To shape the future of HR, advancing technologies have disrupted every day experiences in a unique way, including the way we work. However, there are several aspects of work, that have not caught up with the needs of the future of work. The future business would demand greater efficiency and new outcomes and need to be more people centric. Thus, the future of HR, would have a critical role to play in driving sustained performance from the workforce and keep them motivated.
With the changing needs, organizations need to adopt new business models and technologies and also deal with the changing expectations of the workforce. Organizations are now realizing that simply incorporating new technologies into traditional methods of doing business will not help them thrive in the dynamic future of work. The entire business model needs to evolve in the fields of sales, production, product development and most critically in human resource development.
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According to a Deloitte study, ‘Reimagining Human Resources – The future of the enterprise demands a new future of HR’, the HR must address three key ‘futures’ that are creating change. These three futures would bring several challenges as well as opportunities for HR to drive a huge impact as the business deals with each of them.
The future of the enterprise: It is augmented by a major increase in data, the shortening lifespan of companies and the changing expectations from businesses. The future of HR would have the opportunity to drive innovation through the development of the workforce and create an ecosystem of partnership to extend business opportunities.
The future of workforce: It would involve an increased length of career, life skills diminishing to between 2 and 5.5 years, and a rapid rise of the open talent economy with more than 40% of the workforce estimated to be a part of the contingent workforce by the end of 2020. While this scenario might look extremely demanding, it can be addressed through effective human resource planning. The future of HR would require a diverse workforce including non-traditional talent and creating experiences that would stimulate teamwork and productivity. Also, accurate prediction of future competencies would be required to ensure continuous and relevant learning.
The future of how work gets done: It would be enabled by digitalization that would change how humans work in a collaborative environment with flexible teams and advanced technologies. It would generate a different experience for the customers as well as the businesses and create new roles for the workforce that have not even been perceived yet. To turn these challenges into an opportunity, the future of HR would demand digitalization and automation across the organization and in the human resource management system. Also, it would require a shift to an HR Operating Model that can easily be adjusted as per the changing needs of the business.
As the Deloitte Study suggests, to make these shifts, HR must shift in four areas by incorporating the best HR trends adopted through the evolution of HR and develop future HR trends to steer the business forward.
A shift in mindset: It would require adopting new traits and behaviors that will help to thrive in the digital age. While several organizations have been working towards growing capabilities over the last few years, the digital age demands more to ensure sustained growth in the future. To make a greater contribution to the business, the future of HR would demand cultural readiness to learn and innovate continuously. With more sophisticated technologies coming in, organizations need to take a fresh look at how they organize work, redesign jobs and plan for future growth.
A shift in focus: An increased focus on human-centered solutions would be required in the future of human resource management, to drive greater value. While continued and proactive efforts in employee engagement and satisfaction will continue to be a focus area, the HR would need to improve engagement of the entire workforce, including the contingent workers. Also, they would have to look beyond qualitative value and focus on measurable results that are both qualitative and quantitative.
A different lens: The future of human resource development would require moving away from traditional HR operating models and adopt dynamic ways of working to attain the desired outcomes within the existing organizational culture. The future of HR would demand reimagining work, going beyond structural shifts and emphasizing on continuous improvements to deal with constant disruptions. It needs a robust ecosystem of partners to build upon internal capabilities at a faster pace. They also need to empower managers to engage with the workforce and create an experience that supports identifying and developing skills that are critical to the future of the business.
Incorporating enablers: The future of HR would require creating and adopting a unified platform, using advanced technologies to enhance productivity and encourage ease of experience. While many organizations have already started incorporating automation and artificial intelligence into traditional HR activities, adopting virtual reality, machine learning and social collaboration can help in going beyond automation and contribute to reinventing these processes. It can add value by making the process easier and more intuitive for the customers of HR through a unified engagement platform.
To make this shift possible, organizations require HR business partners who can drive value creation at a rapid pace by actively measuring the business impact of HR processes and adjust them nimbly. The human resource planning must involve acquiring diverse and inclusive talent from a wide range of traditional and contingent sources. The performance management system must also move beyond traditional rewards and focus more on building relationships and ensuring the well-being of the workforce based on what they value most. Most importantly, the HR business partner must be able to guide the organization to create models that enable greater flexibility, adaptability, teamwork, and collaboration to create the future of HR that can take the organization into the future.
Reference:
Reimagining Human Resources The future of the enterprise demands a new future of HR- Arthur Mazor, Kraig Eaton, Richard Coombes, Pascal Occean, Michael Stephan, John Brownridge, Roberta Yoshida, Andrew Hill, Carol Zheng, 2019
