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The Role of HR Leaders in the 2020s

Gone are the days when the role of HR was restricted to just hiring and firing (literally).  With workplace agility, technology seeping in through all the corners, it would be high-time for HR professionals to catch up, smart-up or be left behind.

In short… HR leaders in the current workspace need to be more agile and proactive if they wish to ensure their personal success as well as the organization. Technology evolution and digitization in the workplace have also ensured a dynamic shift in the basic roles, responsibilities, and functions of HR professionals.

It has also forced HR out in the open sharing a seat with other leaders in an organization. HR leaders held a chief seat at the senior leadership table and the role of an HR executive has become equally important in planning and steering strategic growth as of tech and business leaders.

HR and leadership

According to a recent KPMG survey, about 1200 HR professionals globally revealed a clear divide between action and inertia. The survey report stated HR leaders who were future-oriented we’re harnessing all the resources and insights confidently to redefine the traditional HR model and its contribution to an organization.

The report also shared some interesting data that could throw some light on what could be done to make HR future-ready and tech-savvy. In the recent KPMG report, it was revealed about two-third of HR executives admit that HR has undergone digital transformation. At the same time, the survey also revealed that about 40% of HR leaders have a definite digitization work plan.

While the numbers revealed interesting patterns wherein HR executives admit digital transformation was mandatory, however, not many (about 37%) HR leaders were confident about their ability to transform and take the HR functions forward with AI and digitization.

The report stated the non-alignment between HR and C-suite is one of the major challenges that an HR leader faces in the current workplace. Emphasizing the role of CHROs, the report implied HR leaders should play a more active role in assisting businesses. It also stressed HR executives should pave way for strategic growth decisions related to recruitment, talent & performance management, compensation, training, and employee experience.

Here’s what it implies for an HR leader

  • As an HR leader, you would have to understand 2020 would be a landmark year for HR professionals. The focus should be on technologies such as Blockchain, AI, cloud, and hyper-automation that have already made their mark in other fields and are now ready to enter HR space as well.
  • In addition, an HR leader has to remember that 2020 would be the year of interesting twists and turns. These twists and turns would affect ‘people’ the most, making the role of an HR leader all the more critical in the coming decade.
  • As automation takes up the most mundane functions of HR, the HR executives would be able to concentrate more on employees and aspects like talent acquisition, employee engagement, retention and succession planning.
  • The year 2020 would also be interesting for HR leaders in numerous ways and one of them being 2020 would be the year of most diverse workforce ever, as per the 2020 Workplace Theory.
  • Modern HR leader needs to be adept in machine learning, deep learning, and data science-related tools and techniques because this would be the future of the workplace in 2020 and beyond.
  • Moving away from the traditional goals to the purpose. As an HR executive, the question to be asked should be – why do you want to achieve this goal? What would be the purpose? These would keep the employees engaged and motivated.
  • Employee Engagement would be passé and holistic experience would gain precedence in 2020 and beyond. Employees need personalized employee experiences that have been curated keeping a particular employee in mind.
  • An HR leader would have to find different modes and ways to engage employees because the millennials would not be satisfied with just monetary perks. They need technology to drive them. If the report by Adobe Future of Work Survey is to believe, then an HR leader should remember that employees are increasingly technology over perks.
  • Interestingly, about 81% of employees feel they would be happy at work if they have access to cutting edge technology. 
  • This would also be the time when HR certifications would gain more importance and certified HR professionals would be preferred as compared to the non-certified ones.

It is quite clear from the reports and surveys that 2020 would be the year when HR needs to strengthen its technology backbone, as that would be the future of the workplace. And incidentally, even CHROs and the entire C-suite would also sit up and take notice, because they would also be forced to consider it if they wish to retain millennials in their diverse workforce.