⬣ Creating individualized

workplaces

⬣ From buying to
2022 building talent

⬣ Automate, augment,
HR Upskilling amplify

Report ⬣ Data-driven people

decisions
6 crucial challenges
⬣ Making purpose count
and the competencies
to overcome them
⬣ Reshaping leadership
Introduction

We are witnessing a shift in the way we work that will have a

lasting impact for generations to come.

‟
Hybrid work, the acceleration of digitalization, a growing
emphasis on wellbeing, diversity and inclusion — COVID-19
has fundamentally altered the way businesses and HR is at the epicenter
employees operate.
of a shift in the way
And HR is at the epicenter of this shift, helping companies
respond to it and drive the necessary business we work that will have
transformation.

But the way we work isn't the only thing changing.

an impact for
Organizations are facing major labor shortages and skills
generations to come
gaps, making talent retention a top priority — and major
challenge — for many organizations.

2
In the US alone, some 15 million people have left their jobs That's why this report provides a six-step roadmap for
since April 2020 and globally, 69 percent of employers are building an employee-centric organization that will
unable to find the right talent to fill their vacant positions. thrive in the post-pandemic world of work — and
Moreover, depending on which data we review, we find that guidance on how to make sure that HR departments
the rate of the global workforce wishing to look for new jobs develop the right competencies to navigate these
ranges from 40 percent to 95 percent. uncharted waters.

In light of the Great Resignation, changing employee

expectations, and the widening rift between what employees
want and what companies are willing or able to offer,
leadership's top priority is building a truly employee-centric
organization — one that will be future- and
post-pandemic-proof.

69%
That's why they will need to rely a lot more on their HR
departments, which have recently become more strategic
and crucial in helping drive business impact.

But HR's increasingly strategic function does not mean that of global employers are
the challenges ahead are easy to solve.
unable to find the right
talent to fill vacant positions

3
Table of contents

Executive summary
The six steps towards becoming a future-proof organization and the HR competencies needed to make change happen.
Page 6

1 5
Create individualized workplaces Make purpose count
Page 8 Page 27

2 6
From buying to building talent Reshape leadership
Page 12 Page 30

3
Automate, augment, amplify The T-shaped HR professional
Page 17 Page 33

4
Data-driven people decisions
Page 22

4
Executive summary

1: Individualized workplaces 2: From buying to building talent

What is at stake: As consumers, we want everything to be What is at stake: As skills become the currency of our
customized to our individual needs. After trying flexible economy, talent shortages are expected to cause disruption (a
working, the same level of individualization is now expected trend that is already visible, with 69 percent of companies
from our workplaces. worldwide unable to fill their vacant positions).

HR's role: As talent shortages worsen, most companies will

HR's role: It’s time to embrace hybrid work. To drive this
need to refocus their talent acquisition strategies to capitalize
change, HR will need to rethink how to best help facilitate
on internal talent marketplaces. HR will need to take the lead
collaboration, change the role of the office, and cater to
in helping their organizations switch from buying talent
various employee demands and needs.
externally to building it internally.

Key HR competencies Key HR competencies

⬣ Business acumen to understand what the business ⬣ Data literacy to identify where skills gaps are most
needs and how this reflects broader trends. profound.

⬣ Data literacy to make decisions based on facts rather ⬣ Digital proficiency to guarantee a user-friendly learning
than assumptions and feelings. journey and scalability.

⬣ People advocacy to be able to communicate change ⬣ Business acumen to connect the needs of the business

effectively. with the capabilities of the employees.

5
3: Automate, augment, amplify 4: Data-driven people decisions

What is at stake: In 2021, companies worldwide have spent What is at stake: According to a recent survey of Fortune
as much as $656 billion on new technology to upgrade for 1000 companies, 92 percent of businesses are currently
the new era of work. Other than facilitating remote working, increasing investment in data initiatives. Yet, most
the investments have led to automating some tasks and organizations are still not equipped to make meaningful use
augmenting the rest. of this data, with only 38 percent of workers using
real-time data in their day-to-day work. Creating a truly
HR's role: Automate what you can (i.e. repetitive and
employee-centric organization will require decisions that are
mundane tasks) and augment the rest. Your team and your
based on data and facts.
company will need to invest in both new technologies and
people’s skills. Thanks to automation and AI, HR will be able HR's role: The more intricate the world gets, the more
to focus more on strategic and creative value-adding important data will become. Companies need to collect,
activities, identifying new business insights, and addressing analyze and utilize data and do so in a way that will lead to
complex business challenges. better business performance. While HR will be less involved
directly in collecting and analyzing data, the area where it
Key HR competencies can add most value is in putting data to a good use.
⬣ Business acumen to know how to leverage tech to
Key HR competencies
redesign how organizations operate.
⬣ Data literacy to interpret data, turn them into insights
⬣ Digital proficiency to understand what tools to use and
and put them to good use.
how to build a technology-first culture to embed all this.

