There’s one conversation we have with lots of clients and even with lots of business owners who aren’t our clients. The exact topic of the conversation can vary, but it always comes back to asking the simple question, “Why?”
At Why HR, we are an education first company. We’re not in the business of dos and don’ts. We’re in the business of ifs and thens. It’s not, “Don’t do this ever,” but rather “If you do this, then that could happen.” It’s about understanding the complexities and risks and making an informed decision.
That’s why we often find ourselves asking business owners and managers, “Why?”
We often see this come up with topics of diversity and diversity training. Lots of people think they need to do it, but not many people are talking about the why. The same is true for many other initiatives, whether it’s unlimited PTO or changing the dress code or setting the tone for the company culture overall.
You should always stop and think about why you’re doing it before you start doing anything policy-driven in business. When it comes to creating company culture and deciding what that’s going to include, it’s easy to pull buzzwords from a media headline or a conversation with your friend next door or the business owner you met at a recent chamber meeting. We’re not saying those are bad sources for gathering ideas, but you still need to know why first.
If you’re putting a new initiative in place, do you have the bandwidth to be intentional about it? Or to truly educate employees about an issue? You have to be clear on your own why and take the right steps to filter that down to employees in a way that results in them embracing the why. Otherwise, you’re not really building culture and moving your company forward.
Asking why is an important question in business, and it’s especially important when it comes to hot topics. You have to look at the issue from all angles and understand why it matters to your business specifically. Once you’ve clearly identified that why, then you can move forward with implementing it in a way that makes sense for you.
If you need help asking the right questions to understand your why around a specific issue, reach out to us today to learn more about our services.