“People from the HR field are only just now realising how important people analytics and analytics in HR is. And one thing about the field is, I make the joke often, that a lot of times individuals in HR ended up there specifically because it was one of the few careers that required no data skills whatsoever. Then, all of a sudden, the world changed around them.”

Heather Whiteman, People Analytics Lecturer at UC Berkeley, on the Digital HR Leaders Podcast

It is no secret that HR professionals need to upskill. Talent executives are rising to the challenge, according to research from IBM, planning to double their efforts in the next two years to skill their HR teams in new capabilities. The majority of HR professionals, however, seem to lack the same sense of urgency. Less than half (43%) believe their core skillset will erode in the next three years, according to research from Degreed. Despite the fact that the global workforce is grappling with the accelerating pace of skills evolution: 30% of the skills needed across IT, Finance and Sales roles just three years ago will soon be irrelevant. It’s high time that HR professionals invest in their professional development and face up to the urgent need to upskill. 

What can you, as an HR professional, do to understand what your professional development looks like over the next three years, as existing skillsets continue to erode, and new skillsets emerge? How can you shift from a place of uncertainty, to empowerment, action and progress?

In this blog, we’re going to look at four stages that you can work through to help future proof your career in HR:

1. Explore. There are endless resources at your disposal to keep your finger on the pulse of goings on in the field of HR.

2. Identify Roles and Skills. Understand emerging roles and skills in HR.

3. Understand gaps in skills and experience. Be honest with yourself about what skills and experience you need to build to get from A to B.

4. Find opportunities. Upskilling remains at the heart of finding new opportunities. 

After we’ve looked at these four stages in more detail, we’re going to look at why this process is more relevant than ever, as careers, jobs, skills and learning are coming together and breaking down traditional silos in HR.

Explore

Traditionally, the expectation from employees might have been that it is the employer’s role to keep them informed as needed.  One study showed that 73% of workers depend on their employer for support in understanding the future of work and yet over half are concerned about their employers’ ability to do so. It’s time to take matters into your own hands!

In order to understand the wealth of opportunities across the HR, it’s important to gain and maintain visibility into the evolution of the field. This can be done by taking an active interest in resources like HR podcasts, blogs, webinars and events. There is so much information at our fingertips, there’s really no excuse not to explore! Exploring the latest insights, research and opinion in the field can also be a helpful way to keep motivation levels high, by taking a step back from the grind of the day-to-day.

Here’s a few of our favourite resources to inspire you to explore:

• If you’re here reading the myHRfuture blog, then you’re already exploring! There are heaps of great blogs and newsletters out there to keep you up to date (subscribe to ours here if you haven’t already).

• Follow top HR influencers on LinkedIn like David Green who share their own thoughts as well as others’.

• HR Conferences are a great way to hear from practitioners and thought leaders. Now that the majority have gone virtual, you can attend events from around the world (and in your pyjamas if you feel like it). Lots of content has also been recorded and is still available to watch on demand.

• The Digital HR Leaders Podcast with David Green. We might be biased, but there’s no doubt that hearing from the leading thinkers and practitioners in the field is a great way to stay abreast of the latest developments. Here’s a list of 11 top podcasts in HR for more.

• Curl up with a good book and dive into the detail.

Identify Roles and Skills

A common concern – and misconception – about the future of work, is that we’re heading into a world where everyone has to be a technical expert – you’ll either be replaced by A.I., control it, or be obsolete. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

As the HR function continue to evolve, there will be both technical and non-technical roles for HR professionals to grow into. In a thought-provoking report, ‘21 HR Jobs of the Future’, 21 jobs for HR professionals that will emerge over the next ten years are organised on a low-tech to high-tech scale, showcasing the broad spectrum of opportunities.

Similarly, in our own research, we identified the top six HR skills of the future that HR professionals need to gain knowledge and it’s a mixture of technical and non-technical skills: people analytics, strategic workforce planning, digital HR and HR technology, stakeholder management, design thinking and consulting & influencing. This shows that it is a discreet and specific combination of skills that will enable HR to add most value in the future.

