The business of new HR is love and social capital

If the business of business is HR then I suppose we can say that the business of HR is business, but then we get into a loop which suggests that the business of HR is HR which isn’t very useful.  To clarify this, I suggest the business of HR, or at least future-oriented ‘new HR’ is developing the right connections, relationships and conversations, or generating social capital.  This was the focus of the other session I presented at the HRPA’s annual conference in Toronto.

As before, I updated the session at the last minute based upon a couple of tweets I’d seen that morning - one was on TalentCulture discussing the role of love which I was able to work in quite easily as I think love is one of the highest forms of social capital.

The other addition was on the importance of hugs as it was apparently National Hugs Day although I wasn’t sure which nation this referred to - the UK, US or Canada, or perhaps North Korea using social media to start a new global breakout of ebola.  But I think hugs are part of the new HR as well.

I can’t quite bring myself to refer to love and hugs as the business of HR in the title of this post but I do think an organisation where HR, and the rest of the business, invested in love and hugs would result a rather special as well as healthy and productive workplace.

Canada is quite a huggy place I found out later - eg see this post on the conference site by Bonni Titgemeyer.  That would seem to be supported by lower individualism and  masculinity scores than the UK or US in Hofstede’s analysis of national cultures.

I wonder whether this one was reason why the conference felt so special - but what was behind the huge fall in trust in business (62 to 47%) in the Edelman’s Trust Barometer there this year?

• Consulting   Research  Speaking  Training  Writing
• Strategy  - Talent - Engagement  - Change and OD 
• Contact me to create more value for your business
• jon [dot] ingham [at] strategic [dash] hcm [dot] com