By MaryLee Herrmann

The other day, I was listening to Brett Landrum and Steve Moran talk about how important it is for leaders to communicate their community’s story and culture to their staff. It reminded me of how film directors use storyboards to communicate what’s in their heads.

A storyboard is a series of drawings that depict each shot the director envisions. It gives crew members a roadmap, and a sense of what they need to do to perform their part.

Though some directors forgo them as unnecessary, with a presumptive “everybody will just know what I want” approach, storyboards can prevent confusion, be time-savers, and help avoid costly mistakes.

You have the same task of drawing the big “culture” picture for your HR folks, and the rest of the staff, while also breaking it down into clear steps to help team members play their part.

3 Missing Pictures

Here are three parts of your HR storyboard that Brett, founder and co-CEO of Procare HR (a Foresight partner) says most communities aren’t getting right. How about yours?

1. Acting with consistency and thoughtfulness.

    • Ensuring consistency in the hiring and onboarding process.
    • Making sure payroll is handled properly. Not getting this one right communicates disrespect.
    • Consistently administering benefits.
    • Incorporating technology that’s intuitive — that employees can easily pick up and run with.

2. Onboarding and training staff with clarity.

    • Setting expectations for what success looks like in each role.
    • Having strong, clear communication.
    • Providing consistent messaging that supports the organization’s vision and the environment you want to create.

3. Developing initiatives and activities to constantly build and reinforce the culture you want to achieve.

Brett pointed out that many organizations jump to #3 because it’s sexier and not as difficult to do. However, it only works if you find the discipline to do steps 1 and 2 well.

Building and maintaining strong human resources is vital to creating a happy, thriving organization. Brett and the team at Procare HR help communities get there. Reach out for a 15-minute chat anytime, to talk about bringing your vision to life.