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Getting HR future-ready
Low Peck Kem, CHRO & Senior Development Singapore, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office kicked the event off with the opening keynote. She shared the changing HR trends across industries and on the importance of HR being future-ready. She noted, “Technology in HR is here to stay and we, as key enablers, need to embrace technology. HR trends are completely changing the way we work.” Kem noted the recent shift in typical workforce lifecycles. The traditional model used to be:
• 20 years in education with front-loading of information;
• 40 years of work and contribution; and
• 20 years of retirement.
She noted that in today’s world, however, the new model would most likely add 20 more years of working contributions—which significantly impacts and delays the usual age of retirement. Kem said, “People are working much longer than before, and HR needs to adapt to this accordingly.”
Kem referenced the situation in Singapore as being very typical, where one in three in the workforce are foreign talent, and there are four generations working side by side in what is a very multicultural workforce. She said, “We need to create an inclusive workforce and workspace that can meet their diverse needs and demands.” She added, “We need to design people policies around different people’s stages in life. For example, HR can help young parents design working arrangements so that they can telecommute. It is also important for HR to design sabbatical leave so that parents who take time off to look after children, or indeed their own mental wellbeing, still have the security of a job when they return. These challenges require a new breed of HR leaders with productive longevity.”
Technology as an enabler
How should HR best ensure that the 20 years of extra work that workers will be doing are productive ones? HR can help talent achieve greater productive longevity via up-skilling, building new networks and better managing transitions during change. Kem noted, “We need to leverage technology as an enabler to support business needs and our workforce to enable them to work better and faster. We must use effective workforce planning to identify workforce gaps and place greater focus on a culture of employee engagement.”
As the age of retirement is on the increase globally, so too, the composition of the workforce is going to change to reflect this. Kem quipped, “60s are the new 40s! We need to tap into this new talent pool and leverage them. HR’s role must change with it.”
Shift in HR dynamics
This shift has already well and truly begun, and the role of HR is changing along with the workforce.
TRADITIONAL HR ROLES
• Trusted advisor
• Delivery champion
• Engagement architect
• Culture evangelist
NEW HR ROLES
• Experience designer—a critical role today, e.g. Chief Experience Officer
• Data scientist
• Organisation engineer
• Ecosystem curator
• Digital pioneer
Successful HR professionals have had to become much more innovative and pioneering than their predecessors to not just keep pace with but to lead the way in what have become some of the fastest-changing workplaces ever witnessed. A large part of this journey has meant leveraging technology. With Smart Cities on the rise, an increasing number of forward-thinking organisations are also creating better workplace experiences with technology. For example, HR is starting to adopt VR technology to help onboard and train staff as well as facilitating better experiences to clients.
In terms of AI, adoption is on the increase across the board. Kem shared a couple of examples, “DBS Banks’ Jobs Intelligence Maestro is helping with recruitment using predictive indexes to help determine how effective candidates will be at performing future roles. Singtel’s crowd analytics helps monitor the footfall is in their shops to make real-time adjustments to the human resources required. Moreover, the use of phone apps for queuing not only makes life easier for clients but also empowers staff to come directly to the client and serve them based on their precise location in the store and knowing about their interests—from what they had been browsing in-store while waiting.”
Avoid digital lipstick
Kem noted that to be successful in HR requires being creative in terms of sourcing and selecting talent, and then in managing and planning your workforce. She said, “HR does not need to reinvent the wheel, but to do it well you need to know what technology is available in the market to help you such as AI recruiting tools, chatbots to help screen for key skills and so on. It’s important to be proactive in hiring, but it does not need to be expensive.”
Kem concluded, “It’s vital to take account of the HR tech lifecycle when considering transitioning from traditional HR practices. Be very careful when you say, ‘We’re going digital’— don’t just go digital for the sake of it. Avoid using ‘digital lipstick’ to make things look good on the surface, as effective transitions mean going digital right to the core.”
Embracing digitalisation
In one of the numerous interactive breakout roundtables of the day, Steven Yong, CAO, HSBC Bank explained the bank’s increasing use of technology and how this was empowering HR with technological tools, innovations and analytics. According to Yong, “Digitalisation is vital because as HR architects, we need to know where we want to be and how we want to achieve our goals. Therefore, choosing the most appropriate technological tools is crucial. HR also needs to select people with the right capabilities and capacities, as well as an experience beyond simple people skills.” During the discussion, several challenges became apparent that exist for HR trying to guide their organisation along the path of digitalisation. One challenge was in terms of peoples’ willingness to learn new things—when transferring skillsets; this can often require repeated coaching over time to help change people’s mindset. The whole process of change often also adds tension to workforce planning. A further challenge came with transitioning very multi-generational teams, which may require different approaches in terms of empowering them to embrace digitalisation.
So, amidst these challenges, how can HR best help drive the adoption of HR tech? One method is to reduce the number of filters for staff to choose from in software applications. Too many choices can be overwhelming and simply serve to create analysis paralysis. Instead, it is much better to focus on the five most important filters in software systems. HR should select intuitive software packages—good software should not require any training for people to know how to use it. Additionally, HR can make use of key influencers in the organisation to help spread positive feedback about new IT systems and software, who can form one of the best ways to drive adoption.
Tech does not have to be HR tech
It is said that the HR lifecycle is like a client acquisition model, so there are many tools out there to help solve problems. They do not necessarily need to be HR-focused. Blockchain technology and decentralisation are essential software functions, as they empower line managers to update job descriptions more fluidly and employees can self-update these skill sets as and when required. If a manager needs to look for talent, they can go into a SharePoint where the whole company is unified on a platform and look for suitable people. Everyone should be able to access staff listings—this does not need to, and should not be, limited to HR.
Delegates were given an overview of ‘data-driven organisation and the importance of conducting scenario planning to effect meaningful change. Workforce planning is not possible without systems focused on purpose and outcome, and so HR was advised to look for tech tools that facilitate such workforce scenario planning.
Agility has long been a buzzword in HR. Being more agile, and it is critical to determine if information that HR puts out really does help the business. If it does not support the business, other than with regulatory compliance, HR is advised to ensure they know precisely why they are collecting and analysing data. On the subject of HR agility, Charu Malik Dass, VP–Talent Acquisition, Global HR, Bank of America spoke to delegates about a few of the challenges that the Bank has faced and overcome. Dass noted, “Currently, people are having much longer career spans, with high burnout rates. It’s, therefore important for HR to be open-minded and not build any negative stereotypes about Millennials. HR should also work with line managers to help reduce the pressure they are under. The day of a one-size-fits-all approach is long gone, and flexibility is key.” The day ended with a roundup of sharing from the panel, which was chaired by Angelina Chua, First VP, Group Head of HR, Yeo Hiap Seng Limited and included Steven Yong, CAO, HR Asia Pacific, HSBC; Noemi Szalacsi, head of Talent Operations APAC, LEGO; Tina Sharma, Senior VP & head HR, state Bank of India, Singapore; and Suresh Rai, VP HR, SE Asia & Australia, Unilever.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR HR SUCCESS
• Be open-minded
• Get into the shoes of the business
• Be human—remember everyone has emotions
• Consider the ROI
• Look at the environment and listen to people
• Find out your USPs and leverage them to attract talent
• Consider outsourcing—especially within a small company
• Start with a pilot scheme before fully implementing any significant change
• Remember that it is OK to fail sometimes—learn from it
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
