Dive Brief:

• An entrepreneur and current Canadian CEO writes that he has come to learn and understand deeply that human resources is not just another part of a business, but the most important, according to his post at ExchangeMagazine.com.
• Today, there are many business leaders who have ripped the care and humanity out of their companies and reduced their greatest responsibility, their people, to files or numbers buried in some HR office, writes John Stix, co-founder and president of Fibernetics, one of the largest telecom companies in Canada.
• In fact the term "Human Resources," Stix writes, is in itself dehumanizing, reducing real people to the level of a computer or a forklift. He says people use terms like "head count", "work force" or "human capital," not thinking about what they imply. Leaders often do not think of people as people. Rather, through this dismissive phraseology, people often are reduced to business tools.

Dive Insight:

Stix writes that what most leaders don't recognize is that great culture begins with great respect for HR.

Next, he believes leaders must fully recognize the ultimate transformation that can occur when they look to lift up the HR department to the level it deserves. He writes that it is impossible to understand what's happening within a business without HR being on leadership teams. It's the only way to have a true "feel for our greatest asset," the people that run all the important components of businesses, he says.

Stix writes that Fibernetics transformed its culture to one that is far more inclusive and enabling by his desire make a profound difference — a difference that allows people to go home feeling well and fully supported. People want to feel engaged, empowered and supported, and when they are, the transformation and results will have a real business impact, he says.

Finally, Stix writes that HR leaders and professionals work under far too many leaders who don't care about HR. But he wants HR practitioners to know that they are indispensable, and hopes they don't lose their motivation by keeping that fact in mind.