The future of HR is now The future of HR is now

It becomes plain to see the prevailing gap between those HR leaders confidently riding the wave of change engulfing businesses and those trailing in their wake. And it’s worth noting as well the trend we are already seeing in which CIOs and CFOs are casting an eye on the ‘people agenda’ — until now the time-honored turf of the HR team. “HR is at a crossroads, the likes of which is perhaps never seen, as we are now seeing CFOs and CIOs making a play for HR’s territory,” warns Bolton. “CFOs are owning analytics and CIOs are owning total workforce learning and the insights agenda. HR leaders need to act now or they will be reduced to transactional and administrative tasks.”

“HR is at a crossroads, the likes of which we’ve never seen. In fact we are now seeing CFOs and CIOs making a play for HR’s territory,” warns Bolton. “CFOs are owning analytics and CIOs are owning total workforce learning and the insights agenda. HR leaders need to act now or they will be reduced to transactional and administrative tasks.”

Our advice to forward-looking leaders and businesses? Focus intently on:

• A new mindset that recognizes the accelerating speed of change in the digital era and how it is dramatically rewriting the rules for future success;
• Reshaping the HR function — and its value to the business — using technology and new skills that can exploit with significant value and competitive advantage of data and analytics;
• Recognizing and embracing workforce shaping as critical to success in creating and sustaining the workforce of the future;
• Pursuing a deeper understanding of employee skills, strengths, goals and purpose while creating custom-made employee experiences. Recognize the immense value of EE and EVP to future success and competitiveness — and place it high on your change agenda (and convince the C-Suite);
• Preparing for the advance of AI/ML and its integration into a collaborative future workforce that combines human and digital labor;
• Valuing employees as ‘customers’ in the increasingly digital, global and agile world of work, embracing technology to increase connections and supporting an overarching people agenda as tasks and roles are redefined.
  

Suffice to say, HR teams leading the way — and, by extension, the organizations in which they work — recognize that the future of HR is now.