How HR Can Drive Real Culture Change

Culture is often described as “how we do things around here.” It defines how employees interact, collaborate, and make decisions, shaping everything from day-to-day working relationships to an organisation’s reputation in the market. 

My latest HR Means Business podcast chat was with Jivan Dempsey FCIPD GMBPsS , Director of HR Transformation at FiveRivers Consulting, and author of The HR Change Manager’s Handbook, about shifting company culture whilst preserving core organisational values and identity, and the critical role HR leaders play in shaping and shifting company culture.

During our conversation Jivan was quick to point out that culture isn’t about posters on a wall or catchy slogans in onboarding decks. It’s about how people behave when no one’s watching, and how an organisation responds when things get tough.

Yet many culture initiatives fail because they treat culture as a project rather than a practice. HR leaders are uniquely positioned to move culture work from surface-level campaigns to meaningful, sustainable change. Here’s how.

HR as Custodian and Amplifier of Culture

HR has a unique vantage point because it sees across all functions - from how people are hired to how they’re rewarded and developed. But being a custodian of culture doesn’t mean policing behaviours; it means amplifying what’s healthy, inclusive, and aligned with business strategy.

HR’s role starts with listening - understanding what employees and leaders actually value day to day, and where misalignments exist between stated values and lived experience. For example, if “innovation” is a core value, are employees empowered to take risks without fear of blame? HR must help bridge that gap through policies, leadership support, and recognition programs that make desired behaviours visible and celebrated.

Balancing Core Values with Evolving Behaviours

A common mistake is to treat culture as static - something defined once and left alone. In reality, culture is dynamic and adapts to external shifts (new technology, customer expectations, societal changes) and internal shifts (new leadership, growth, or restructuring).

Jivan emphasised the need to distinguish between core values, which remain stable, and behaviours, which can and should evolve. For instance, collaboration may remain a core value, but how collaboration happens in a hybrid or AI-augmented workplace will look different than it did five years ago. HR’s job is to help employees understand what stays the same and what must change - and why.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Culture Change

Many culture initiatives fail because they start with communications campaigns rather than focusing on behavioural change. 

Slogans, posters, and value statements are easy; changing how managers give feedback or how decisions are made is harder - but it’s also where culture is truly shaped.

Another pitfall for HR is trying to tackle too much at once. Sweeping cultural transformations often stall because employees don’t see how the vision connects to their daily work. Instead, HR leaders should focus on a few critical behaviours - or “moments that matter” - where culture is most visible, such as team meetings, hiring decisions, and performance conversations.

Engaging Leaders and Overcoming Resistance

No culture initiative succeeds without leaders modelling the change. Yet leaders can be resistant - especially if the current culture has served them well. HR needs to treat leaders as both role models and co-creators.

This means coaching leaders on why change is necessary, showing them how it connects to performance and engagement, and equipping them with the skills to lead by example. It also means having difficult - but courageous - conversations when leaders’ behaviours are misaligned with the desired culture - a challenge HR must be ready to meet head-on.

Starting Small and Building Momentum

Culture change doesn’t have to start with a big-bang initiative. In fact, Jivan argues that starting small - focusing on one or two behaviours and piloting them in parts of the organisation - will often work better.

For example, if the goal is to build a more feedback-oriented culture, HR can start by training a single department in new feedback techniques, measuring the results, and then scaling what works. Early wins create stories and champions that help the broader organisation see what’s possible.

Making Culture Change Stick

The hardest part of culture work isn’t starting - it’s sustaining it. Many organisations see early momentum fade because behaviours aren’t embedded into processes and systems. HR must ensure cultural goals are built into how people are recruited, onboarded, rewarded, and promoted.

This also means measuring culture change, not just through engagement surveys but also through observable behaviours. Are leaders spending time differently? Are employees collaborating in new ways? Are recognition programs aligned with new priorities? 

When culture goals become part of performance metrics and business outcomes, they stop being “HR’s project” and start being everyone’s responsibility.

The Bottom Line

Culture change is messy, human, and rarely linear - but it’s also where HR can have the biggest strategic impact. By moving beyond posters and slogans and focusing on real behaviours, HR leaders can guide organisations through change in a way that’s authentic and sustainable.

The work starts with listening, balancing stability with evolution, engaging leaders, and starting small. Most importantly, it requires persistence - because culture change isn’t a campaign; it’s a commitment.

You can check out my full conversation with Jivan here -  https://www.hrhappyhour.net/episodes/hrs-role-in-shaping-company-culture/  - or through the image below, and let me know how you approach culture change in the comments.