Stephanie Latarewicz SHRM-SCP, SPHR, GBA brings over a decade of real-world HR leadership experience to the world of talent acquisition and workforce development. As an executive-level learning and development expert, and founder of Reel HR, LLC–a boutique HR consulting firm helping organizations navigate growth, culture, and compliance with clarity and confidence, she has designed and implemented scalable training programs, curriculum-driven hiring frameworks, and technology-enabled onboarding systems for high-growth and evolving organizations.

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A senior leader once told me, “We need DEI initiatives — HR just isn’t doing enough.”

I was stung because my team was working hard. And it’s not that we didn’t want to focus on culture — we simply couldn’t. We didn’t have a stable HRIS system, clean employee data, or even consistent job titles. How could we even think about culture or DEI initiatives when the basics weren’t built?

That’s when I realized: culture isn’t created by lofty HR initiatives — it’s created by a strong, stable infrastructure. If infrastructure is weak (or in our case, essentially non-existent), culture will always crack under the weight of the vision. You can’t build culture without solid ground.

That moment crystallized something I’ve seen several times: organizations chase heavy HR programs before the foundation to sustain them even exists. They want instant transformation, not plumbing. The result? Bold announcements and a quiet graveyard of abandoned initiatives that never had a chance.

And that’s the part no one wants to talk about, the unglamorous infrastructure that makes innovation possible.

Executives love to dream big, and I love that for them. They want leadership academies, engagement platforms, and culture overhauls. Amazing, so do I. But too often, we’re asked to build these ambitions on unsteady basic people operations.

Do any of these problems sound familiar?

• HR data scattered across multiple systems (and none of them agree).
• Policies written for an organization that no longer exists.
• Job titles, pay bands, and reporting lines that don’t match.
• Managers improvising because no clear frameworks exist.

Then comes the frustration: “Why can’t HR deliver faster? Why isn’t engagement improving?”

The truth is, you can’t accelerate when you have no traction. A smooth onboarding experience enhances culture just as much as inclusion initiatives or leadership programs. However, without well-oiled fundamentals, the attention and energy for the loftier strategies quickly evaporate.

And this isn’t just my personal observation. Studies consistently demonstrate that successful transformation requires readiness and solid infrastructure. Without solid systems, clear roles, and organizational capacity, noble initiatives burn bright and die fast.

The ambition is there. But often, readiness is not.

And what appears as HR “resistance” is often just the reality of balancing inefficient back-office functions with the idealistic expectations of senior leadership. But you simply can’t leap to transformation without a firm foundation. Try building a house before pouring the concrete.

Every company wants to move fast. I get it. However, speed without sequence ends badly. When leaders prioritize shiny initiatives over foundational work such as data integrity, role clarity, and process consistency, they drain every HR effort that follows. The team ends up patching inefficiencies with band-aids just to keep up with leadership’s priorities.

In the end, they waste time reconciling data instead of designing strategy. Managers lose confidence in processes and systems, and ultimately HR loses credibility for launching programs that crumble under weak structures.

When you build sequentially, every next step compounds in value. When you don’t, you’re just spinning your wheels.

Sustainable people strategy grows in layers, not leaps. There’s a simple model to help organizations build deliberately: Foundation | Function | Flourish.

Foundation: Get the Basics Right

Before culture, before engagement, before anything else, ensure the fundamentals run as a well-oiled machine.

That means:

• Reliable employee data and clean job architecture.
• Defined roles and reporting lines.
• Updated, accessible policies and procedures.
• A consistent and meaningful onboarding process.

Without these essentials, how can you even see your organization clearly enough to improve it? Foundation isn’t alluring, but it’s necessary to begin building the culture you aspire to.

When we cleaned up job data at one organization, aligning titles, levels, and pay bands, manager trust and capabilities improved. Talent conversations made sense because everyone was working from the same truth. That’s when you know your foundation is working.

Function: Build Reliable Systems and Cadence

Once the foundation is stable, the next layer is function, the systems, tools, and operational cadence that set HR up for success.

This includes:

• Well-integrated HRIS and payroll systems.
• A performance management process built on trust, not check-the-box.
• Dashboards to quickly visualize hiring, attrition, and engagement trends.
• Manager resources and routines such as toolkits, one-on-ones, and soft skill training.

At this point, HR shifts from insight to impact. When leaders can see people metrics with the same precision as financials, HR moves from support function to an integral part of business operations.

At one organization, supported by a solid HRIS backbone, we built a talent dashboard that connected vacancies, hiring pace, and engagement data by department. For the first time, leaders could see where talent gaps were undermining morale. That visibility elevated our team from service provider to strategic operator.

Flourish: Grow Strategy and Culture

Once Foundation and Function are running smoothly, then you can flourish. This is when leadership development, DEI, engagement, and culture design can stand up with solid ground beneath them.

This is when HR has its greatest impact, but only if the structure holds. Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels.

Culture work flourishes when it’s connected to operational integrity. Leadership development sticks when metrics and systems underpin the learned behaviors. DEI initiatives succeed when role clarity and accountability are woven into the full employee experience.

You can’t scale what isn’t stable, and you can’t transform what isn’t visible.

So how do you move forward when leadership wants to chase their next big thing? Start by highlighting readiness.

When they ask: “Where’s the next big HR initiative?”

Counter with: “Do we have the foundation to sustain it?”

Here’s how to be ready when they ask:

• Conduct a readiness audit before launching new programs.
• Frame infrastructure work using business language such as risk, cost, and throughput.
• Demonstrate how “plumbing work” prevents expensive rework.

When you speak operationally, in terms of time, cost, and risk, foundational work becomes vital to strategic success.

Culture isn’t built in leadership workshops or town halls; it’s built through the everyday processes and systems that define how people experience work.

So before launching the next bold transformation, ask the most important question: “Do we have the right foundation?”

If not, start there. Best-in-class cultures don’t emerge from a leadership offsite; they rise from solid infrastructure.

Plumbing before painting. It’s not sexy, but it’s the work that supports the culture.

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