Before HR embraces disruptive technologies and capitalizes on big data and analytics, it needs new employees who understand how best to utilize them.

1. VISHAL NAGDA
General Manager - Corporate HR - Lodha
Group & Founder - HR Professionals
LinkedIn Group,Mumbai
BUSINESS MANAGER JANUARY 201836
COVER FEATURE
T
echnology is taking
businesses across the
world by surprise -
making some of them
obsolete and creating
new businesses elsewhere. The
power of cloud computing
combined with the connectivity
of new age internet devices is
changing the way we work
altogether. While the workforce is
becoming more mobile, work
schedules are becoming more
flexible and teams are becoming
more virtual.
As I reflect upon the various
discussions I had with members
of the HR Professionals LinkedIn
group in 2017, I see a few eminent
trends emerging for HR in 2018
and the years to come.
Adapting New Technologies
- The exponential rate of change
of technology poses a unique
challenge for team HR to make
their organizations ready to
adapt to new technologies which
are emerging in their area of
business. Constantly evolving
technology means more pressure
on team HR to ensure their
workforce is future ready, all the time. This involves more than just
continuous learning through online Learning Management Software. It
involves changing mindsets and making the employees ready to
embrace new technologies. Because, if they don't constantly reinvent
the way they do business, they will soon become obsolete.
HR has
to break
its internal
silos
Before HR embraces disruptive technologies and
capitalizes on big data and analytics, it needs new
employees who understand how best to utilize them.

2. BUSINESS MANAGER JANUARY 201837
COVER FEATURE
Up-skilling Team HR to use Technology - While this applies to the
whole organization, it applies to team HR as well. At a recent 'HR World'
debate, the guests agreed that before HR embraces disruptive
technologies and capitalizes on big data and analytics, it needs new
employees who understand how best to utilize them. Brian Sommer,
former Senior Director at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture),
recently said that "giving powerful analytic tools to many HR folks
today (who lack awareness or skills in these technologies and
disciplines), is like giving a chainsaw to a 4-year old". We need to Up-
skill, NOW !!
Employee Engagement - As most transactional tasks will be either
automated or outsourced, the focus for the smaller, more focused team
HR will be to deliver value back to business. And the only way to do so
would be by employee engagement. Understanding the millennial
mindset of here and now, HR will have to find innovative ways to meet
their expectation of continuous feedback, constant recognition and
frequent role hops while ensuring that organization goals are delivered
too.
Collaboration, Communication & Caring - In doing so, team HR
will have to break their internal silos and collaborate as one single team
HR so that various HR initiatives are in sync with each other. There is
also a need for HR to collaborate with the Internal Marketing and
Communications team to have constant messaging and communication
with the new age employee using a medium of their choice - a mobile
phone app. While AI and Bots assist HR in listening to employee queries
and feedback, team HR will have to embark on the journey of caring for
the overall wellbeing of the new
generation of employees.
Customized Career
Opportunities - Companies will
need to offer tailored benefits and
customized career opportunities
at an individual level. This will
contribute to building a positive
employer brand and help attract
and retain the right talent - a mix
of internal and external
(contract) resources working
together on common goals.
Aligning individual career
aspirations of the millennial
workforce to the larger company
goals will be the challenge for
team HR.
It is clear that team HR is
beginning to react and prepare
itself for the challenges, but when
it's time to leap frog into the
future, we can't be changing at a
snail's pace. Team HR - Let's Up-
skill immediately and learn to
use technology to achieve our
goals for 2018.
As most
transactional tasks
will be either
automated or
outsourced, the
focus for the
smaller, more
focused team HR
will be to deliver
value back to
business. And the
only way to do so
would be by
employee
engagement.
BM