According to a Sage report, 82 percent of HR and People leaders anticipate that the role of the HR director will be completely unrecognizable in 10 years’ time.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Article Author: <\/div>\n

Paul Burrin, VP, Sage People<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Human Resources (HR), as a department and function, is changing as we know it. Today, no longer are HR and People teams siloed to payroll and insurance.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While those in the sector are certainly aware of the change that’s rapidly occurring, even those in other departments are beginning to understand the widening impact of HR’s role in companies.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

HR is quietly transforming to a “People” function. Just as Personnel evolved into HR in the 1980s, it’s now shifting away from process and administration, toward delivering more high-value strategic initiatives across organizations—as more and more companies wake up to the fact that there’s a war for talent raging across sectors, and to be the best, you must attract and retain the best.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unrecognizable in 10 Years’ Time<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, and according to a Sage <\/span>report<\/a><\/span>, 82 percent of HR and People leaders anticipate that the role of the HR director will be completely unrecognizable in 10 years’ time.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s no surprise. We know organizations are having to work harder to not only attract, but keep, top talent. Fast-growth progressive companies that want to get ahead know the value of putting people at the top of the business agenda. As such, more is expected from leaders of HR teams, particularly as they move from being traditionally seen as a backroom function to a boardroom function, consistently offering more strategic value and contributing to business growth.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

An Internal Skills Gap<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is a skills gap even among HR executives, with 86 percent of HR executives in Sage’s report having noted a need to reskill in this new changing world of work—which naturally creates an impasse between their current role and the new expectations of HR. These new expectations include skills involving analytics, behavioral sciences, communications, and technology aptitude.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Combine this with new, increasingly complex compliance regulation in HR; new workstyles, such as the growth of the contingent workforce and gig economy; the varying expectations of a multi-generational workforce; stubbornly low productivity and engagement; and the emergence of new digital technology in both the workforce and HR, and it’s no surprise there’s huge pressure on HR leaders to call on a wider range of skills as they respond in these new emerging roles.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly—and worryingly—the top skills HR directors identified as important in the coming years were also the areas where they feel they have the biggest gaps: tech-savviness, creativity, and people analytics.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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