Evolving workplace demands agile HR professionals

Emerging technologies and changing employee expectations are reshaping the workplace, which means HR professionals need to be more strategic.

Emerging technologies, computerisation and automation have reshaped the Australian workforce. Oxford University researchers estimate 47 per cent of US jobs could be automated within two decades. They predict the first to be replaced by robots will include middle management roles, commodity salespeople, report writers, bookkeepers and some doctors.

The Pew Research Centre in the US says automation, robotics, algorithms and artificial intelligence have shown they can do equal or sometimes better work than humans in areas of dermatology, law, sports journalism, psychological testing and border patrol.

Telstra’s former chief scientist Hugh Bradlow warns that while the impact of technology to date has been significant, it is likely to be dwarfed by emerging technologies in the near future.

He says this will require employees to undertake less routine tasks that are not readily automated and that will involve more soft skills such as complex problem-solving, teamwork and interpersonal negotiation skills.

Changing human behaviour and expectations of work life also changing how leaders approach human resources. People today expect more flexible work environments and variable employment arrangements.

A global study this year by Mercer, surveying 5400 employees and 1700 HR professionals from 37 countries and 20 industries, reported a rise in people expecting their employer to “make work” for them as individuals.

Similarly, a Pew survey last year found 87 per cent of workers believed it was essential for them to be trained to keep up with workplace changes.

It’s clear these two forces are driving organisational transformation. People will be employed exclusively in higher order roles, no longer burdened by mundane, repetitive tasks, and employed on short-term contracts. According to Emergent Research’s Intuit 2020 report, 25 to 30 per cent of US workers are contractors or “contingent” workers, and this is expected to continue to grow.

The impact on HR will be enormous as it plays a critical role in ensuring organisations are productive and successful in tomorrow’s increasingly complex, competitive and disruptive marketplace.

While jobs may be coming and going at a scary rate, and long-term career development may go the way of the mullet, employees’ ongoing personal growth, psychological development and self-management will be top of the pops. There will be an increasing focus on managing soft skills in developing your people, underpinned by proven tools that provide hard measurement.

With shifting workforces, there will be many new pressures on HR professionals. You’ll be expected to have diverse high-quality resources at your fingertips ready for deployment, the ability to deliver insights that have demonstrated impact, produce faster returns from training, demonstrate value and do so at a lower cost.

The need for the HR function to be reinvented is supported by the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, which says business leaders need to manage skills disruption as an urgent concern. To do this, HR capabilities need to be more strategic, employ new kinds of analytical tools to spot talent trends and skills gaps, and provide insights to help organisations align their business, innovation and talent management strategies.

John Belchamber is chief development officer at the OrgDev Institute.