Inside Ontra’s Purpose-Driven People Strategy - 2025 Next Practices Weekly

In this high-impact Next Practices Weekly session, Megan Hansen, Chief People Officer at Ontra, shared a compelling framework for anchoring HR decisions in purpose—cutting through noise, trends, and shifting expectations with clarity and conviction. Her approach highlights how embedding purpose into every HR function builds credibility, cohesion, and long-term business alignment.

Moderated by Amber Burton and Tom Stone of i4cp, the conversation focused on how Ontra resists the “shiny object” syndrome in favor of strategic consistency. Attendees learned how HR leaders can maintain organizational momentum and credibility by aligning culture and programs to a clear, principled identity.

Key Topics Discussed

• Purpose as a Strategic Filter: Megan emphasized using purpose to evaluate every new initiative, ensuring alignment with long-term values rather than reactive trend adoption.
• Avoiding Trend Fatigue & Shiny Object Syndrome: Ontra resists chasing the latest workplace fads by maintaining a consistent HR identity rooted in purpose and culture.
• The Power of Clarity in Decision-Making: Having a shared understanding of “why we do what we do” empowers faster, more coherent decisions across HR programs and initiatives.
• Innovation with Intention: Instead of broad rollouts, Ontra pilots innovation thoughtfully—learning from small-scale experiments before scaling solutions that resonate with its people.
• Culture as a Living Practice: Culture at Ontra is co-created with employees and constantly revisited to ensure it reflects the organization's values and evolving workforce needs.

Watch the full session to learn how a purpose-driven strategy enables HR teams to innovate without losing focus.

Resources Shared

• i4cp’s Up Next Cohort -  Explore upcoming sessions and cohort experiences designed to support your next steps on the path to CHRO.
• Is your organization truly remote-first? Find out what leading companies are doing differently—download the new joint i4cp-Akamai report, Remote First Organizations.
• Register for 2026 Conference -  i4cp's Next Practices Now Conference

To ensure open discussion, this event was exclusively for HR practitioners. Vendors and consultants were not permitted to attend.