HR Frontiers with Senyo M Adjabeng: The cultivation of potential: Applying the ‘Principles of Pruning’ to make HR more effective

In the quietness of a garden, an act that appears so destructive to the untrained eye can, in fact, be one of profound cultivation.  Pruning, the careful, deliberate cutting back of plants, is not an act of harm but a strategic investment in future vitality.

As a lover of wine, I am very conversant with the seasons of the vine, where during the dormant season, the vine lose their leaves for regeneration in the next season.  During such dormant season also called the winter dormancy, the vine all look like dried and dead twigs only good enough for fuel wood.

To prepare for the next season, the ‘dry’ vine are carefully pruned of excesses and deadwood to make cultivation more effective in the next season.

A gardener does not wield shears with malice, they do so with vision, understanding that selective removal is essential for directing energy, encouraging robust growth, and yielding a more abundant harvest.  This ancient horticultural practice holds a powerful, and largely untapped, metaphor for the modern world of Human Resources.

In this modern era where HR departments are often overgrown with administrative thickets, choked by legacy processes, and straining under the weight of trying to do everything for everyone, we must learn to become organizational gardeners.  By applying the principles of pruning, we can cut away the deadwood of inefficiency to make room for the strategic, value-creating growth that truly defines a thriving enterprise.

The first principle of pruning is to have a clear objective.  A gardener never makes a cut without purpose.  Is the goal to encourage fruit production, shape the plant for structural integrity, or remove diseased limbs to protect the whole?

Similarly, HR must begin every initiative, every process review, and every policy change with a crystalline understanding of its purpose.  Too often, HR activities accumulate like barnacles on a ship’s hull, annual performance reviews conducted because they are traditional, training programs mandated without clear linkage to business outcomes, and reports generated that no one reads. This is the organizational equivalent of allowing a plant to grow wild, consuming resources without direction.

As management guru Peter Drucker famously asserted, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all” (Drucker, 1963).  Pruning for purpose requires ruthless introspection.  We must ask of every HR function, does this activity directly contribute to attracting, developing, engaging, or retaining the talent that drives our strategic objectives?

If the answer is ambiguous or negative, that process is a candidate for the pruning shears.  This is not about mindless cost-cutting,  it is about energy reallocation. The time and money saved from eliminating a redundant approval process or an underutilized wellness program can be redirected towards high-impact initiatives like building a robust talent pipeline or developing future leaders.

The Dead, Diseased and Damaged

The second principle is the targeted removal of the “three D’s”: the dead, the diseased, and the damaged.  In the garden, these elements sap vitality and can spread decay.  In the organizational context, this translates to addressing poor performance, toxic behaviours, and obsolete systems with courage and conviction.  The “deadwood” in a company often refers to roles that have outlived their usefulness or, more sensitively, to employees who are chronically underperforming.  Allowing this situation to persist is detrimental to both the individual and the organization.

It drains morale, burdens high performers with compensatory work, and silently communicates that mediocrity is tolerated.  Pruning this deadwood, through respectful but firm performance management or outplacement, is an act of health.  It frees up resources and creates space for new roles to be aligned with future needs.

Similarly, “diseased” elements are the toxic behaviours and cultural rot that can infect an entire team.  A single individual who engages in gossip, undermines colleagues, or consistently violates company values can cause immense damage.

Left unaddressed, this disease spreads, leading to psychological insecurity, increased turnover among top talent, and a corrosive work environment.  Pruning here is non-negotiable.  It requires HR to have the fortitude to investigate thoroughly and act decisively, protecting the health of the organizational body.  Finally, “damaged” processes are those that are broken, cumbersome, or create unnecessary friction.

The second principle is the targeted removal of the “three D’s”: the Dead, the Diseased, and the Damaged.

An applicant tracking system that discourages candidates, a benefits enrolment platform that confuses employees, or a compliance protocol that requires ten signatures for a simple request – these are all damaged limbs hindering growth.

Pruning them involves repair or, more often, replacement with streamlined, user-friendly solutions.  This principle demands that HR shift from being a passive administrator of systems to an active diagnostician and healer of organizational ailments.

A third, and perhaps most nuanced, pruning principle is the encouragement of fruitfulness by thinning out excess.  A fruit tree laden with too many blossoms will produce a plethora of small, inferior fruit.

The tree’s energy is spread too thin.  The wise gardener selectively removes some blossoms and young fruit, allowing the tree to concentrate its resources on yielding fewer, but larger and higher-quality, specimens.  For HR, this translates directly into the realm of priorities and focus.

