As professional organisations prepare for the future of work by adjusting to disruptive technological challenge of big data, analytics, and artificial intelligent (AI), it is imperative that Human Resource (HR) managers promote an open dialogue with the workforce about the future to ensure diverse perspectives are represented and people feel part of the journey.
This future thinking about the nature and future of work will allow HR managers develop programmes that enable workers displaced by technology to be re-skilled or redeployed internally. However, HR managers must be honest about what is important, and provide a sense of transparency and honest dialogue to employees, in the face of job disruption and change.
“Preparing for the future requires action today. Companies and individuals that embrace the new realities, recognise the urgency and work to deal with change will have a powerful advantage,” Olusola Adewole, director, people and organisation advisory at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said.
Adewale, who was the guest speaker at the 31st induction ceremony of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management on Nigeria (CIPM) themed ‘Preparing for the new World of Work,’ said as the world of work was changing, HR’s role in guiding organisations towards the future was also changing; hence there was a need to create a competitive advantage through a more engaging people experience.
According to Adewale, the engaging experience must be capable of tackling burnout and foster vitality, as “HR professionals should nurture agility and adaptability. Support intrapreneurship among employees, builds social resilience for employees, and provides autonomy among workers.”
HR practitioners must build understanding of technological change and its implications. Therefore, practitioners should integrate HR into technology evaluation and planning from the outset to highlight the people issues.
This will optimally train HR practitioners to use data analytics to predict and monitor skills gaps in the workforce; which will ensure they have a strong influence on the process of mapping automatable tasks.
Udom Inoyo, president, CIPM, said the contemporary work environment was dynamic and competitive requiring new insights and approaches needed to stay abreast of the learning curve, which will result into the earning curve for employees.
Inoyo, who was represented by Olawale Adediran, the vice president of the CIPM, said the institute promotes people management agenda for remarkable contributions to development of HR professionals and organisations in Nigeria, towards sustainable national development.
Nwoye Odinakachukwu, the best graduating student for the August 2018 diet examination of the CIPM in her valedictory speech, said the institute had provided inductees with necessary tools needed to navigate their careers in the HR profession.
A total of 152 candidates were inducted at the 31st induction of the institute as associate members of the CIPM after passing through the HR Practitioners’ route.
Therefore, in responding to the future of work, HR managers must harness the potential of flexible talent and innovation, as they try to identify where and how to engage flexible talent within the organisation.
While thinking differently, HR will have to resort to unconventional approaches to recruitment in a way that builds engagement and trust. Therefore, the HR manager must create fair employment by staying ahead of changes in societal expectations and judge today’s behaviours by tomorrow’s standards.
