Is there really such a thing as HR best practice? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Ronel Jacobs, Chief People and Safety Officer at Access Partners and Property, for a wide-ranging conversation about what effective People & Culture leadership looks like in the real world. With more than 20 years of experience spanning HR, recruitment, health and safety, environment, quality, acquisitions, and organisational change across South Africa and New Zealand, Ronel has worked across organisations of vastly different sizes and industries. One of her biggest lessons is that there is no single best-practice approach that works everywhere. HR needs to understand the size, industry, culture, strategy, and commercial realities of the organisation before deciding what good looks like. Ronel and Lisa explore this through acquisitions and restructures, discussing why communication is critical, how change champions can help organisations integrate, and why genuine consultation requires leaders to remain open to outcomes they may not have anticipated. Ronel also shares how experiencing redundancy herself changed her approach to restructuring. That lived experience has reinforced the importance of remembering that organisational change isn’t simply a process to complete. Decisions can affect someone’s livelihood, family, and, for migrant workers, potentially their ability to remain in New Zealand. The conversation moves into the realities of employing migrant workers in highly specialised roles, including skills shortages, immigration uncertainty, significant investment in training and relocation, and the operational challenges businesses face when those skills aren’t readily available locally. Lisa and Ronel also unpack employment disputes and representation, including their experiences with employment lawyers and advocates, the incentives that can shape dispute resolution, and why understanding the outcome both parties actually need can help resolve conflict more effectively. AI is another major theme. Ronel describes the current enthusiasm for AI as an “AI sugar rush” and raises an important question for the future of HR: if technology removes entry-level administrative roles, where will future senior HR professionals develop the judgement, critical thinking, and communication skills they traditionally learned through those roles? She also explores how relying too heavily on AI-generated communication could dilute an organisation’s culture. From restructuring documents to employment letters, Ronel believes language needs to reflect not only the organisation, but also the person receiving it. Finally, the conversation brings together Ronel’s responsibility for both People & Culture and health and safety. She discusses why the two disciplines complement each other, the growing importance of psychological health and safety, knowing when an issue requires independent expertise, and why HR professionals need to understand what actually happens operationally rather than making decisions from behind a desk. What You'll Learn Why HR “best practice” needs to be fit for the organisation How business acumen helps HR professionals adapt their approach What Ronel has learned from acquisitions and significant organisational change Why communication is fundamental during acquisitions How change champions can support successful integration Why some acquired organisations need more time before processes and cultures are integrated How lived experience of redundancy can change the way HR professionals approach restructures Why consultation can’t simply become confirmation of a predetermined decision The additional human impact restructuring can have on migrant employees and their families The challenges employers face when recruiting highly specialised talent offshore Why New Zealand needs to think seriously about developing critical skills locally The different dynamics Ronel has experienced with employment lawyers and employment advocates Why understanding incentives matters when resolving employment disputes How AI-generated communication could influence organisational culture Why employment communication needs to reflect the audience receiving it What Ronel means by the current “AI sugar rush” Why AI could create a future HR capability gap The importance of continuing to invest in graduates, interns, and entry-level employees How People & Culture and health and safety complement one another Why psychological hazards require a different approach from physical safety risks When HR should step away and bring in independent investigators or specialist support Why HR leaders need to understand operations, customers, finance, and commercial realities How psychological safety at the executive table supports better decision-making Why HR professionals need the courage to challenge senior leaders Why HR should bring options and recommendations to the executive table, not simply problems Why adaptability, curiosity, and continuous learning will matter as work changes Key Takeaways • There is no universal HR best practice. What works depends on the organisation, its size, industry, people, culture, and commercial realities. • Successful acquisitions aren’t just about processes and systems. Communication, continuity, culture, and the pace at which people adapt all matter. • Change champions can help organisations understand what works on both sides of an acquisition rather than simply imposing one organisation’s way of working on another. • Genuine consultation means being prepared to seriously consider alternatives and counterproposals rather than treating the process as a tick-box exercise. • Lived experience can change how HR professionals practise. Ronel’s own redundancy reinforced the human impact behind organisational change decisions. • Migrant workforce decisions can extend far beyond employment. Visa status, family circumstances, relocation, training investment, and skills availability can all add significant complexity. • HR needs strong business acumen. Understanding how the organisation makes money, serves customers, manages risk, and operates day to day leads to better people decisions. • AI can improve efficiency, but organisations need to consider what happens when technology removes the entry-level work through which people traditionally develop judgement and critical thinking. • An organisation’s culture is reflected in its language. Over-reliance on generic AI-generated communication risks diluting that identity. • People & Culture and health and safety are closely connected. Physical safety, psychological safety, wellbeing, performance, and employment relationships often overlap. • Not every workplace issue should be managed internally. Knowing when to bring in independent investigators, lawyers, or specialist support is an important professional judgement. • HR shouldn’t be afraid to challenge. Strong executive teams need people who can respectfully disagree and give leaders the information they need to make informed decisions. • HR professionals shouldn’t only understand HR. They need to understand the business. • Technology should make work easier without replacing relationships, empathy, curiosity, and human judgement. About Ronel Jacobs • Ronel Jacobs is Chief People and Safety Officer at Access Partners and Property and a member of the organisation’s executive leadership team. • With more than 20 years of experience across South Africa and New Zealand, Ronel’s career spans human resources, recruitment, health and safety, environment, quality, organisational change, acquisitions, employment relations, and workforce capability. • Her experience ranges from small organisations through to large businesses, giving her a practical perspective on why People & Culture approaches need to reflect the organisation rather than follow a single definition of best practice. • In her current role, Ronel provides strategic leadership across People & Culture and HSEQ, with a strong focus on building capable teams, managing organisational risk, supporting employee wellbeing, and ensuring people decisions align with what the business is trying to achieve. Why This Episode Matters People & Culture leaders are being asked to navigate increasingly interconnected challenges. AI is changing how work gets done. Skills shortages continue to affect businesses. Migrant workforce requirements add complexity. Psychological health and safety is becoming increasingly important, and leaders still need to manage restructures, performance issues, disputes, and organisational change fairly and effectively. Ronel’s perspective brings these issues back to a simple principle: HR needs to understand the business while remaining human. For HR professionals, executives, business owners, and people leaders, this episode offers a practical look at balancing empathy with commercial reality, knowing when process helps and when it gets in the way, and developing the judgement to make good decisions when there isn’t a simple playbook to follow. Resources & Links • Access Partners and Property: [Insert website link] • Connect with Ronel Jacobs on LinkedIn: [Insert Ronel Jacobs LinkedIn URL] • HR Unlocked: https://linktr.ee/hrunlocked See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