LinkedIn is a great place to look up HR professionals and find role titles and descriptions that sound interesting and forward-thinking. One Forbes article showcases three new HR roles from IBM, Kraft Heinz and SunTrust as primary examples. The resources listed above are also a great place to find new job titles that might just intrigue you – did you know there was such a thing as a SVP for HR Innovations? Time to unlock your inner Sherlock Holmes and shortlist HR roles that you can see yourself excelling in.

Understand Gaps

Now we get into the nitty gritty. It’s time to take stock of your existing skillset and experience and compare it to that of the roles and skills you’ve identified and resonated with in the HR field. Think both in terms of skills and proficiency level. It could help to start with an existing skills taxonomy or skills diagnostic available within your organisation.

Get specific – break down skills into smaller chunks. This is a great visual from Degreed that showcases how you can achieve a lower level of granularity that will help you greatly when it comes to the next stage.

As an HR professional, evolving with the field requires dedication to continuous upskilling. There’s no two ways about it. Unfortunately, in-house training might be falling short of the mark. 48% of survey respondents in our ‘HR Skills of the Future’ research state that they spend no time at all using formal online training provided by their company. The good news is, learning opportunities that encompass a myriad of resources that we discussed earlier are available for the keen HR practitioner.

Alongside continuous upskilling focus on finding opportunities to apply your skills and further embed learning. In this way, you can take a holistic approach to professional development that encompasses upskilling and practical experience. Think broadly, and find opportunities for yourself to grow and develop, either within your organisation or beyond it. For example:

• Stretch assignments

• Shadowing

• Mentoring

• Experience on new projects

Breaking down the barriers between learning and careers

MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte recently published a report called ‘Opportunity Marketplaces’ – ultimately their take on the HR hot topic talent marketplaces (read more about IBM's talent marketplace). The description of ‘Opportunity Marketplaces’ doesn’t even explicitly state learning and upskilling, it’s all wrapped up in a broader understanding of professional development:   

“Opportunity Marketplaces are systems, digital platforms, and virtual places where organisations provide — and workers find — the opportunities most relevant to their mutual benefit and success. In an effective marketplace, the enterprise offers its workers defined options for professional development, mentorship, project participation, and networking, among others.”

This is how you have to start seeing your own professional life: a merging of opportunities and experiences. This is ultimately the direction HR is heading in.

The HR technology landscape is certainly making moves to help break down the barriers between learning, skills, jobs and career development, as Degreed’s acquisition of talent marketplace company Adepto last year shows. Internally within an organisation, breaking down barriers between learning and careers helps to remove some of the silos that have been in HR – and even holding HR back for a long time. Breaking down these barriers and the rise of talent marketplace is one of David Green’s top predictions for HR in 2021.

If your organisation isn’t ready to launch talent marketplace just yet, use the process above to start thinking about HR learning and career opportunities in a new, integrated way and prepare for the future of your work in HR.   

Are you building the HR skills you need for 2021?

If the answer to that question is ‘no’ – then you’re not alone.

One of the biggest challenges HR professionals face is knowing what skills build to stay relevant today and tomorrow and how to build them.

Are you ready to get certified in the HR skills of the future?

The myHRfuture academy empowers HR professionals, like you, to become more digital and data-driven and get certified in the skills you need for the future, to stay relevant, get hired and get ahead all for only £25 per month. Sign up today and gain access to over 600+ pieces of expertly curated content, 30+ online HR Certifications and 200+ hours of learning.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Caroline Styr is the Research Director at Insight222. She is a thought-leader, researcher and writer on people analytics and the future of HR. Prior to joining Insight222, she worked at the Center for the Future of Work where she was an advisor and in-demand speaker on topics related to the future of work. She has also held roles in digital services and transformation consulting at Cognizant. Contact Caroline at caroline.styr@insight222.com