William Arruda* says the ‘resources’ part of HR is gaining prominence, with HR departments increasingly becoming powerful proponents for team members.
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For years, employees have had mixed feelings about their human resources department.
At some organisations, management doesn’t let HR serve as much more than an office cop or a security checkpoint, utilised only upon entry, exit, or misbehaviour.
But the “resources” part of the job is gaining prominence, with HR directors increasingly becoming a powerful proponent for team members who want to advance their careers, boost their skill sets, and add value and purpose to their own lives, not just to the organisation.
In a recent Society for Human Resource Management survey, respondents placed a strong emphasis on trust between the C-suite and employees, yet only one-third of survey participants say their current workplace offers this kind of give-and-take relationship.
A revitalised HR mission will close the gap.
What a revitalised HR means for your work life
Trying to envision the new, improved HR department?
You don’t have to look into a crystal ball.
The transformation of HR is happening today in many organisations, offering a path to success for others to follow.
Here are four of the top trends:
- HR administrators will be seen as advocates, not adversaries.
Workers will have a HR ally to provide feedback and achieve personal and professional milestones.
At the most successful organisations today, an employee doesn’t have to worry about repercussions if they raise a concern with HR because they know their observations won’t be held against them.
Instead, 360-degree feedback can become a springboard to improve the organisation from the inside out.
Advocacy can take many forms, including regular check-ins, open dialogues, and even corporate culture planning and execution.
It’s a far cry from decades ago, when people were thought of as merely cogs in a machine (and the HR department was called the personnel office) instead of being valued as vital contributors with unique traits.
This new paradigm treats employees like customers to be served.
In 2016, Airbnb hired Mark Levy, the company’s first global head of employee experience.
Levy introduced initiatives to prevent employee burnout, like no-meeting Wednesdays and Life Dojo wellbeing programs.
The following year, Airbnb topped Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list.
- HR teams will use tech to be more available to you.
Rather than isolating itself, HR is using technology to partner with other departments within the organisation to reach innovator status.
Emerging technologies like cloud applications, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality have altered the way HR supports organisations.
“With the growing shift to cloud technology comes the growing need for smart device apps to support the cloud’s capabilities,” according to APS (Automatic Payroll Systems), a human capital management firm.
“We already use our phones for nearly everything, and now HR managers are finding new ways to increase the effectiveness of their work using mobile apps.”
Though it hasn’t always been the first department to adopt tech-first strategies, the best HR teams are embracing mobile applications as functional tools to bring HR managers closer to employees.
They will make themselves available to you on your phone, where you’re already chatting with other colleagues, doing your mobile banking, and checking your calendar.
This mobile accessibility enables quick access to payroll and performance information, communication portals, and task management tools.
- HR counsellors will coach you to career success.
What if employees had a cheerleader of their own, a mentor who put forth the effort to promote “finding yourself” in a corporate environment?
That’s what HR could and will be.
The department’s already in a great place to become an avenue for ongoing skill development and position innovation.
In addition, as an Accenture report reveals, it’s becoming easier than ever for organisations to offer customised talent performance and enhancement tools.
From cloud-based training modules to precise feedback and learning opportunities, HR no longer operates in a silo.
- HR departments will use data to innovate, not aggravate.
Like other departments, HR has always been a repository for corporate data.
Advanced software finally allows an integrated command of information to ease processes for workers, as well as boost productivity and profitability.
Departmental collaboration like this puts HR in a position to help employees meet the organisation’s business objectives, and that makes the department undeniably more relevant to the workforce.
HR is poised to serve employees at all levels, throughout their career.
Top players have no desire to stick around in lacklustre organisations.
Retention will come from HR staff that are bursting with vitality, positivity, and wisdom.
* William Arruda is the cofounder of CareerBlast and a personal branding expert. He tweets at @williamarruda.
This article first appeared at www.forbes.com.
