The changing nature of HR – creators of speed

Things are happening faster.

That may seem obvious, and overly simplistic, but it’s true.
The changing nature of HR is a natural reflection of the changing nature of business and employment  as a whole . Broad, well documented, trends that include:

• The changing composition of the workforce and the rise of both millennials and the over 50 demographic;

• Shorter average role tenures – be that within or between organisations;

• An increasingly fluid market for talent – including the growing migration of talent from traditional larger firm roles to smaller businesses and start-ups; and

• The rise of the gig economy and contingent workers

From an HR perspective, the effects of these trends are clear; more demands on the function, more areas of expertise needed, more hiring, more turnover, more opportunities and more dangers.
It also means more, and evolving, expectations.

Creators of speed
We have all heard of the idea of  HR moving from a process orientation to becoming ‘ Strategic HR’.
This conjures up images of HR focussed on high-level initiatives, or, in the worst-case scenario, creating a disconnected ‘people strategy’. In other words, a focus on ideas.
Paradoxically ‘Strategic HR’ should be about far more than high-level ideas, it should be about the art of implementation. Rather than ‘people strategy’ it is ‘the implementation of business strategy within our people’.
The holy grail of that strategy is speed.
That is, being quicker to market in your product or service offering than your competition. Quicker in responding. Quicker in adapting. Quicker in innovating. Quicker in your internal processes.
We see the success of this all around us. Uber connects us quicker to transport than walking onto the street to hail a taxi. Smart phones allow us to access information quicker than carrying around a desktop computer.
The changing nature of HR therefore, means the changing way in which HR brings to life business strategy by creating speed and flexibility within an organisation’s workforce.

Three ways to use technology to create speed

Technology is one of the ultimate enhancers of HR’s (and an organisation’s) speed:
1. Maximising efficiency  –  “I only do what only I can do ”
As technology gets ever more advanced, now is a great time for HR to automate and systemise areas that touch the whole organisation. This means HR time is spent doing only the things that can’t be automated and add that the greatest value, and delegating the things that can be delegated to the most effective technology solution.
Automation comes with the added  bonus of a reduced likelihood of errors and a consistency of service for the end user.

2. A pulse you can feel
One of the common frustrations of senior management is the need to make decisions without all the relevant information, particularly when it comes to people issues.
Good technology should allow you access to reporting that is both real time and flexible. This means management are no longer relying on reports that  are out of date the moment they are created , and that they can have a genuine sense of the pulse of the organisation’s heartbeat  –  it’s people.

3. Living one step ahead
Significant amounts of HR time has traditionally been spent on reactive activities.
Even when time is dedicated to planning, this is often the first thing to be struck of the agenda when the workload increases. Technology can allow a speed and quality of response, meaning HR time is able to be spent anticipating the future, and working out how to take advantage of the changing environment such as the gig economy and changing demographic of the workforce.

HR therefore, is evolving from simply trying to keep things moving, to becoming a key driver of an organisation’s speed advantage.