6
5: Make purpose count 6: Reshape leadership

What is at stake: Employees increasingly attach more What is at stake: In the words of Alan May, Hewlett Packard
importance to purpose and values — including in the Chief People Officer, “There was no playbook for how to
workplace. This is both a direct consequence of COVID-19 respond to the pandemic, and there isn’t one for how to
triggering people to rethink their expectations of work, as recover.” As a result, the qualities of a good leader have never
well as a result of a generational turnover. By 2025, 75% of been more important.
the global workforce will be comprised of Millennials who
HR's role: The future of work will require less control and
are more likely to seek purpose through work.
more collaboration. As many more workers have become
HR's role: HR departments will need to align employees' more autonomous, HR will need to help companies empower
values with those of the company in order to tap into the non-management employees to take on more responsibilities,
post-COVID talent pool. Their role will also be crucial in help middle managers upskill and find a new purpose in new
helping organizations live up to these values (e.g. through roles, and guide C-suite leaders into becoming more socially,
upgrading their organizations' business culture). culturally, and environmentally conscious.

Key HR competencies Key HR competencies

⬣ People advocacy and business acumen to upgrade ⬣ Data literacy to assess how exactly leadership roles can
existing business cultures to reflect employees' and the be repurposed.
business's values and act as a connection between ⬣ People advocacy to work with both C-suite and
leadership and employees. employees to assume a new type of leadership roles.

7
1 | Create individualized workplaces

The rise of remote work has triggered a shift in people's

expectations of how, when, and where they want to work.
The onus is now on organizations to create a workplace that
⬣ 63%
meets and exceeds these demands — or risk an even more of high-growth businesses
challenging fight for talent. work in a hybrid way
source
The trend towards creating more individualized workplaces
is not a new phenomenon. It was in the making long before
the pandemic (especially among tech companies and other
⬣ 62.8%
innovative organizations). of HR leaders see hybrid work
as the most productive
But it wasn’t until COVID-19 triggered the world's largest
approach to their companies
remote work experiment that we began to see growing source
numbers of companies offering more customized work
experiences, experimenting with what we now call hybrid or
flexible working.
⬣ 9 in 10
employees want flexibility in
The data is clear. Our workplaces need to adjust to hybrid
where and when they work
work. And it is HR that will need to drive this transition. source

8
5 hybrid work focus points for HR

1: Collaboration
When the pandemic struck and many employees were forced
to start working from home, one of the first concerns was
whether people would be able to collaborate remotely. But
while we have now largely adjusted to this reality (with
seemingly no negative impact on productivity), the issue of
collaboration has not gone away. Three-quarters of CEOs
(78%) say remote collaboration will be one of the most
enduring trends to come out of the pandemic.

One of the challenges going forward, however, will be to

ensure that collaboration can effectively take place in both
the on-site and remote settings at the same time.

9
2: The role of the office they want to work for a company that prioritizes
outcomes over output, 70% of organizations are still not
Connected to the issue of collaboration is the changing role
willing or able to live up to this expectation of more
of the office. Pre-pandemic, the office served as the main
emancipated workplaces.
(and oftentimes only) place of work. Today, however, workers
are more deliberate about how they spend their time in the This change calls for an overhaul of leadership and
physical workplace. They no longer come to the office just to management style, and HR should drive this change.
be present, but to be more productive.
4: Work-life balance
The layout and purpose of the physical workspaces need to
The COVID-19 crisis has caused people to reconsider their
reflect these changes. In the hybrid era of work, office
priorities, both in their private and professional lives. That is
spaces should no longer be just about providing dedicated
why we’re currently witnessing what experts have dubbed
full-time workstations for all employees, but should rather
the Great Resignation or Reshuffle. As restrictions began to
be more about facilitating collaboration, connection, focus,
lift, many people came to the conclusion they expected more
and team-building.
from life than the 9 to 5 grind.

