Why is HR advice optional but the system isn’t?

“What’s the difference between advice your HR person David offers your managers on raising staff engagement compared to the systems and practices he has set up to help them with it”?  We were getting close, I needed to press Jason on this.

He frowned with concentration.

“Well…lets start with what they have in common” he began.  “Both are designed to help them in doing their natural role as managers, which is to build a team that’s engaged”

“Yep.”

“But while I don’t expect them to follow every bit of advice David gives them, I do expect them to follow the systems and practices David set up”.

“Yep.  So what’s the difference? Why is one optional, and the other one isn’t”

“I actually don’t know!” he said with surprise.

“Let me ask you this.  When David set up the systems and processes to help raise engagement….did you look at them?”

“Of course I did.  David was new at the time.  He didn’t know our industry yet, he didn’t know us.  He did a great job with what he was able to learn, then we all provided input.”

“Who signed off that that it would be a good system  for your business to raise engagement?”

“In the end, I did.  I’m the one on the hook for the engagement levels in the whole business.”

I stayed silent.  Jason looked up.

“The staff engagement practices…. it’s not David’s expectation that they’re followed.  It’s mine.  That’s the difference”.