This week's inspiration, Helena Karlsson, shares her thoughts on HR as value creation in the business. Helena has a background in HR and organizational development, as an HR manager and organizational consultant in several industries with an emphasis on the real estate industry. Helena runs the company How to Work Sweden AB where she helps companies to get employees on board and make what has been decided happen practically in everyday life. Read on to take part of Helena's thoughts.

-Human relations are absolutely crucial for the business and a company's survival, yet companies put too little focus on understanding and giving what people need, says Helena

Companies' interest and ability to take care of and meet the human element will be absolutely crucial for success and sustainability in the market when the economy turns. Today, far too much time is spent looking at numbers and graphs on things that have already happened, instead of solving the problems that prevent people from contributing to a better result.

HR should be more about making human relations work instead of getting stuck in administration and the view that people are resources that can be replaced or consumed. Employees are no longer arms and legs, but they are knowledge bearers. What the employee carries in their brain is what we want access to. If we can get more people to share and cooperate, new solutions will arise that would otherwise not be possible.

What will it take to become an attractive employer?

To be perceived as an attractive employer, you will need to stop with quick-fix activities that are ticked off and instead prove that you build, maintain, and retain long-term good relationships even with your employees. Then it is about also seeing managers as people and giving them the clarity and support they need to be able to lead their employees.

As a manager, you need to understand that the role of a leader is about making sure that others succeed and about listening and solving human problems. It requires that you as a manager work on your own self-awareness and realize that each individual needs to be seen, understood, and understand boundaries, but also create development and the right conditions for the employee to reach their best potential.

Corporate culture is created through the behaviors we reward.

If you understand how people work and what they need to perform, and you can also link it to the business, you are value-creating for a company.

Understanding people's behaviors is a competence and experience that the HR function can contribute with, and companies should be better at taking advantage of that competence and ability. If you lack an HR function or need competence-enhancing efforts, you can hire the competence. No one can do everything, and when you work cross-functionally, you get the greatest effect.

The behavioral scientist's competence is needed when conducting business with people.

In short, I mean that HR creates value in organizations by contributing to:

• At management team meetings, talk more about what employees need to perform and less about numbers that reflect what has already happened.
• Look at customers and the market as people and what the company can do to meet their needs.
• Treat employees as knowledge bearers instead of resources that you need to build relationships with.
• Stop with quick-fixes and work with long-term relationships
• Ensure that all leadership development contributes to self-awareness and changed behavior that is followed up.
• Work on the company culture by rewarding the behaviors that create collaboration and better overall results.
• Knowledge of human behavior must be seen as a necessary skill within the company.

‍