3: Emancipated workplaces In the job-seekers’ labor market, companies will need to

More flexibility also means more ownership. Having learned invest a lot more effort in helping their employees find a
to work more autonomously, many workers now resent work-life balance that better suits their needs.
old-style (micro) management. While 86% of employees say

10
5: Multigenerational differences Guidance
Younger workers, in particular Millennials and Gen Z’ers,
⬣ In order to align the organization with changing employee
struggle most with remote or hybrid ways of working. Not
expectations and demands, HR professionals need to
because they don’t have the digital skills to work remotely –
understand what it is that their workforce needs
after all, they are the most tech-savvy generations. Instead
specifically. This will depend not only on the type of work,
it’s because they have missed out on the office experience
but also the composition of the workforce.
which allows them to interact more with co-workers and
management, and learn by observing their colleagues. ⬣ Once this is clear, HR will need to ensure that these
newly understood needs are met by what the workplace
HR departments will need to be more conscious of the
has to offer. This will require a mix of business acumen,
diverging needs of their multigenerational workforces and
data literacy and employee advocacy. HR professionals
will need to ensure their hybrid models reflect the demands
will need to:
of all their workers.
⬡ Understand what employees need

⬡ Assess the business can realistically meet those

needs

⬡ Make the case for the importance of these changes

within the wider organization

11
2 | From buying to building talent

Another step necessary towards an employee-centric

organization is the switch from focusing on hiring your talent

‟
externally to trying to build it internally.

Currently, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of companies

are struggling to fill vacant positions, the workforce is on the
The only way for
move due to the Great Resignation, and the speed with companies to guarantee
which skills are taught in schools cannot keep pace with
what the market demands. access to talent is
making the most of the
talent they have

12
Between the labor shortage and growing skills gaps, the only
way for most companies to guarantee access to talent is to
make the most of the talent they already have. This means
more emphasis on the existing employees and their skills.

But how do you make this change?

Companies can go from buying to building talent in 9

steps.

Building
talent

Buying
talent

13
The 9 steps to build internal talent exactly which skills need developing allows for more
targeted and efficient L&D initiatives.
1: Determine what your company needs
4: Develop tailored learning journeys
Before you start helping your employees reskill and upskill,
Once you have identified and analyzed skills gaps, you will
you need to ensure you understand what the end goal of
need to start thinking about how to design a learning
upskilling will be. What is the business added value of
program that will deliver the best results. The key to this will
upskilling in your organization? It is crucial that you speak to
be offering a tailored learning experience that will match as
the senior leadership to identify what capabilities and skills
closely as possible the needs of the individual learners.
your organization needs, where it needs them most, and
why.

2: Assess employees' current skills

There are various ways to assess your employees' current
skill levels, such as individual assessments or interviews
with team managers.

3: Identify the skills gap

The skills gap is the result of matching your employees' skills
against the company's capability needs. It is the difference
between the employee's current skill level and the skill level
they need to effectively perform their tasks. Understanding

14
5: Design a learning intervention portfolio 7: Launch a skilling hub
Delivering an unforgettable learning experience equally On average, people lose about 40 percent of their skills
depends on having the right learning portfolio, consisting of every three years. That means that in a decade, our
online courses, blended group sessions, practical professional skills become largely obsolete. That's why
challenges, evaluations, and other learning activities. continuous learning is crucial for companies, and they need
skilling hubs that support this. Building the right learning
6: Decide on learning technology infrastructure also has other benefits: 45 percent of
Connected to both the learning journey and the portfolio is workers surveyed said they would be more likely to stay
the question of technology. What technology to choose to with their current employer if they were offered skills
best facilitate learning? When choosing a learning training.
management system, the key is to choose something that is
user-friendly, allows users to interact with each other to
8: Deliver skills transformation at scale
exchange their experiences, and lets them learn at their own Ensuring your upskilling program can be scaled to serve the
pace. This should be your leading consideration when entire organization — whether it's across locations, cities,
choosing a specific LMS, whether it's bespoke or countries and continents — is often the most challenging
out-of-the-box. part. Large organizations' upskilling programs need to be
carefully planned, timed, and communicated. Think about
how you will launch the initiative, how you will set the
timeline, and what technology you will use to ensure its
scalability.

