Features of the Digital HR Leader (Part 2)

A key transformation that has taken place in the past decade is the evolution of HR into a strategic function. Today, Digital Transformation is presenting HR with an opportunity to prove that they are key strategic differentiators for the organization. After all, it is the people who decide how technology is to be used and it is the HR team that creates a conducive culture for their workforce to do so.

Business Driven

It has long since been the case that those HR leaders who are most immersed in the business, and who understand and actively participate in strategic business leadership, are most effective in delivering talent and people strategies to meet business goals. The importance of this business focus will only grow as technology increases the pace of change experienced by customers, by organizations, and by those providing talent to the organization.

Data and Analytics Savvy

In the digital age, organizations have a lot of people data. HR leaders who realize the enormous potential of this data to enrich people decisions and contribute to talent strategies will outstrip those who view this just as the output of operational processing.

Whilst HR leaders are unlikely to have or require a depth of technical knowledge, they will need to grasp conceptually the power that this data has, the asset it is, and the investment that is worthwhile to ensure that data is captured, structured, and analysed in a way to best inform decision and strategy.

Open and Authentic Leadership

Transparency is a key feature of our Digital Age. Consumers and employees alike have access to transparent, accessible reviews and feedback about any organizations or product through Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Amazon, and a multitude of other sites. Transparency and authenticity is also in big demand from leaders. Perhaps our awareness of the volume of data and the power of analytics available today causes us to look for confirmation that those leading us are being authentic.

Whether this low trust and engagement is linked to digitalization and a movement away from more direct human contact at work will certainly be the subject of on-going research. For HR leaders, it provides an enormous challenge to harness the benefits of the digital age, whilst leading in an authentic and open way to encourage trust and engagement from colleagues.

Human Sensitivity

It is widely acknowledged that the pace and scale of the technology transformation we are experiencing is uncommon one. The pace at which life is lived continues to increase. What impact this increased pace is having on us as human beings are the subject of much research. Deloitte’s global human capital trends research identified that more than two-thirds of all organizations believed that their employees were overwhelmed with too much information, too many projects, too many meetings and phone calls, and an always-on 24x7 work environment. (Deloitte, 2015)

In this digital age, HR leaders will need to bring humanity and human sensitivity to play as they help their organizations balance the digital and the physical worlds. We see an increasing focus on wellness at work, mindfulness, and practical strategies to help employees to manage the sheer volume of data and information, filtering out the low priority.

As more technology floods the workplace (smart watches, wearable devices, and even smarter phones), HR should take a hard look at the entire work environment—and advise business leaders about steps they can take to make work more humane, rational, and simple. (Deloitte, 2015).

Champion and negotiator

Finally, HR leaders will need to bring the negotiation and political skills necessary to secure the resources needed to provide world class HR in the digital age. If an organization’s talent force is increasingly going to provide the competitive advantage, the calibre of the HR team, the investment in learning and leadership, as well as the investment in HR technology and analytics, will all be critical.

The ideal situation to be for HR in the Digital Age is to practice good characteristics and the responsibilities of being Digital HR leaders. It goes without saying that HR teams shoulder huge responsibilities in the Digital Age. Therefore, it is relevant that HR at least personifies one of the ten characteristics necessary for their organizations to thrive in the Digital Age.

Thank you for reading!