What did such an environment do to you in the short and longer term? What kind of person did you become?

Participants: In a tense and divided environment I become:

• My worst self
• Defensive / aggressive / rebellious
• Withdraw from interaction / shut down / very quiet
• Doubtful of everything I do / critical of others and self
• Not efficient in my work/wasting energy
• Stressed
• Sick

Now, it would also be interesting to consider the other reality: an environment of support, accepting, belonging, being appreciated for your contribution. Think back to a situation like that: what kind of person did you become in that reality?

Participants: In a trusting and supportive environment, I become:

• My best self / my authentic self / who I am
• More participating, more encouraging to others
• Efficient
• A good teammate / easier to work with
• Overlook mistakes / safe to make mistakes / more patient towards mistakes I make and others
• Non-competitive, but cooperative/helpful to others
• Excited about work and life / Happy to come to work
• Confident
• Creative
• Kind to others
• Happy
• Listen
• Strive for excellence

Martijn: See the contrast. It is clear that our environment places a crucial role in our own wellbeing and our ability to develop ourselves.

Franca: This trusting and supportive environment, this is what I experience right now, right here, with all of you.

Martijn: Such an environment, we call a community: a place where you feel a sense of belonging. But a community is not only an environment where people feel a sense of belonging, acceptance or trust. Being people-oriented also means responding to a fundamental need of being human: to seek meaning, to contribute to something meaningful. Where you can see that your work matters, that you are part of advancing society, how small your contribution may be.

Franca: Now this is what I mean with reshaping HR. HR is not only about procedures and systems, rules and regulations. HR is about developing the capacity in people to create trusting and supportive environments and to make work meaningful to people. I believe this makes a company effective in attracting talent. This is what it means to be a good employer.