How much does HR influence the employee’s path in the company? Fully provides the beginning (hiring and onboarding) and the end (dismissal). What about the steps in the middle: performance and development? In fact, it affects here as well. But not so clearly, but through building the right corporate culture.

I invite you to read how it all works.

---

Greeting! My name is Ilya Pracht, I am an experienced manager in IT and also a trainer of management courses at OTUS. In line of duty, I worked a lot together with HR departments, independently built HR processes in the company, managed HRD.

IN in his past articles on EJM In the examples, I described in detail the beginning of the employee’s journey (hiring) and the end of his journey (dismissal). Got a logical question/doubt: “And what is the role of HRBP at other stages? There, it seems, the employee just works, is managed by the manager, and HR is not particularly involved.”

Yes and no. HRBP rarely directly deals with these processes, everything is done, really, by the hands of line managers. But we should not forget that one of the most important tasks of HRBP is to build and maintain the right corporate culture. Companies, divisions, teams. And it is because of this culture that HRBP is involved in all stages of the employee’s journey.

Corporate culture

The concept of corporate culture is often distorted. Most often, it is represented by formal restrictions (dress code, working hours, etc.). In the best case, this also includes some rules of communication and communication between employees. But, in fact, the concept is much broader.

In essence, corporate culture is all the spoken and unspoken rules by which the organization exists. With the exception of the operating system: regulations, business processes, etc. The main basis of corporate culture is the company’s mission and its values. And the main indicator of corporate culture is how decisions are made in the company.

Why is this important? Because all the work will depend on the decision-making model. Everything that an employee sees in the company: motivation, development, ceremonies, events. Even meetings and informal communication in smoking rooms and in the kitchen.

There are 4 main types of corporate culture:

• Klanova is “family”, the high value of each employee, close relationships, decisions are based on trust.

• Hierarchical – aka “bureaucratic”, strict hierarchy, subordination, decisions are based on formal authority.

• Adhocratic – aka “partnership”, flexibility, lack of bureaucracy, proactivity, decisions are based on initiative.

• Market – it is “resultative”, specific indicators, goals, tasks, decisions are based on data.

And so the task of properly broadcasting this corporate culture to employees, ensuring its implementation within the framework of work tasks and processes, is precisely before HRBP.

Let us now return to EJM and consider its main stages and the role of HRBP in them.

EJM and HRBP

Let me briefly remind you what EJM is and what it is eaten with.

Employee Journey Map – employee journey map. The main idea: the employee has certain, quite standard points of contact with the company – some points of interaction on various issues.

There are 6 main stages in EJM:

1. Hiring;

2. Onboarding;

3. Effective work;

4. Development;

5. Release;

6. Interaction after release.

Now more about each stage.

Stage 1 – Hiring

The role of HRBP in the Hiring phase is obvious. You need to find candidates, choose the right one from the entire pool, assess prospects and risks for him, participate in the hiring and offer decision.

What is corporate culture for? HRBP can better than others check how well the candidate and company culture match. Will he fit in, or will he stay in the company for a long time.

Stage 2 – Onboarding

The stage of Onboarding takes place differently in companies. But most often HRBP plays the role of such a facilitator of this process. He makes an onboarding plan. Checks that all meetings are on schedule, all feedback is collected on time. Pushes the manager, pays attention to conversations with the candidate. In general, also fully engaged.

What is corporate culture for? And here it already begins to influence the processes. In a family culture, the main criterion for passing the probationary period will be the fact that the employee has joined the team and made friends with everyone. In the hierarchical – performed tasks accurately and on time. In an adhocratic one, attention will be paid to his initiative, how much he expanded his area of ​​responsibility and suggested improvements during tasks. And in the culture of the market, in terms of onboarding, the main indicators will already be set before the end of the trial period and achieved/not achieved = passed/failed.

Stage 3 – Effective work

When the employee went to the performance, the HRBP seemed to disappear from his life. Again, everyone is different. But often it looks like this.

Our company had monthly meetings with HRBP. All HRs had a psychological background, and therefore very much helped the manager (a former technician and “cracker”) with empathy and understanding of people. It helped us keep our finger on the pulse of team morale, control and influence turnover. In general, the function turned out to be useful.

But most companies have problems. HRBP is involved only for some escalations and/or conflict resolution. The rest of the interaction with the employee at the performance stage is conducted by his immediate supervisor.

So what’s the point of HRBP and corporate culture? All issues of setting tasks, monitoring, coaching employees, evaluating their work are corporate culture. And HRBP broadcasts it. Through the training of managers and employees. Through performance and process audits (yes, yes, HRBPs do this). Through the collection and analysis of feedback. HRBP validates and adjusts as necessary. This is his role at this stage (although it can be broader, as in the example with our company).

Stage 4 – Development

At this stage, as a rule, HRBP has 2 functions:

1. Facilitator – to ensure that all certifications are completed on time, feedback is collected, decisions are made, etc.

2. Custodian of the corporate culture – same as in the Performance Stage: making sure that promotion decisions are made in accordance with company policy, that all individual development goals are aligned with company policy, etc.

The role of the facilitator is usually clearly visible. Well, except for completely twisted situations, when the employee himself is engaged in the development process, and HR only reactively assigns certifications. This also happens, unfortunately.

But the role of the person responsible for corporate culture is usually not noticed. But here everything is the same as at the Performance stage.

Stage 5 – Release

At this stage, HRBP is practically the main violin in the orchestra. Even if the decision is made by the manager, the meeting is conducted by the manager, problems and questions are then resolved by the manager. HRBP accompanies such complex processes from and to. He helps as much as he can. Removes the employee’s negativity, helps to negotiate. Helps with retention if the initiative comes from an employee, and we don’t want to let him go.

Stage 6 – Interaction after release

Well, here, as in the Hiring stage, HRBP is the only one who directly participates in the process.

HRBP and corporate culture

It can be seen from the diagram that HRBP is involved in every stage of the employee’s journey. He participates explicitly or implicitly in all processes of people management. And a lot is implemented here through the corporate culture.

With culture, HRBP works in 2 directions. The first is to translate it (values, mission, rules of the company) to employees through the construction of the right HR processes, and the subsequent control or management of these processes. And the second is the opposite, due to process changes, it adjusts the corporate culture itself, thereby ensuring the correct information flow of feedback from the bottom up.

PS

We at OTUS have elaborated on the work of HRBP and the creation of corporate culture new IT HRBP course. And we will hold it on August 14 open lesson on this topic. Let’s talk in detail about HRBP and how it affects the corporate culture of the company/business unit/team. Register and come!

---

Join my Telegram channel Gray-haired director. I write there about people and product management, about management in IT. I answer your questions and analyze your cases.