What if small business HR worked like a marketing team? In startups and lean teams, “HR” is often just one person—if anyone at all. But by applying a marketer’s mindset to the employee journey, even the smallest business can design intentional, engaging experiences that attract, retain, and inspire. You don’t need a big team—just a clear view of your people as your most important audience.

We throw around the term best practice like it’s a guaranteed stamp of success. But let’s be honest — what’s “best” for one organisation might be completely useless, or even harmful, for another. Best practice isn’t the same as doing the right thing. It’s not the same as being legally compliant. And more often than not, it adds little real value to employees or the business. If a practice doesn’t serve your unique context or move the needle — why are you doing it?

Culture isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a growth strategy. For small and mid-sized businesses, the right culture attracts great people, drives better decisions, and scales with you. If you don’t shape it early, it will shape itself. McKinsey research shows companies with strong cultures outperform their peers by a lot. At Two Heads HR, we help you build culture on purpose, not by accident.