There has never been a better time to work in HR

HR…coffee and cake, right? Wrong. There has never been a more important time to work in HR. It is transforming. How can such a confident statement be made? Many reasons but let’s just focus upon two: 1) Workforce of the future and 2) Employee/candidate/alumni experience.

1)    Workforce of the future

The Industrial Era 4.0 (autonomous systems, internet of things, cloud computing, cognitive computing, nanotechnology) demands skill sets and capabilities in a number of developing technical areas, for example:

·       Data privacy

·       Information security

·       Robotics

·       Artificial intelligence

·       Biotechnology

·       Quantum computing

·       Blockchain

As well as these new technical skills, current generational changes (the youngest millennials are 23 years old and hence Generation Z are now entering the workforce), demand new ways of organizational working, such as:

·       Network, ecosystem and collaboration based rather than command and control

·       Varied working relationships eg full time, part time, contingent

·       Career breadth and experience, not just climbing the career ladder

·       Opportunity to reinvent oneself several times through a career

·       Reduction in general administration management

·       Increased importance of emotional and social intelligence

·       Teal based management principles

Put simply, this is the biggest change in the work place since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s. This creates pain for the CEO of any organization as they need to fundamentally change their staffing capability set. To navigate this organisation capability overhaul requires:

·       Strategic Workforce Planning: collect data on the current workforce; collect data on the future organizational business strategy; analyse what capabilities will be required to execute the business strategy (eg digital skills library); gap analysis between the current and future skill set; plan to close the gap; execution of the plan which is likely to include upskilling/training, hiring, multi-sourcing, robotics; ongoing monitoring

·       External brand positioning to be attractive to the right candidates: assessment of gap between current and required brand attractiveness; plan to close gap; execution of the plan which is likely to include university relationship building, apprenticeships, social media strategy, cultural progression, increased workforce diversity; ongoing monitoring

2)    Employee/candidate/alumni experience

The internet, the internet of things and generational changes have completely adjusted our level of expectations when it comes to how we engage and consume. This raises the bar of what staff, potential recruits and alumni expect from the organisations with whom they have a relationship.

This experience can manifest itself in areas such as HR processes, IT tools and support, leadership, organisational culture, communications and corporate premises.

If organisations fail to deliver the necessary experience, they will find it harder to attract and engage talent. We know from anecdotal evidence and many academic studies that lack of staff engagement is a serious impediment to maximizing an organization’s revenue, profits and share price.

Who is better placed than HR to help the CEOs?

Both Workforce of the Future and Employee/Candidate/Alumni experience are desperately looking for champions. Who in an organization is going to provide this? Managers, maybe, but they need help. 

Step forward HR, be brave…this is your moment.

However, before the function can deliver on this need, HR must be credible in the eyes of the CEO. Beyond the basics of running an efficient and effective HR operational environment, it needs to have a number of capabilities, including:

·       Courage and vision to step up to the highest level of impact in an organisation

·       Good understanding of the business and industry dynamics of their organisation

·       Data privacy and data analytical skills

·       Ability to create trust and respect as an advisor

·       Design thinking

·       Architectural design including a strong engagement layer in any operating model

·       Variety of working methods eg agile

·       Cultural development that truly values people

·       Thought leadership insight into society developments and organisational development 

·       Change management skills

·       Understanding of how to leverage technology

·       Financial analysis skills

·       Communicate in numbers and not just words

This is quite some list. It certainly goes beyond the traditional HR capability set. However, the world we live in becomes more complex and complicated and all of us need to up our game. If HR can develop its own capabilities and positioning, it will be able to take the glaring opportunity that is currently presented. It is time for HR professionals to step up, be confident, brave and ambitious…before the window of opportunity closes.