"First the system": An HR practitioner on how to build culture in a company

First the system, then events: why corporate culture is a comprehensive construction, and it should start with the basics.

Today, questions of corporate culture and personnel management are not about abstract values on walls, but about strategies for survival and growth. How to combine creativity and discipline, manage conflicts and generations, use AI without losing humanity? Based on an interview with an HR expert, we explore key principles that work in practice.

When it comes to corporate culture, the first thing that comes to mind is bright events and social packages. However, HR expert Karina Rozieva believes that all of this is merely a superstructure. Real strategic work begins with a much more prosaic but fundamental step — building a predictable system with clear metrics, responsibilities, and rules. "No one wants to live in chaos; everyone needs a clear system," notes the expert.

Ideally, the request to create such a system comes from the owner, which significantly accelerates the process. Karina provides an example from her own practice, where the leadership became the initiator of changes:

"In the last months of my work, one of the key tasks was to build a new corporate culture and improve internal communications. There was quite a tough competition between project teams in the company... Importantly, this initiative came from the top — from the owner and managing partner. Their idea and desire to create a more open environment became the main driver of change."

To establish transparency, Karina's HR team adhered to a systematic approach. To rectify the situation with informal coalitions and uneven information distribution, she took specific steps:

"In all companies, informal tools and live communication work excellently. But their implementation is the second, more subtle stage," explains the expert. In conditions of "complete chaos," there is no room for informality. First and foremost, it is necessary to act clearly and directive to lay that very foundation:

To meet basic needs for clear processes and predictability.To establish "rules of the game" that give employees a sense of security and stability

Implementing processes is only half the battle. To ensure that the system does not turn into a bureaucratic shell and that rules are followed not out of coercion, tools for constant diagnosis of the atmosphere within the team are needed.

Once the system is launched, it is critically important to continuously monitor its "health" and identify hidden problems. For this, Karina uses two types of tools.

An objective, quantitative snapshot of reality. Dashboards providing real-time data on personnel are not just a trend but a managerial necessity. Such an "electronic report in real-time" gives a clear picture of key metrics: from personnel costs and turnover to engagement survey results. It is indispensable for making informed decisions at all levels — from specialists to owners.

Formal metrics capture symptoms but do not always reveal underlying causes — informal unions, hidden conflicts, and social dynamics within the team. To work with this "underwater" layer of the iceberg, the expert uses her own methodology — the "conflictogram."

This principle is not an abstraction. Karina has personally experienced that the request for a system often arises from a specific business pain. As a result of such diagnostics, the sources of a toxic environment become clear. Most often, it is not the ordinary employees but the management. "By showing such a conflictogram to management, one can move from stating the problem to solving it. After all, in my opinion, the source of a toxic atmosphere is most often either middle or top managers," explains the expert.
The solution is targeted training for leaders in providing constructive feedback and emotional self-regulation. Although such an idea often meets resistance at first, practice shows its effectiveness.

Karina notes that "after living with this thought for at least half a year to a year, managers begin to adjust... They listen, then try and see how it affects themselves and those around them."

Thus, modern HR must combine "numbers" with "psychology." Dashboards answer the question "what is happening?", while tools like the conflictogram and subsequent work with management answer the question "why is this happening and how can it be fixed?" Only this connection allows for a transition from monitoring to real improvement of the climate within the company.

The logic is fully confirmed by practice. Company leadership pays close attention to the state of the team and understands the importance of balance. "There should be periods of intense, focused work when we mobilise for results, engage our creativity, followed by phases of informal communication and recovery, where we can get to know each other on a human level from a different perspective."

When the foundation of the system is laid and diagnostic tools are working, the stage of designing the living environment — an ecosystem that not only retains people but allows them to grow and be effective without "burnout" — begins. Here, the philosophy of care becomes a practical strategy.

Universal principle: comfort is basic respect.

Karina's key thesis: comfortable conditions in a broad sense are needed by all employees without exception. Only their content and priorities change.

