How reactive people practices undermine engagement, trust, & performance

HR departments play the most critical role in driving employee engagement, trust, and performance.

Yet, many HR teams are caught in a cycle of reaction, constantly responding to urgent issues rather than proactively shaping workplace culture. These ‘HR fire drills’ drain energy, erode trust, and contribute to employee burnout, ultimately affecting organizational performance.

A natural question would be, but why? The answer is simple and rooted in the fundamentals once shared by Peter Drucker: “So much of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to work.”

Let’s pull back the curtain on the hidden toll of HR fire drills—and see how leaders can finally shift from firefighting chaos to proactive people management.

Understanding HR fire drills

HR fire drills are symptoms of deeper organizational issues. When poor planning, unclear communication, and a lack of strategic foresight take hold, people teams are forced into high-stakes, short-notice problem-solving. As most HR professionals will know first-hand, such an approach quickly leads to burnout, inefficiency, and a culture of reactivity that prevent HR from driving long-term value.

These constant emergencies erode time, energy, and trust in HR’s ability to lead with confidence. Employees and leaders alike start seeing HR as a crisis-response unit rather than a strategic partner.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. By addressing the root causes – tightening processes, improving cross-functional alignment, and building proactive workforce strategies – HR leaders can break free from the reactive cycle and reclaim their role as architects of sustainable success.

Common examples of fire drills include:

• Emergency hiring rushes due to a lack of proper headcount planning
• Urgent compliance audits or legal issues requiring immediate action to avoid fines for reputational damage
• Sudden talent management overhauls in response to executive pressure
• Hasty engagement surveys without a structured follow-up plan

While swift responses to workplace challenges are sometimes essential, an HR team constantly operating in crisis instead of proactively addressing systemic issues means strategic initiatives, employee trust, and overall workplace stability suffer.

This not only leads to burnout within the HR team but also weakens long-term organizational effectiveness, as policies become rushed, communication falters, and employees perceive leadership as inconsistent or disengaged.

The hidden costs of HR fire drills

1. Employee burnout and engagement decline

HR fire drills create instability, forcing employees and managers to pivot rapidly without clarity or consistency. Frequent last-minute changes lead to stress, cognitive overload, and disengagement.

• Research from Gallup shows that employees who lack clear expectations are 2.7 times more likely to be actively disengaged at work.
• Employees experiencing high levels of workplace unpredictability report increased stress and reduced well-being, leading to higher absenteeism and lower productivity.

A workplace driven by constant HR urgency fosters reactive decision-making, leaving employees feeling powerless and undervalued. This erodes intrinsic motivation, weakens commitment, and diminishes psychological safety.

Over time, disengagement rises, impacting morale and retention. A balanced approach, pairing efficiency with strategic communication and employee input, ensures people feel valued and committed to the organization’s success.

2. Erosion of trust in leadership

Trust is built through consistency, transparency, and follow-through. HR fire drills undermine trust when employees see policies and processes being changed impulsively or without clear reasoning.

• When HR is forced to act reactively, it signals that leadership lacks foresight or control
• If employees view HR as inconsistent or out of sync with business needs, they become skeptical of new initiatives, making adoption rates for critical programs (such as performance management or DEI efforts) significantly lower

Organizations that integrate predictability into their HR strategies foster a workplace environment built on trust, which serves as the foundation for both leadership credibility and employee commitment.

When employees can rely on consistent policies, transparent communication, and fair decision-making, they are more likely to engage fully in their work and align with the company’s mission. This predictability reduces uncertainty, minimizes workplace stress, and enhances overall morale, ultimately strengthening the organization’s culture and performance.

HR leaders must anticipating workforce needs before they become crises

3. Reduced organizational performance

HR instability has a direct impact on business performance. HR departments in constant firefighting mode lack the bandwidth to focus on long-term strategic priorities such as talent development, leadership coaching, and culture-building initiatives.

• A McKinsey study found that companies with highly effective HR functions that focus on proactive workforce planning see a 3.5 times greater likelihood of outperforming their industry peers
• Reactive HR practices contribute to increased turnover, as employees leave for organizations that offer stability, clear career progression, and structured people strategies

Instead of propelling business success forward, HR fire drills often act as a brake on performance, introducing unnecessary friction that disrupts daily operations.

These reactive, high-stakes situations—whether sudden policy shifts, last-minute compliance audits, or urgent talent crises—consume valuable time and energy, pulling leaders and employees away from strategic priorities. The real challenge is shifting from firefighting to future-proofing—building proactive HR strategies that anticipate needs, streamline processes, and enable sustainable business momentum.

Shifting from reactive to proactive HR

To break free from the cycle of HR fire drills, organizations must adopt a proactive approach that balances agility with strategic foresight. Here are three steps:

1. Embed predictability into HR processes

HR must focus on structured and predictable practices that provide stability for employees. This includes:

• Clear communication cadences around policy changes and company-wide initiatives
• Proper HR hygiene in the form of internal audits and control processes
• Well-defined feedback loops that ensure employees have input into changes before they occur
• Long-term workforce planning to prevent sudden, disruptive shifts in hiring, restructuring, or role expectations

2. Establish HR as a strategic partner

HR teams must move beyond administrative functions and take an active role in business strategy by:

• Anticipating talent needs rather than reacting to workforce gaps
• Partnering with leadership teams to align people initiatives with long-term business goals
• Leveraging HR analytics to predict engagement trends and intervene before disengagement spreads

3. Foster a culture of accountability

Accountability ensures that HR initiatives are measured, tracked, and reinforced rather than being reactionary. HR leaders should:

• Set clear KPIs for engagement, retention, and performance rather than relying on reactive employee sentiment surveys
• Implement follow-through mechanisms to ensure changes are sustained rather than quickly abandoned in favor of the next urgent initiative
• Align HR priorities with organizational goals, ensuring HR is seen as a driver of business success rather than a compliance-driven function

Final thought: winning by design, not default

HR fire drills signal a deeper organizational weakness: the absence of strategic HR planning. To build a workplace where employees thrive, engagement deepens, and performance accelerates, HR leaders must shift from putting out fires to proactively designing solutions.

This means aligning talent strategies with business goals, anticipating workforce needs before they become crises, and embedding agility into HR processes. HR leaders must ask themselves:

• Are we setting up employees and managers for long-term success, or just reacting to short-term problems?
• Do we have clear, predictable HR processes, or do last-minute changes dominate our function?
• Have I set the HR team up for success by ensuring they are focused on automating the more manual items and ensuring room for more strategic impact?
• How can we proactively drive trust, engagement, and performance, rather than firefighting culture issues as they arise?

The most effective HR teams proactively design cultures, policies, and leadership structures that prevent fires from igniting in the first place.

Crystal is the Vice President of Human Resources at Partners Federal Credit Union, where she leads HR, overseeing HRBPs, Talent Acquisition, & Data Analytics.

Adam Hickman, PhD, is the VP of L&D and Organizational Development at Partners Federal Credit Union, a Walt Disney company affiliate.