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Most HR People Suck.   Seven years ago, I stood before a crowd of 300 to 400 HR professionals and started my presentation with that phrase. Every day, when I met with potential clients, I got the same reaction: HR was necessary but seen as a cost center—not worth paying extra for and meant to do little more than keep the company out of court.   At that time, HR professionals were still reeling from Fast Company’s article, “Why We Hate HR,” even though it had been published more than seven years earlier. They clamored for a seat at the table but struggled to justify it. Most HR courses and seminars, even those billed for experienced professionals, focused on compliance—how to adhere to specific laws and properly complete I-9 forms.   We’ve come a long way since then, yet, in many ways, not far at all.   Recently, LinkedIn has been full of posts pontificating on variations of “Culture isn’t HR’s job; it’s the CEO’s.” The authors of these posts vent their growing frustration with corporate virtue signaling companies publicly claiming to value employees while internally fostering toxic cultures. They point fingers at leadership and demand accountability.   The problem is: HR does own the company’s culture.   HR owns culture in the same way a CFO owns the financial health of a company. If a CEO refuses to follow the advice of the company’s culture expert, they are making the same mistake as ignoring the CFO’s financial recommendations.   So, what should an HR professional do when company leadership refuses to take direct steps to improve workplace culture?   They should resign.. “HR owns culture in the same way a CFO owns the financial health of a company.”  However, many HR professionals refuse to resign or seek employment elsewhere, even when their best recommendations are ignored. If you work at a company riddled with red flags, and leadership dismisses your concerns without meaningful action, why are you still working there? They don’t value your input. Eventually, the company will pay the price, and your professional reputation will be tied to that failure.   Leaving a job is scary, but being another mediocre HR professional is just as bad. No wonder employees think we suck at our jobs—we espouse high ideals yet provide little more than a fig leaf for toxic work cultures.   There are many reasons HR falls short of success, but this is one of the biggest: we don’t demand competence from leadership. CEOs who don’t implement sound management practices don’t value sound management practices. CEOs who don’t require their managers to implement them don’t value them. CEOs who ignore good business advice regarding culture don’t value culture. Culture is king, and it is the responsibility of HR. We don’t need to complain about it on LinkedIn, point fingers, or abdicate our responsibilities.     In short, we don’t need to suck.