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When you don’t listen to the people you serve, they will leave you. When you don’t listen to the people you serve, you cannot do your job and you will fail.
There’s a lot to learn from the campaigns I've observed. The behaviours I see in HR and business leaders who struggle in their roles mirror what I noticed during the Kamala campaign. They act on what they assume people want or need, what they personally think is important, or what other HR professionals or leaders suggest. Yet, the one thing they consistently fail to do is listen to their own people—resulting in wasted resources and, ultimately losing them all.
Watch here for more details:
Regardless of your political position, you could observe a few things.
1 - The Kamala campaign was blind and deaf to the needs, wants, priorities, and struggles of the average American. They pushed a narrative they thought would resonate with people and failed. But why didn’t they hear the nation? When you operate within a bubble—that is, surround yourself with like-minded people—you won’t know what others are saying. HR often makes this same mistake by following trends and listening to other HR professionals, and organizations. Or, worse, they listen to the leaders of the organisation who have no idea about what HR is supposed to do. They do what others tell them to do for the workforce instead of checking what the workforce’s struggles actually are and finding solutions. It’s a fatal mistake. Ignoring the broader population and pushing a narrative relevant only to a small minority, while expecting to win everyone over with such a strategy, is misguided.
2 - The Kamala campaign was preoccupied with discrediting Trump, focusing on him instead of addressing what truly mattered to the people and the country. I see a similar pattern in HR and leadership. HR often invests time in areas that don't serve the actual needs of their people or the business. They focus on initiatives that don’t make a real difference and then feel underappreciated for their hard work. Could it be that they’re working hard—but on the wrong things?
3 - The Trump campaign focused on what was bothering the average American—their needs, frustrations, and what was keeping them up at night—and doubled down on that message. Being relatable doesn’t mean you have to live under the same circumstances as the people you’re serving; it’s about understanding their situation. This is what the Trump campaign did effectively. They demonstrated that they listened to the people and understood their challenges.
The message to HR and leaders is clear. Don’t decide what’s good for your people. Don’t think that you know what they need and want, what’s important to them, and what their struggles are. You don’t. You have to ask them, you have to listen to them. Otherwise, you end up providing them with things they don’t want or need wasting resources with no results. In the video above, I give examples of that.
HR doesn’t have to be as difficult as it is today. It is only difficult if HR and leaders pull a Kamala campaign on the workforce.
Companies that listen to their workforce and act on their feedback—rather than following external advice—don’t struggle. How do they listen? By mapping every touchpoint in the employee lifecycle and measuring key areas. They then adjust organizational policies, procedures, practices, leadership, or systems based on this workforce feedback. Without such data, it’s impossible to know what works and what doesn’t, leading to wasted resources and effort.
Successful HR leaders don’t spend time in boardrooms, seminars, or conferences brainstorming about their workforce’s needs while ignoring the very people they are serving. They don’t chase trends, buy into fancy tools, or adopt the latest programs assuming that’s what their workforce needs. Instead, they rely on data to understand the real challenges listen to their people, consider the business’s needs, and then find practical, relevant solutions. They don’t introduce any intervention, program, or initiative without data showing that it’s genuinely needed and wanted by both the workforce and the business.
But to know that, they have to start measuring the workforce’s experiences at every touchpoint along the employee life cycle. It is not about HR hearing that there is a conflict because of cultural differences so they quickly organise a Cultural Awareness workshop nobody needs or wants. Could it be that the conflict is stress-related? Or maybe people are just people and will have conflict even if they are from the same country? You get what I am saying, right? Stop prescribing things that won’t solve any problem and start gathering data. That way you can invest your resources in areas that are causing the problems.
If you want help with it give us a shout. This is what we do. Help organisations map out every touchpoint in their employees’ journey, we set standards for employee experiences, and help them measure each area.
With the MAP – MEASURE – IMPROVE approach, organizations can create intentional experiences that evolve with the workforce:
MAP: Identify and visualize key touchpoints throughout the employee lifecycle, from attracting talent to exiting. Pinpoint critical moments that shape employees' interactions with the organisation.
MEASURE: Collect data and feedback to assess the effectiveness of each touchpoint. Monitor key metrics to determine what’s working and where gaps or pain points exist.
IMPROVE: Use insights to make informed changes. Continuously refine processes and experiences to align with employee needs and business goals, creating a positive and resilient work environment.
This structured cycle ensures that organizations remain proactive, agile, and committed to delivering great employee experience.
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