Why We Need to Appreciate and Celebrate People-People

A personal note from Connection Heroes founder, Di Gates.

A few years ago, I shifted from working in strategic brand and marketing to working in the people and culture space, and I started to notice some uncomfortable truths.

For most of my career, I’ve been an external consultant and facilitator working with brand and marketing leaders. My clients had a seat at the C-suite table, their functions were well-funded and they were taken seriously because their work directly impacted sales. They were allowed to innovate, experiment and spend – because the commercial case was obvious.

Then, about five or six years ago, I began working alongside HR, OD and L&D people on change projects, internal comms, culture and team dynamics. Here, I saw something different.

I saw People Leaders delivering business-critical work without the authority or budgets to match, while also managing the human fallout of constant change – balancing performance with wellbeing through the biggest shift in workplace norms we’ve ever seen.

Over the last few years especially, People Leaders have quietly rebuilt the workplace. They have been the ones:

  • Supporting managers who are overwhelmed or under-equipped
  • Reconnecting teams when communication and trust breaks down
  • Holding the emotional load of restructures, conflict and hybrid strain
  • Creating spaces where people can speak honestly and be human

Yet, in many organisations, the people function is still under-resourced, under-valued and expected to deliver miracles with limited authority. The work is essential, and far more innovative than it’s given credit for, but the recognition still lags behind.

This isn’t just unfair. It’s commercially short-sighted.

If organisations want to thrive in the evolving world of work, they need teams who feel seen, valued, trusted, and supported by the policies and processes around them. Productivity, innovation and performance thrive in environments where people feel respected and connected.

This means looking after employees is as (or more)  important as looking after customers.

And the people whose job it is to enable that – HR, OD and L&D professionals – must be:

  • Respected for the strategic contribution they make
  • Given the resources to do the job properly
  • Included in decisions at the earliest stage
  • Treated as a core driver of business success, not a support function

If you want to understand the changing role and responsibility of the HR function and why it needs to be valued differently – or if you’re a People/HR/L&D professional who wants practical help to find your voice and assert your position within your organisation, our next webinar is one for you.

Join us on Thursday 4th December at 1pm for our final Lunch & Learn webinar of 2026: “In Celebration of People People –  Why it’s time for HR to take the Mic.”