The traditional way of working in HR is set to get redefined as business models are being defined too. So innovation and creativity become very important for business and for HR. Going into the new age world, we can see digital everywhere. Agility is one of the key areas that HR needs to focus on. In terms of how much focus companies are giving to social mobile, cloud and analytics, I strongly feel agility is the need of the hour, it is not an option anymore. Everyone is transitioning to a digital platform. So, now there’s a need to integrate commercial acumen of HR with creativity in HR. I think we are in stage one of revolution where we are exploring data analytics. However, a few years down the line, technology is further going to mature and we will be able to make complete use of it. 

Currently, a lot of organizations are taking their business and transitioning to a digital or social platform, working through the Cloud and providing analytical solutions. So SMAC is no more a ‘nice-to-have’ thing anymore. The workforce today is very comfortable working through these technologies and thus they have become an imperative necessity for organizations. So, today we are witnessing an influx of start-ups that are working to provide niche SMAC services.

In terms of the quality of service providers, I think they develop very user-friendly interfaces. However, we need to establish a linkage between outsourcing and in-house management. For instance, many organizations will outsource processes like leave and attendance, payroll, psychometric tests, recruitment etc. However, most companies will not outsource HR analytics because that is core to the business. But as organizations, we do need service providers to cater to our needs to link their services to the built-in analytics of the company. Consultants can be hired to oversee the product in parts, along with an in-house expert who knows the pulse of the organization who will do a better job of managing. So service providers need to be able to link the results of, say, psychometric tests carried out by them with HR analytics built in-house.