Is HR Ready for the Digital Age?
HR has demonstrated its ability to quickly and effectively adapt in the face of rapid disruption. During the Covid-19 pandemic, as the need for remote working and digital infrastructure accelerated, HR’s response to the pandemic exceeded business expectations. In fact, the importance of the CHRO during the Covid-19 crisis of 2020-2021 has been likened to that of the CFO during the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.
In one report published this year, 87% of C-suite executives report that the pandemic has accelerated HR transformation and significantly increased the function’s influence on the rest of the business. Concerningly though, almost two-thirds of C-suite executives surveyed in the same report believe that their HR function will lose its influence after the pandemic.
Bearing in mind that remote ways of working are only one part of a much larger effort by organisations to make it through the process of digital transformation: What will it take for HR to maintain its influence and continue to effectively and efficiently adapt in the digital age?
A New Behavioural Profile of the HR Professional
To answer the above question, Insight222 Research has collaborated with pymetrics to understand the HR professional’s potential. To understand potential, the research examines behavioural assessments of 266 top performing HR managers. The result is a powerful and unique behavioural profile of today’s HR professional, made up of nine behavioural traits. Organisations can use this evidence, as well as the report’s guidance, to advance the success of HR in the digital age.
A new behavioural profile of HR professionals will help organisations and individuals alike understand their propensity for success in the digital age. Our key findings are:
HR professionals do have the potential to support an organisation to continuously adapt through the digital age.
There is significant overlap between the typical behavioural profile of HR professionals today and that of the ideal behavioural profile for individuals capable of succeeding in a digital, data-driven environment. This is proof that building talent from within the organisation, by investing in upskilling existing HR professionals, is a worthwhile alternative to hiring new HR talent to fill skill gaps.
Behavioural data helps create the right learning experiences for HR professionals.
Many HR professionals rely on intuition and prior experience rather than analytical skills. However, the digital environment requires data-driven insights and deliberative, structured decision-making. Features of the HR professional behavioural profile show that organisations can, with targeted learning and development, confidently prepare HR for success in a digital, data-driven environment.
Behavioural assessments play an important part in transforming organisational culture to prepare talent for a digital, data-driven future.
Results from behavioural assessments help organisations to better understand the potential match between existing talent and future roles with strategic importance. But developing talent does not happen in a vacuum; culture must support HR’s transformation into a digital, data-driven function. Insights from behavioural assessments are invaluable to shifting organisational culture as part of this transformation.
Gut instinct versus critical consideration
One of the nine behavioural traits assessed in the research is decision-making style. The HR professional behavioural profile shows a tendency towards being instinctive in decision-making. This indicates that HR professionals tend to make decisions based on intuition and previous experience, as opposed to a more deliberative, reflective and analytical approach to problem solving.
A research-based model of Digital Potential, developed by pymetrics’ Organisational Psychology team, indicates that in order to thrive in a digital, data-driven environment and adapt to continuous change and evolution, deliberative decision-making is critical.
This does not mean that every HR professional must become a data scientist. However, every HR professional will need to be digitally literate and analytically capable. It is crucial for HR professionals to collect data and insights to inform decisions and ensure a fresh perspective is being applied to a challenge in new and innovative ways.
The process of collecting data and insights to inform decision-making is an essential part of HR professionals’ roles moving forwards. Without this process in place, HR runs the risk of carrying out work that does not deliver value for the organisation and cannot position itself as a strategic partner.
How to develop HR for a digital, data-driven future
We present a three-stage approach for preparing HR using the insights in the report:
Understand HR professionals today. Organisations must develop a better understanding of HR professionals to determine their potential for success in the digital age and prepare them for redeployment. This understanding should incorporate both capabilities and behavioural traits.
Develop HR professionals for the future. Alongside upskilling for digital literacy and analytical capability, organisations should tailor their approaches to development based on an individual’s openness to change and digital potential.
Consider the context. Developing HR professionals for a digital, data-driven future does not happen in a vacuum. Does the culture within HR – and the broader organisation - support a new way of working? Or does it restrict the function, forcing it to operate within the boundaries of “how it’s always been done”? Organisations would be wise to use a behavioural understanding to tackle culture change.
Final thoughts
This research provides HR and business leaders with clear evidence that investing in the growth of their HR teams with new digital, data-driven skills is all-important. Furthermore, the research overall demonstrates confidence in HR’s ability to support the entire business through digital transformation.
The report equips leaders with guidance around understanding, preparing and developing HR talent to support the organisation’s continuous adaptation and evolution in the digital age, through targeted upskilling and a dedication to a data-driven culture in HR.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ian Bailie is the Managing Director of myHRfuture.com and an advisor and consultant for start-ups focused on HR technology and People Analytics, including Adepto, Worklytics and CognitionX. In his previous role as the Senior Director of People Planning, Analytics and Tools at Cisco Systems, he was responsible for delivering the tools and insights to enable and transform the planning, attraction and management of talent across the organisation globally. Ian is passionate about HR technology and analytics and how to use both to transform the employee experience and prepare companies for the Future of Work.
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