Adrianne Court Petruska with Stephen Bohanon, Founder Alkami, on the day Alkami Technology (NASDAQ: ALKT) went public in April 2021, raising approximately $180 million in gross proceeds.
The scope of Human Resource Management (HRM) responsibilities historically involved what is commonly referred to as the basics of “employee lifecycle” management: employee recruitment, onboarding, job-specific training, and eventual offboarding. Beyond these responsibilities, employment policies, benefits, and payroll administration have been deep-rooted elements of proficient human resources (HR) professionals. These administrative functions have become increasingly complex, with ever-changing employment regulations and laws requiring the HRM profession to remain current, diligent, and responsive. Businesses have come to expect and rely more heavily on HR to help mitigate the risk of employment claims and costly legal exposure.
While the increased complexity of administrative responsibilities cannot be overlooked and is very important, there is a strategic practice that has further stretched the boundaries and changed the HRM professional landscape. This is so profoundly important to an organization that it is vital to helping create competitive differentiation and competitive advantage. So, what is it?
Simply put, it is cultivating and nurturing a corporate culture that attracts, retains, and engages employees. With record-breaking employee attrition, disengagement, and “quiet quitting” devastating business growth and success, the focus on culture is no longer a nicety but a necessity.
It has become painfully evident to business leaders that the health of the connection and engagement with employees correlates directly to the customer experience. While many organizations have realized that the foundation necessary for this connection is a healthy and sustainable conscious culture, most do not have the know-how or internal expertise to nurture and cultivate it successfully. This was when HR pioneers such as Adrianne Court Petruska led the way.
Court, a tenured and experienced HR professional, executive, and business leader, has and is influencing and shaping the HRM landscape by utilizing novel strategies and concepts. She has led the way in helping to shift the landscape of corporate culture and has been at the forefront in defining what it means to be a culture champion as an HRM leader for more than two decades. In fact, she has been recognized among her chief human resources/chief people officer peers as one of a select few People Pioneers, as a top 10 Influential HR Leader, and within the top 20 HR Innovators in 2023.
Specifically, she has been passionate about defining and promoting what she refers to as the conscious culture concept and its significance on employee performance and business success. She is so passionate about promoting this concept that she regularly speaks on the subject and is co-authoring a book, “Conscious Culture, Think, Act, Connect to Inspire Uncommon Business Results.” She promotes rigor and intentionality as a must to cultivate culture. But to do this, and to do it well, she says it is first helpful to understand the three primary elements of a conscious culture. This is the deliberate practice of “thinking,” “acting,” and “interacting.”
Working in leadership and executive positions in a particular field equip professionals with the expertise, insights, and perspectives that are essential for developing innovative and transformative strategies while offering expert advice and consultation. Court also acquired substantial experience and skills during her three decades in HR, business leadership, executive, and board and advisory member positions. She acquired significant human resources and executive leadership experience while working in various public and private equity-backed organizations employing 500 to 50,000. Some of these include i2 Technologies, Transplace (Uber Freight), Jamba Juice, Caliber Home Loans, and Alkami.
A career highlight for her was being part of the team to bring Alkami (ALKT) through to IPO (Initial Public Offering) in 2021, with Alkami being the first to do this in-person on NASDAQ after the world emerged from the veil of COVID-19. She is currently the chief human resources officer for Tealium, a consumer data platform with team members in nearly twenty countries and customers in over thirty. She has served as an advisor on several boards for professional and nonprofit organizations offering assistance and support in various areas, including human resource policies, implementing compensation structures, diversity and inclusion programs, recruiting strategies, merger & acquisition best practices, and, of course, employee engagement and corporate culture.
Through her experiences, she formed the conscious culture business concept. Her extensive HR and business leadership experience compelled Court to develop this transformational theory and the reason why she is co-authoring a book on this subject. Court has and continues to lead the way in transforming the HRM landscape through innovative and transformational strategies while promoting conscious culture.