How to turn general empathy into specific, valuable actions for each individual? Karina sees the solution in personalization.

"If I were allocated resources, I would organise a system based on the 'cafeteria' principle, where each employee could choose what is truly valuable to them. Because everyone has different needs..."

Instead of imposed standard options, the employee decides how to allocate the given budget — whether it be money, time, or another resource. This approach is not only more effective but also a natural development of the idea of respect for individuality.

"I am more for experiments... If it turns out that no one needs orthopedic mattresses, and everyone wants more joint events — we will simply cut the unwanted and invest in what people really want."

The deepest investment in care is proactive burnout prevention. Karina notes that its root often lies in a lack of predictability. Combating it requires a systemic approach at three levels:

Foundation: predictability. Clarity in tasks, metrics, and expectations creates psychological safety, eliminating the main source of stress.
Skills: self-regulation and communication. Training employees to manage stress and build assertive dialogues gives them tools for self-help.
Environment: a supportive atmosphere. From office ergonomics to a culture of open conversation — the physical and emotional environment must facilitate recovery.
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At the same time, help does not always require large budgets. Effective measures can include:

An effective ecosystem takes into account the differences among people. Interestingly, Karina, who values discipline, does not encounter stereotypical problems with Generation Z.

"My Zoomers come to work... and show excellent results."

A more nuanced question is interaction with experienced older specialists, whose energy and motivation may change. The key, according to the expert, lies in a pragmatic assessment of contribution.

Care and creating an environment is not a set of disparate activities, but a strategy for building organizational immunity. It starts with basic respect (comfort), is implemented through personalized solutions (the "cafeteria"), is strengthened by systemic burnout prevention, and requires a flexible, unbiased approach to different people in the team. All of this together creates an ecosystem where business results are achieved sustainably, rather than at the cost of "scorched earth."

The modern HR specialist stands on the brink of the most significant transformation in decades. Their role is evolving from process administrator and environment creator to a hybrid strategist who masterfully combines technological literacy with a deep understanding of human psychology.

The direct answer to the main question — will artificial intelligence replace HR — sounds hopeful and realistic. Karina is already using AI as an operational assistant to relieve routine tasks and analyze data.
"I think in the future, AI will be able to fully cover some areas of HR, but not all. Because we, humans, need live communication."
Thus, AI does not replace but redistributes work. Algorithms take on everything that can be standardized and measured, freeing human resources for tasks where context, ethics, and emotional intelligence are critically important.

Automation does not eliminate the profession but radically changes the set of key competencies. According to Karina, the following will come to the forefront:

Speed of retraining and adaptability. The ability to quickly master new tools and manage "digital colleagues."
Hyperfocus on safety and data ethics. In a world of algorithms, it is the human who must remain the guarantor of confidentiality, fairness, and trust.
Technological tolerance and change management. The ability to help the team accept new rules of the game and work in symbiosis with technologies.

"Because we cannot entirely delegate issues of safety and trust to algorithms. They are more of a tool, not a guarantee."

This technological leap occurs against the backdrop of the eternal challenge: differing perceptions of the HR role by management. As Karina notes, the request can vary from the expectation of a "loyal administrator" to the need for a "change agent."

The future belongs to those specialists who can prove strategic value through the language of business results: reducing the cost of "expensive mistakes" of AI, increasing engagement through accurate diagnostics, building a culture that attracts talent and reduces risks.

"Given the current quality of AI work in our industry, I think there will be enough work for everyone for a long time. Its costly mistakes are already creating enough tasks for live specialists."
This ironic remark contains a deep meaning: the value of a live expert will be determined by their ability to work with exceptions, complexity, and the consequences of "mistakes" — both human and machine.

The future of HR is not in opposition to technology, but in its thoughtful integration into the humanitarian mission. This is a path to a profession where systemic thinking, psychological insight, and technological flexibility converge to build organizations that are effective not in spite of people, but thanks to a smart and humane environment created for them.