The Value of a CHRO
Does calling Human Resources “Human Capital Management” make it sound more C-Level?
If not, maybe Deloitte’s 2016 Human Capital Report will give it a boost. In this survey of 7000 business and HR leaders from 130 different countries, a striking 92% of respondents expressed a need to completely redesign organisational thought and structure. The report cites four major reasons for a complete re-think of human capital management.
Demographic upheaval:
Workers are both younger and older today. In addition, the global nature of workforces within the same organisations place new emphasis on the creation of shared culture and inclusion.
Digital technology:
Enterprise tech, in particular trends in HR tech, changes the functionality of HR. With new software able to streamline and in many cases alleviate the administrative and record-keeping tasks associated with HR, the focus of HR professionals is free to shift to creative and quantitative projects. Tech also reshapes the way companies hire, manage and provide support to employees. The “tell all” nature of social media places new emphasis on creating an external employment brand to drive both employee engagement and new talent.
Rate of change: Processes evolve as quickly as computing power. Businesses ride this rapid change with varying degrees of alacrity. The most agile among them recognise that human capital impacts organisational capacity for innovation.
New social norms: The Deloitte report describes a new social contract in which the traditional “corporate ladder” no longer exists. Younger workers present new expectations of their employers, including quick career advancement, locational flexibility and the need for enriching, meaningful workplace experiences. Contingent and part-time workers make up a larger proportion of the workforce, necessitating new strategies for engagement. To keep their organisation competitive, HR must innovate to attract and retain workers with remarkably divergent needs.
The smartest businesses recognise these complex factors catapult HR to the upper-most level of corporate strategy. Clearly these trends impact business strategy at the highest level and reveal the true value of placing a forward-thinking, paradigm disrupting CHRO within the senior management team of most SME’s.
Change management is challenging, but rewarding. Contact us to learn more about how we work to unlock organisation potential and create change.