John Lewis Christmas ad holds harsh lesson for HR

The Christmas countdown can only ever begin after the release of John Lewis’s festive advert. Every year we wait with baited breath to see what emotional delights the brand will roll-out, guaranteed to pull on our heart strings and put us in a Christmas frame of mind.

This year was no different, with the arrival of a new character, Moz the Monster. The advert shows a young boy befriend the monster hiding under his bed, only to have to give up the friendship after it starts affecting his day-to-day life. But, luckily for us, there are several key lessons that HR leaders can take away from #MozTheMonster.

When the boy wakes up, he’s scared at first, worried about what terrors lurk under his bed. Culture killers are lurking in offices everywhere – it’s HR’s role to hunt them down and reform them. Whether its negative attitudes, passive aggressive behaviour or gossip mongering, the practices have the ability to ruin a company’s brand values.