The modern employee is often overwhelmed by an abundance of initiatives, wellness programs, engagement surveys, innovation challenges, diversity councils, and relentless learning modules.

While each is well-intentioned, the collective weight can lead to initiative fatigue.  Employees, like the overburdened tree, become stretched thin, their energy diffused, leading to burnout and diminished returns on every activity.

HR must practice strategic thinning.  This involves auditing the employee experience to identify points of overload and then making conscious choices.  Instead of launching five new well-being programs simultaneously, could we focus on one or two that are most critically needed and execute them flawlessly?

Instead of requiring managers to complete a dozen different training courses in a quarter, can we sequence them meaningfully to allow for absorption and application?  This principle also applies to talent management.  The desire to promote high-potential employees is natural, but rapid, successive promotions without time for mastery in a role can be a form of malnourishment.

By “thinning” the pace of advancement and ensuring individuals have the time to develop deep competence and reap the rewards of their labour, we encourage the development of more robust and resilient leaders.  This requires a long-term perspective, resisting the urge for quick fixes in favour of sustainable, quality growth.

Underpinning all these principles is the concept of making clean cuts and protecting the wound.  A ragged tear from a dull blade invites infection and disease.  A precise, angled cut made with a sharp tool allows the plant to heal quickly and healthily.

In organizational terms, every pruning action, be it a restructuring, a layoff, or the termination of an individual, must be handled with exceptional care, clarity, and compassion. When roles are eliminated, the communication must be transparent and respectful, providing support such as outplacement services and career counselling.

When a process is changed, the transition must be managed smoothly with adequate training and support.  When an employee is let go for performance reasons, it should be the culmination of a fair process with clear feedback, not a sudden, shocking event.

This is where HR’s humanity must shine brightest.  This is where soft Hr should come to play.  The goal of pruning is not to harm the plant but to strengthen it.  Likewise, the goal of organizational pruning is not to create a culture of fear but one of trust and high performance.

How an organization treats those who are leaving speaks volumes to those who remain.  A botched, insensitive layoff can poison the cultural soil for years, creating an atmosphere of insecurity and mistrust.  A well-managed, respectful transition, while still difficult, can preserve the dignity of the individual and reinforcement to the remaining workforce that the company operates with integrity.

As studies in organizational justice confirm, employees’ perceptions of the fairness of procedures (procedural justice) and interpersonal treatment (interactional justice) during difficult times are critical determinants of their subsequent commitment and behavior (Greenberg, 1990).

A dynamic System of Continuous Cleansing

Finally, the master gardener understands that pruning is not a one-time event but a discipline of continual, mindful observation.  A garden is a dynamic system, and the gardener must regularly walk its paths, noticing new growth, spotting early signs of disease, and assessing the results of previous cuts.

For HR, this means moving beyond the annual strategic planning cycle to embrace a philosophy of continuous listening and agile adjustment.  The tools for this are abundant, pulse surveys, stay interviews, exit interview analysis, network analysis, and regular feedback channels with business leaders.

This ongoing dialogue allows HR to make small, corrective cuts before small issues become systemic problems.  It enables the function to be proactive rather than reactive, anticipating the need for skill development before a strategic pivot or identifying cultural friction points before they escalate.

Embracing the principles of pruning requires a fundamental shift in identity for many HR professionals.  It means transitioning from being a caretaker who fears any cut to becoming a strategic cultivator who wields the shears with wisdom and confidence.

It demands a deep understanding of the business, its strategy, its ecosystem, and its desired future state, so that every cut is made with that vision in mind.  This is the path from being a bureaucratic function to becoming a true value-creating partner.

The beautifully pruned tree is not stunted – it is structured.  It is not weak – it is resilient, able to withstand winds that would break its overgrown counterpart.  Its energy is not wasted on superfluous growth but is channeled into producing something of substance and value.

Our organizations are no different. By courageously applying the principles of pruning, cutting with purpose, removing the dead and diseased, thinning for focus, making clean cuts, and practicing continuous care, we can transform our HR functions and the organizations they serve.

We can clear away the clutter of non-essential activities to make space for strategic talent practices that drive growth.  We can foster a culture where high performance is nurtured, and toxic elements are not tolerated. We can create an environment where employees are not overwhelmed but empowered to focus their energy on doing truly meaningful work.  In the end, the art of pruning in HR is the art of cultivation, the deliberate, patient, and wise practice of creating the conditions for human potential to flourish.

References for Further Reading.

Drucker, P. F. (1963). Managing for Results: Economic Tasks and Risk-Taking Decisions. Harper & Row.

Greenberg, J. (1990). Organizational Justice: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Journal of Management, 16(2), 399–432.

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