"The real opportunity to create long-term value lies in a “people-first” approach across the enterprise."
In an age where corporate culture is a Board-level matter, workforce planning and talent development enable or disable workforce agility, inclusive behaviors are non-negotiable and technology transformation is the new normal, there has never been a better time to be an HR leader or professional.
The future of HR is horizontal, working as an integrated enabler, ensuring that all key decisions are made with people and skills considerations top-of-mind across the business, rather than operating as a standalone vertical. As better technology and automation (better) handles routine tasks and provides richer people data, and “digital workers” (bots and other forms of intelligent automation that undertake HR tasks) take greater responsibility for traditional “HR work,” HR professionals can shift their focus to unmet and underserviced people needs in the business.
In EY’s study How do you ensure you are automating intelligently, we find that there is an opportunity to use automation to free up to 29% of time currently spent on lower-level administrative tasks within the HR function. In this context, the “people impact” of the workforce on business outcomes and long-term value creation are undeniable.
The game-changer for businesses today is the digitalization of the HR function, if leaders get it right. The pace of innovation and the stability of tried and tested HR software solutions are driving a radical change in how “HR work” gets done.
By maximizing use of integrated cloud solutions and leveraging all forms of intelligent automation, HR leaders are seizing control of their own destiny and creating capacity to tackle vulnerable people points in their value chains. Great HR leaders are now going directly after top-line impact and bottom-line performance – and all the value contributions in between. A measured approach to organization design sits at the core of unleashing this potential.
