S13 E4: Why HR Owns More Of Company Culture Than People Like To Admit (with Dani Herrera)

I swear every company says culture matters... right up until someone has to make an actual decision.  The reason decisions don’t get made quickly enough is because of the whole "culture is everyone's job" mentality, and I think it’s time for a little more nuance! Dani Herrera and I get into why culture isn't your values page or your CEO's favorite buzzword, but instead, the behaviors your policies reward every single day.  We also unpack why HR has way more influence than we give ourselves credit for, why "best practices" is a cringey concept, and why AI is about to amplify every good (and bad) decision we've already made. --- With Shapes, people management looks completely different. Think AI agents handling the routine, a secure HR core, and the ability to build any people tool your org needs, just by describing it in plain english in their built in Shapes Vibe studio. If your systems feel stuck in 2015, go check out Shapes at ⁠https://shapes.co/⁠ --- If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for even more exclusive insider content! --- Follow Hebba YouTube:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef⁠⁠⁠ Come join Hebba at Safe Space Summit 2026 in Huntington Beach, CA! To learn more, check out:⁠ https://www.safespacesummit.com/