If we take a time machine back to the Industrial Revolution, HR was very much focused on administrative tasks and maintaining employee records. As the role evolved over time - take, for instance, the 90s - HR became more involved in business strategy and decision-making. They started focusing more on employee development, engagement, and retention, becoming a more integral part of company growth and success.

However, the journey to this point was slow and steady until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything. Suddenly, HR professionals were faced with the imminent role of navigating through a "perfect storm," trying to meet the needs and wants of employees and the business while dealing with unprecedented challenges.

Despite people analytics always having a role in HR, during the pandemic, we saw its importance amplified even more, helping HR and people management professionals across the organisation navigate the 'the great resignation', the paradox of hybrid productivity, and the changing expectations of employees.

Now, as we look to the future, we must ask ourselves - What will the role of HR be in 2030? How can we prepare for it? And most importantly, how can generative AI help us get there?

The Role of Generative AI and Technology

In recent years, advancements in technology have transformed many industries. Take, for instance, Morgan Stanley's article on 'How Generative AI can Reshape Work,' highlighting the increasing augmentation and automation of job roles and tasks in the workplace. According to Seth Carpenter, Global Chief Economist for Morgan Stanley, "Within three years, this might rise to 44% of occupations affected and $4.1 trillion of associated labour costs."

Focusing on HR, with generative AI and technology, many of the tedious and time-consuming duties of HR will be handled by automated processes. These include application tracking and review, employee onboarding, learning and development monitoring, and employee engagement.

Even people analytics, which has traditionally been a time-consuming and manual task, can now be streamlined with the help of AI. With faster and more accurate data analysis, people analytics professionals can spend less time crunching numbers and more time extracting valuable insights to inform HR decision-making, productise data, and democratise insights to other HR leaders in the organisation. 

This digital transformation's impact will free up HR professionals' and your people analytics team's time, allowing them to shift their energy and focus on other critical aspects of people capital management - such as strategic planning, employee development, and building a solid company culture.

But if we think about the wider workforce and the impact of technology on job roles, in support of the Morgan Stanley report, as automation and the augmentation of human capabilities continue to increase, McKinsey & Co. predicts that "An additional 12 million occupational transitions may be needed by 2030."

This gives rise to the importance of HR focusing on building a skills-based organisation to help the internal mobility of employees at higher risk of automation and anticipate future skill requirements.

Equally so, in the same article, McKinsey stresses the need for more holistic approaches to talent management - considering recruitment and the ongoing growth and upskilling of their workforce to drive sustainable success in today's dynamic business landscape.

However, this is not an article that will predict future HR trends. Instead, it will highlight the criticality of HR adopting futurism and foresight to determine what might happen and for what reasons to develop business strategies to counter the likelihood of such events occurring.

What is the Definition of Futurism and Foresight?

Since humans have always attempted to predict the future, futurism is an archaic way of referring to the study of human behaviour by observing current trends to forecast possible future developments.

In an episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast exploring the future of HR in 2030, futurist and author Gabriele Rizzo, explains that:

"Foresight is at the intersection between future studies and strategy."

He continues, stating that, 

"Foresight does not use the future as an objective to reach, but rather as a construct that is expandable with the only aim of opening up an increased understanding for better decision-making in the present. Foresight is the ability to eliminate the volume in the future cone of possibilities, trends, and themes to be in the future, to prevent the loss of initiative and provide strategic advice."

In simpler terms, futurism and foresight are about anticipating what might happen in the future and using this knowledge to make more informed decisions in the present.

The Importance of HR Leaders in Preparing for the Future

As the "governors" of one of the organisation's most vital resources - its employees - HR professionals work tirelessly to maintain engaged and productive teams. To say the least, they are instrumental in helping organisations navigate through changes and disruptions. Based on their experience and the help of people analytics, their insights help businesses overcome future challenges and remain competitive in a tight labour market.

HR leaders are the champions of change driven by data-supported conclusions. They will be the communicators who create trust and excitement for the improvements that the company is working to implement largely because they act as mediators between business leaders and employees. They have the ability to persuade for positive change and then motivate stakeholders to take action.

HR professionals are more critical than ever for companies to see flexibility in the workplace, an acceleration of digital transformation, and an enhanced relationship with all stakeholders. And as technology continues to advance and disrupt industries, their role will become even more vital in shaping the future of work. 

Applying Futurism and Foresight in HR

But... they can not do this without implementing futurism and foresight into their practices. As Gabriele Rizzo explains, 

"Futurism is an archaic and somewhat incorrect way to talk about foresight," 

which should be considered a strategic tool for HR leaders. 

As Rizzo puts it, one effective way to apply futurism and foresight in HR is through HR hacktivism - "a constant source of HR adaptation and doing structured or unstructured exploration of possibilities." It is about challenging the status quo, taking a different approach, and constantly looking for potential disruptions. 

He continues, 

"We have to remind that it is fundamental to be ready for constant disruption. You have to be agile. You have to be creative. You have to be prepared for the unexpected."

In essence, implementing futurism and foresight is about preparing for the unimagined and the unthinkable. It is about thinking outside the box and anticipating changes that may not yet be on the radar. 

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A Data-Driven Approach to Futurism and Foresight

While in the past, futurism was primarily based on intuition, today, we have access to advanced analytics modelling and generative AI that can help us make more data-driven decisions about the future of work. And as HR professionals continue to upskill and master data collection and analytics modelling, their contribution will be more focused on the impact they make and business outcomes. 

In fact, according to recent Insight222 People Analytics Trends 2023 research, there has been a 43% growth in the size of people analytics teams between 2020 and 2023, highlighting the increasing importance of data in HR.

However, to truly predict the future of work, HR and people analytics leaders must consider both external factors, such as technological advancements and changing talent markets, and internal factors unique to their organisation. 

As Isabelle Chappuis explains, 

"Know your employees. And the name, know your employee, which the acronym is KYE, that comes from the famous KYC acronym, know your customer, which comes from the finance world. So in the finance world KYC strategies have been developed to avoid fraud attacks, corruption, money laundering, and to enter business sustainability and success. Here it is the same. It is not, know your customer, it is, know your employee."

And how do you better understand your employees? By using people analytics and HR analytics modelling.

As people analytics leaders and professionals, it is your responsibility to democratise this data and provide insights to HR leadership teams. Only then can HR leaders gain foresight into how they should be adapting their focus to prepare for the future of work.

With advancements in generative AI and HR and people analytics technology changing the HR analytics landscape, we now have the tools at our disposal to analyse vast amounts of data quickly, enabling us to make predictions and take action proactively.

Use these tools to your advantage. From data cleaning and processing to synthetic data generation and summarisation, there are countless ways to use generative AI and analytics modelling to gain insights into the future of work. 

Encourage your HR colleagues to upskill in this area and continue looking for opportunities to apply futurism and foresight into their practices. By doing so, HR professionals can play a critical role in shaping the future of work and helping organisations prepare for whatever may come next. 

HR 2030: Foresight for Future-Ready Decisions

Knowledge is power, and the best advice for HR leaders and decision-makers today is to start implementing a foresight practice to build on their future of work decisions.

With informed options and a broader overview of the possible disruptions in the coming years, organisations can be ready for whatever the future holds. Let's use generative AI and analytics modelling to our advantage to shape a better tomorrow for HR and the future of work.

So, the future of HR in 2030 will likely be one that harnesses the power of data and technology to make informed decisions and prepare for whatever changes may come. By implementing futurism and foresight practices now, HR leaders can proactively shape a better tomorrow for their organisations.

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