How to build long-term HR capability

Machines began replacing humans as early as the 19th century. The seeds of labor relations that were sown back then have, over decades of incremental progress, evolved into what we know today as Human Capital Development. Today, we stand at the cusp of yet another monumental transformation. The breakneck pace of disruption has redefined the very foundation of VUCA. Industry 4.0 is bringing with it the digital tsunami – Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality and machine learning – impacting the work environment. Large-scale disruption on an everyday basis is transforming the physical world into a digital realm.

It is my earnest belief that the function which is going to take the maximum hit is HR. Do our challenges end at technology? Not at all! Above and beyond, there will be dramatically different skill and capability requirements. Major challenges await us in areas such as multi-generational workforce dynamics, boosting inclusivity, competent leadership, soaring aspirations of millennials and Gen Z, to name a few. Workforce, as we know today, will soon be available on the Cloud in an on-demand world. The mobility of the workforce is already paving way for the gig economy. To effectively respond to these disruptive forces and succeed in this environment, the people agenda is of paramount importance. We must ensure the workforce is equipped to flourish in this state of flux. We, as HR leaders, must not just navigate through the fourth industrial revolution but profoundly influence its success.

As a budding professional, I dealt with employee life-cycle management and other employee-centric tasks. Today’s young talent following suit is unthinkable. Interacting with today’s young talent is quite insightful. There is a sea change in expectations among young talent, who are hungry for meatier roles. The new generation is willing to experiment more and take bigger risks and entrepreneurial thinking is taking root in their creative mindset. The shift away from transactional activities does not signify a diminution of HR’s role. Instead, it helps us forge new pathways through a two-pronged approach – strategically partnering with the line for value-added tasks while delivering the baseline employee services efficiently.

“Hey, Siri! If Kumar is available at 6, could you please set up a meeting?”

The day is not far off when Siri will replace your secretary, if not more. This will require the workforce to refocus and reskill itself — with new ideas, new service delivery models and new ways of working. HR business partners must serve as a one-stop shop for all talent solutions. In my opinion, the journey begins with a magnified focus on the existing HR operating models to improve agility, flexibility, and responsiveness. 

With boundaries within and between organizations dissolving, businesses are fundamentally restructuring into networks of shared connections having high-levels of collaboration and interdependence. I urge HR leaders to leverage this opportunity to dismantle internal silos. HR personnel must be deeply embedded at the lowest level of the business, working in self-managed, autonomous teams to deliver business results. 

Globally, all service-based transactions and interactions are becoming digital. Self-service oriented architecture is being enabled through platform-based systems accessible through intuitive UI/UX. Operations and governance are being performed through dashboard interfaces providing real-time monitoring and intervention. Now we are also leveraging people insights obtained through predictive analytics. This is aiding smarter, quicker and informed decision making. We are seeing interventions through such insights becoming more prevalent across industries. 

With the redefined role of HR, I see an increased importance on frontline HR teams. We will have to shed the flab as transactional activities get subsumed in the digital platform and surround ourselves with high caliber individuals who can focus on value-added activities. The biggest demand from us as HR professionals will be in “human-only” skills that cannot be automated — problem solving, creativity, judgment, empathy and imagination. The emphasis will shift from retention to engagement, increased productivity and building a lasting brand impression. Due to changes in the social order, employee relations are becoming more challenging in industries which were yet untouched.

Competency models need to be continuously refined, adding competencies to meet future expectations. With the focus on self-managed teams, we will move away from top-down management styles, thus needing leadership skills inculcated at all levels of the organization. As HR, we will need to mentor and coach a diverse workforce including cross-border virtual employees and on-demand workforce. Change management skills are vital to guide organizations through this shift of managing not just humans, but a robot workforce as well. 

Secondly, with the consumerization of HR, design thinking skills will be in demand. Proficiency with large and unstructured sets of data is necessary to derive people insights. Needless to say, understanding the inherent needs of the business is fundamental to building any technical proficiency within HR. 

Thirdly, with the boundary between “line” and “HR” gradually blurring, we will increasingly need more cross-functional teams from diverse backgrounds coming together to deliver the people agenda. This means “HR” will consist not only of trained HR professionals but also business experts, organizational psychologists, consultants and data scientists. 

This cross-fertilization of skills will lead to HR teams being more objective, in-depth and effective, thus yielding exponential results for the business. To build on more niche skills, organizations are tying up with universities and research institutions, ensuring they are imbibing the cutting edge of research on human psychology, productivity, and organization design.

An effective mechanism towards developing HR capabilities is through the inculcation of social learning which not only stimulates the formation of interest groups to promote knowledge sharing but also allows opportunities to innovate in a conducive environment. 

Finally, it is imperative for HR professionals to gain business exposure through job rotations within core business roles over the course of their careers. This is the surest way to ensure HR has a true grasp of the business challenges. I view these as necessary investments in long-term HR capability building. HR should have eminence within the organization as a master of all trades to earn the coveted seat at the table.

All this needs to be done while simultaneously promoting well-being with a focus on the flourishing of employees. I see positive psychology as a powerful means to enable employees to thrive as it creates an environment that is enjoyable and productive. I encourage leaders to take the extra step forward to meet our HR professionals’ needs and help them realize their deeper vision from life and enable them to work from a place of strength. There also needs to be an appetite for failure, viewing it more as a learning mechanism than a hindrance. Leveraging this feedback loop will evidently boost our anti-fragility.

Small steps taken to improve the psyche of the employees influence the execution of all initiatives mentioned above to the extent of turning it into an immediate success. HR must strive to create a workplace where employees wake up and say, “Thank God it’s Monday!”