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Foreword

There is a reason why we don’t pay particular attention to paperclips – we view them as a commodity, and we treat them as such. With an endless supply of paperclips available on the market, we don’t care where they came from and what’s unique about them – as long as they do their job well. When one gets bent out of shape and is no longer useful, we swiftly replace it with another one – no drama, no tears, no second thoughts.

Now, try replacing the word ‘paperclips’ in the paragraph above with the word ‘people’. Shocking? Certainly. But, sadly, not that far from the stark reality many employees experience today. In our attempt to drive business results and shareholder value, we seem to have forgotten that our workforce consists of living, breathing human beings. No wonder that only one in ten Brits feels engaged at work and more than two million think of quitting their job every single day. The way we think about work is broken and it’s time we take action and stop treating people as if they were paperclips.

Kath Howard’s book, People Not Paperclips: Putting the Human Back into Human Resources, comes at a time when we desperately need some guidance on how to fix our broken HR systems and bring humanity to the workplace. It brings invaluable insights from the field of Organisational Design, Organisational Psychology, and over 20 years of Kath’s practical experience in the world of business and HR. The question at the centre of Kath’s book is: ‘How can we build healthy, people-centred cultures that drive results and allow people to flourish?’

This book is not for everyone. It’s not for those who are on the lookout for yet another exciting fad, a quick fix, or an idea for a short-term intervention that will cause some stir and fizzle out before it’s over. It’s not for the well-meaning enthusiast who lacks the patience to grapple with the reality of our businesses and our humanity.

It’s a book for people who seek sustainable change and who need a better understanding of how to integrate organisational design, behavioural science, evidence-based practice and systems thinking into their HR practice. It’s an invaluable resource for those willing to test their ideas in the workplace and eager to embrace innovation as a core skill in HR.

As a culture strategist, I’m lucky to work with companies committed to creating people-centric cultures. They invest in their people because they know that it’s the only way to bring their vision and business aspirations to life. Working with these organisations has taught me that change is hard. Every time you challenge the status quo, you are met by forces and dynamics that are both complex and profoundly messy.

If you want to join us on a mission to re-humanise the workplace, you’ll meet these forces, too. And you will need a healthy dose of courage, inspiration and the right tools to tackle the challenge. This book is a collection of topics, references and suggestions for how you can create an HR function and an organisation that drives the change people are seeking. If you want to cultivate a ‘people not paperclips’ culture, dive into it, learn from it and embark on a never-ending experiment: test, learn, refine, repeat.

September 2019, Aga Bajer