A Head of People & Culture can be one of the most influential appointments a growing organisation makes.
The role often goes far beyond traditional HR. Businesses may need someone who can shape people strategy, develop culture, support leaders, improve employee engagement, manage organisational change and ensure the fundamentals of HR remain strong.
Finding someone who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery, while fitting the organisation and its leadership team, can make the right Head of People & Culture particularly difficult to recruit.
What does People & Culture mean in your business?
The title can mean very different things between organisations.
In one business, the Head of People & Culture may be the most senior HR professional, responsible for the entire people strategy.
In another, the emphasis may be heavily focused on culture, engagement and organisational development.
Elsewhere, the role may still require considerable involvement in employee relations, policies, recruitment and day-to-day HR.
Before recruiting, be clear about what you actually need the person to achieve.
Are you:
- scaling the organisation?
- developing your leadership team?
- trying to strengthen culture and engagement?
- managing organisational change?
- improving retention?
- professionalising the HR function?
- introducing a clearer people strategy?
- preparing the business for its next stage of growth?
The answer should shape the person you recruit.
Strategic or hands-on?
For many organisations, the answer is both.
A Head of People & Culture may be expected to influence the Board and develop long-term people strategy while remaining close enough to the business to deal with practical HR challenges.
That balance can significantly narrow the candidate pool.
Someone accustomed to a large HR function may be less comfortable operating without extensive resources or specialist support.
Equally, an excellent operational HR Manager may not yet have the strategic experience or senior stakeholder credibility the organisation requires.
Understanding the balance from the outset helps avoid recruiting someone into a role that is very different from the one they expected.
Look beyond HR experience
Technical HR knowledge should be expected at this level.
The differentiators are often broader.
Leadership: Can they build credibility with senior leaders and support managers to become better people leaders?
Commercial understanding: Can they connect people decisions with wider business objectives?
Culture: Can they understand the existing culture before deciding what needs to change?
Influence: Can they challenge constructively and bring senior stakeholders with them?
Change: Have they helped an organisation navigate growth, restructure or transformation?
Delivery: Can they turn a people strategy into something employees and managers actually experience?
The strongest candidate isn’t necessarily the person with the longest HR CV. It is the person whose experience matches what your organisation needs next.
Be clear about culture fit
Culture fit shouldn’t mean recruiting someone who thinks and behaves exactly like the existing leadership team.
A senior People appointment should be able to work effectively within the organisation while also being prepared to challenge it.
Consider what your culture is genuinely like today, rather than simply how you would like it to be described.
What will the new Head of People & Culture inherit?
Where are the challenges?
How receptive are managers to change?
What support will they have from the leadership team?
How much authority will they genuinely have?
Being open about these areas during recruitment can help both sides assess whether the appointment is likely to work.
Don’t make the brief too broad
One of the difficulties with Head of People & Culture appointments is that organisations can expect one person to solve every people-related challenge.
Employee relations. Recruitment. Retention. Culture. Engagement. Learning and Development. Reward. Organisational Development. Leadership. HR systems. Policies. Wellbeing. Change.
Very few candidates will be equally strong across everything.
Identify the two or three areas that matter most to your organisation over the next few years.
Then separate the requirements into:
Essential: What experience must they already have?
Transferable: What could they bring from another sector or type of organisation?
Developable: Where could the successful candidate grow after joining?
That can create a much more realistic search.
Give senior People professionals a reason to move
Experienced Heads of People & Culture are often already employed.
They may therefore look beyond salary when considering a move.
The quality of the leadership team, scope to influence, organisational ambition, flexibility, culture, investment in people and genuine commitment to the People agenda can all affect whether an opportunity is attractive.
If the organisation says people are its greatest asset but the role has little authority, limited resources or no access to senior decision-making, experienced candidates are likely to recognise the disconnect.
Finding the right Head of People & Culture
The more senior the appointment becomes, the less effective it can be to rely solely on people who happen to be actively applying.
A targeted search can look beyond job titles and identify HR leaders with the experience, leadership style and organisational context that match what the business actually needs.
Bond Williams has extensive experience recruiting senior HR professionals, including Heads of HR, HR Directors, HR Business Partners and other senior People appointments.
We’ve seen the importance of getting senior HR appointments right first-hand.
When a growing organisation needed an experienced HR Director ahead of a significant restructure involving more than 80 employees, the requirement wasn’t simply for someone with senior HR experience. The successful person needed the credibility and capability to support the organisation through an important period of change.
Bond Williams’ specialist HR team identified and secured the right candidate in just six working days, allowing valuable time for a handover with the outgoing HR Director.
Read the senior HR recruitment case study
Although the title was HR Director rather than Head of People & Culture, the recruitment challenge demonstrates the importance of understanding the organisation, its leadership requirements and the change the successful person will need to support.
For senior appointments, established networks, market mapping, proactive search and confidential approaches can help reach experienced People leaders who may not be actively looking.
Hard to find doesn’t mean impossible to find.
Bond Williams’ specialist HR team recruits senior HR and People professionals across a wide range of organisations, combining specialist market knowledge, established networks and proactive search.
Looking for a Head of People & Culture or another senior HR professional? Talk to our HR Recruitment Specialists at Bond Williams.
