Culture is the Foremost HR Challenge

In a recent survey of 490 HR professionals, HR Dive found that culture is the foremost HR challenge, surpassing hiring and compliance.

The complexity of human interactions is a significant contributing factor to this challenge. "In the corporate world, we tend to prefer solutions that are structured and scalable," said Mark Scullard, Senior Director of Product Innovation at Everything DiSC. “Human stuff is messy and involves a wildly diverse set of issues.”

Problems with culture manifest in collaboration issues, lack of trust, and ineffective feedback. Trust interventions are crucial if organizations aim to address workers' diverse challenges. Building trust can enable employees and leaders to identify problems and address them more quickly and more effectively.

Organizations must also ensure that managers understand and fulfill their culture responsibilities. "If [culture] is supportive and positive, employees feel engaged and motivated to perform," said Jen Priem, Senior Principal and Research Advisor at Gartner. “If it's toxic, and all the things that come with a toxic environment, then we have issues with disengagement.”

Building better managers involves articulating desired cultural traits, implementing diversity programs, and prioritizing recognition. "When we look at why employees are looking for a new job these days, recognition is one of the big drivers," said Priem. Investing in "human-centric managers" is essential for fostering team cohesion and ensuring employees feel valued and safe at work.