HRNZ member profile

Human Resources magazine caught up with Sarah Deans, General Manager People and Culture at the Institute of Directors. We asked her about her career and her thoughts about the role of HR in Aotearoa today.

What are the highlights of your career to date?

My career highlights are centred on building a great culture and seeing the positive impact that it has on people and the organisation’s ability to achieve its goals. For me, that’s about putting strategies or initiatives in place that enable change and growth, it’s often a slow burn because building culture takes time and determination. What that looks like can be anything from building capability in leaders by encouraging them to have quality day-to-day interactions with their people, leading by example when the going gets tough and creating trust so people feel safe, or creating experiences that build connection and give people a sense of shared purpose and achievement.

Years ago, at a company-wide end-of-year celebration, I led the co-creation of a new employee awards programme. We made a big deal about it by building up the anticipation for the final award. When the winner was announced, there was a roar of clapping and cheering, the atmosphere was incredible. It was successful because we included everyone’s ideas and voices and thought deeply about what it meant to truly belong and succeed in our organisation. I still smile when I see their annual awards posted online and know I played some part in that.

What inspires and motivates you in your career and why?

On a macro level, I’m motivated by organisations doing great work and being good citizens, looking after their people, contributing to a strong economy and society that is sustainability led and cares about the planet. HR has an incredible opportunity and responsibility to influence positive change. We have some big, hairy challenges ahead of us, and you need to be up to the challenge if you work in HR.

On a micro level, I really like being at the cross-section of strategy, people and systems, and working to align all of them so that they work in harmony. It’s not easy to achieve, but when it happens, it is magic. That’s why it’s so crucial that HR leaders and their teams understand the business because that enables everyone to succeed.

What do you see as the challenges facing the industry and HR profession?

As a profession, we need to constantly look to the future, read the signals on emerging trends and issues, be agile, resilient and adaptive, and not afraid to take risks. But we also need to know when to be on and when to switch off. Tremendous social, environmental and political changes are happening that also affect the workplace: hyperfast changes in technology, a rise in mental illness, burnout and stress. Hybrid working has changed the way people connect and has created an improved work–life balance, but that also comes with challenges around engagement, communication and presenteeism. On top of that, the economy and inflation are big issues right now. HR needs to be across all these things. So, what’s crucial now is creating great employee experiences, building inclusive workplace cultures, and consciously prioritising your time and energy.

How has HRNZ membership helped your career?

I joined as a student and attended as many special interest groups as possible, to learn from experts in their field. The broad base of learning was invaluable. HRNZ has been a bit like a life coach for me, especially when I needed guidance and advice as I’ve progressed through my career, and now I have gained Chartered Membership. I’m impressed with the new capability framework ‘The Path’, and the way the HR capability levels extend all the way from Delivers to Governs. Knowing HR is recognised at a governance level for the value and impact it delivers is fantastic because it’s critical to setting vision and strategy across an organisation’s culture. HRNZ will absolutely continue to be relevant to me as my career evolves.