With the pace of change set to accelerate, HR leaders need to stay sharp or risk getting left behind.
The future holds nothing but possibilities.
This mantra is especially true for Human Resources – an industry which is set to evolve rapidly. In an age where change is propelled by the speed of scientific and technological advances, HR leaders need to stay sharp or risk getting left behind.
Here, we will aim to explore the growth opportunities for HR professionals, and envision their future role in an organisation.
Prediction 1: Technology Takes Over
The pace of technology adoption is set to accelerate in the coming future. New technologies and increased employee participation in HR processes will result in smaller HR departments with a more strategically focused role.
For example, almost all administrative and transactional aspects of HR will either be performed by Service as a Solution (SaaS) platforms, or become outsourced. This means that today’s entry-level HR jobs will no longer be required in the future.
Prediction 2: The Strategy Master
As the department gets leaner, HR generalists also will disappear and pave the way for the rise of HR business partners. In this role, HR professionals will be tasked to keep their organisation running like a well-oiled machine.
The HR business partner will require much in-house expertise to manage the integration of benefits, compensation, recruitment systems, and most critically, combine multiple cultures within the company.
Prediction 3: Stats, Metrics and Analysis
HR business partners will need to live and breathe big data analytics if they strive to become a trusted voice in their organisations. Although HR departments already use some metrics – such as turnover ratios and employee engagement levels – we expect to see new metrics tracked and used in the industry.
For example, analytics tools could be configured to track the average timeframe for staff to be ready for promotions, the exact number of talents needed to achieve yearly productivity goals, or even where to find micro-segments of job-seekers.
These statistics can use used to chart an employee’s whole career path from the start, plan recruitment campaigns in advance, and even form a database of specific individuals for future job openings. The possibilities and metrics are endless.
To conclude, HR departments face the risk of being totally outsourced or taken over by technology. To reach the next stage of evolution, future HR departments will need to put more focus on achieving long term business goals by harnessing the right combination of technology, data analytics and business strategy.
