🌟 Culture Beats Strategy, In‐N‐Out’s HR Drama, Open-Plan Office Letdown... - Jun 30, 2025

Hello, HR Heroes! 🦸‍♀️ It’s Social Media Day. In a world where tweets travel faster than strategy docs, remember: culture eats strategy for breakfast—and then posts about it.

On today’s agenda:

🌟 Culture > strategy

📉 Open office flop…

🍔 Big trouble at In‑N‑Out

🚀 A review of UKG Ready

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

🌟 Culture > Strategy: Why Vibes Beat Venn Diagrams Every Time

Company culture isn’t just “nice to have”—it’s the fuel that keeps the engine running. While a sleek business strategy might look good on paper, it’s your people, values, and vibe that turn plans into performance.

The situation: Strategy alone isn’t enough.

• 52％ of workers say company culture is what they’d like to improve the most in their workplaces (Inc. Mag).

• Culture affects retention, innovation, and productivity.

• Toxic environments = top talent out the door 🏃‍♀️💨

Even top strategies can crash if your workplace feels like an episode of Survivor.

✅ What HR can do: Culture is your superpower. HR can lead the charge by:

• 🎯 Defining clear, lived values (not just wall art)

• 🧩 Aligning hiring and onboarding with those values

• 🗣️ Giving employees voice + recognition

• 📈 Tracking culture metrics like eNPS and turnover

A strong culture isn’t fluffy—it’s a growth engine. Companies with healthy, future-ready cultures see 5x higher revenue growth (AllWork).

✨ Want to shape a culture that actually works? Then have a read of this:

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📊 HR Analytics Market to Hit $9.89B by 2031 - The Insight Partners

• What’s unfolding: The global HR analytics market is booming—the push is driven by the need for real-time workforce insights, smarter hiring, and predictive retention models.

• Why it matters: HR leaders must level up in people data fluency. With HR analytics on the rise, data-savvy HR teams can lead culture, not just support it.

• What’s unfolding: Hackett Group’s 2025 “Digital World Class® HR” study shows top HR teams using Gen‑AI and automation are more cost-efficient—enabling more strategic, high‑value work.

• Why it matters: HR leaders should audit workflows to identify repetitive tasks ripe for AI tooling—freeing up team capacity to focus on strategic workforce planning.

• What’s unfolding: Sapient Insights via Morningstar reveal that many high-performing firms still undervalue HR’s strategic impact.

• Why it matters: HR pros must proactively pitch HR‐led initiatives—share quick ROI metrics and business insights quarterly to show they can be at the center of business decision-making.

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: Recent regulatory changes around I-9 and E-Verify compliance have employers scrambling to update onboarding and document verification protocols.

• HR implications: With audits and penalties on the rise, HR must refresh I-9 procedures and train hiring managers. Partnering with compliance experts or vendors can help prevent costly missteps.

• What’s unfolding: The UK government plans to tighten eligibility requirements for PIPs from November 2026, potentially reducing support for disabled workers and weakening workforce inclusion.

• HR implications: US-based HR teams should monitor similar policy moves, review benefit coverage for disabled employees, and proactively reinforce inclusive support systems—before any comparable legislation emerges.

• What’s unfolding: An ex-employee is suing In‑N‑Out for USD3M, claiming he was dismissed over his natural hairstyle in violation of California’s CROWN Act.

• HR implications: U.S. HR leaders must urgently audit grooming codes, ensure compliance with CROWN or state hair discrimination laws—update policies to prevent potentially costly litigations.

HR TECH WATCH

🚀 A Review of UKG Ready: One Platform, Total People Power

Why we selected it: A leading HR software suite, UKG unites HR, payroll, time, and talent in one AI-boosted, culture-driven platform.

Key features:

1. Centralized People Data – One secure employee record for all HR activities: payroll, benefits, performance, time.

2. Flexible Workflows – Drag‑and‑drop task automation and proactive alerts keep HR nimble and strategic.

3. Reporting & Analytics – Real‑time dashboards, fatigue indicators, eNPS, and benchmarking data.

4. Employee Self‑Service – Mobile access for people to manage info, PTO, training, and compensation.

HRAddict rating: ★★★★☆ 4.2
UKG Ready delivers a powerful, culture-forward HR platform that streamlines operations and unlocks strategic impact—all in one AI-infused suite.

This is an independent review using aggregated insights and publicly available data.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Friday’s issue on ‘Spot Role Creep’? Read it »