15
9: Implement dynamic impact tracking Guidance
If you can't measure it, you can't improve it. If you want your
⬣ The labor shortage means employers need to invest in
learning and upskilling initiatives to remain popular,
existing talent. However, the scale of the skills gaps and
engaging, and effective, you will constantly need to keep up
the shrinking half-life of skills requires a thorough
with your employees' and company's needs. One way of
analysis of which skills are really needed, and targeted
measuring success and impact is through pre- and
L&D interventions that actually move the needle.
post-assessments. Or you can choose to measure objective
performance outcomes or consult post-training manager ⬣ This fact-based and results-oriented approach demands

ratings to keep your learning programs relevant, popular, a level of data literacy, digital proficiency, and business

and driving business value. acumen that may currently be out of reach for many HR
professionals.

16
3 | Automate, augment, amplify

Creating an employee-centric organization means technology and processes, and more than 30 percent of
empowering your employees: augmenting their work through global employees feel they waste half of their day or more
technology and helping them develop the skills they need to performing tasks better suited to AI.
benefit from automation and AI.
HR must digitalize first
Digitalization of the world of work is inevitable. The World
Economic Forum has predicted that global AI jobs will It's clear that digitalization is a powerful tool for unlocking
increase from 78 per 10,000 in 2020 to 123 in 2022, and the workforce's true potential. But before HR departments
data shows that the use of AI in sectors across the board has can become the driving force behind facilitating the
grown by 270 percent in the last four years. introduction and use of technology, they themselves will
need to become more tech-savvy.
But more importantly, digitalization is beneficial. Automation
and the use of AI in the workplace bring efficiency and Digitalization of HR tasks can happen in three ways:

effectiveness, and they allow people to spend less time on ⬣ Automation

mundane and repetitive tasks and more time on productive
⬣ Augmentation
and added value ones.
⬣ Amplification of human functions
For instance, in the APAC countries, office workers waste
close to 57 minutes of their workday due to outdated

17
1: Automation digital assistants and automated software. (For context: the
McKinsey analysis of over 2000 work activities across more
Jobs don't get automated, tasks do. According to McKinsey,
than 800 occupations shows that these repetitive tasks
only about 5 percent of occupations will be fully
account for roughly half of all activities that people do across
automated, but nearly all occupations will to some degree
all sectors.) By reducing the administrative workload,
be affected by automation — and HR is one of them.
automation will allow HR professionals to spend more time
Many HR tasks in areas such as reporting, administrative on more strategic and value-adding activities.
tasks, and predictable analysis should and will be done by

Automation will help HR professionals make more impact

Less time spent on More time for

Strategic, creative, and value-adding

Repetitive or administrative tasks
activities

Reporting, processing data, and manual

Identifying new business insights
workflows

Gut feeling or anecdotal evidence in Addressing complex business challenges,

decision-making e.g. talent shortages

18
2: Augmentation
Even tasks that cannot be automated can still benefit from
the right application of technology. Much of HR’s remaining
work should be augmented by machines or systems that can
reason, learn, and interact naturally with people. This will
further free up people’s time to focus on more creative tasks
that machines cannot do.

One area ripe for augmentation is people analytics. By

deploying cognitive technologies that leverage AI in people
analytics, HR will be able to identify new business insights
for better strategic decisions and create additional value.

3: Amplification of human functions

Last but not least, AI technology has the capacity to help
organizations re-design work processes and workflows
within the HR department and beyond. By upgrading existing
processes and policies, HR will be able to boost human
activities and improve decision-making.

19
Digitalized HR will drive digitalization (with 52 percent in Brazil and Germany) and 61 percent of
global executives say using talent analytics to inform
within organizations decision-making is the number one HR trend that has
delivered an impact.
The purpose of HR is to help solve business problems. But as
the world becomes more intricate and challenges more
complex, HR needs to be more tech savvy in order to live up
to its promise. Only then can HR address problems such as
the current talent shortages.

For instance, HR departments in companies such as

Unilever, Walmart, Accenture, and SkyHive have recently

55%
joined forces to test the use of AI in closing skills gaps by
giving a truer picture of just how talented their current
workers are, and how they could transition into emerging job
roles. The AI-driven skills assessment gives these
companies a better view of the skills their existing
of HR leaders in the U.S.
employees have, and the skills gaps that they could plug use predictive algorithms
through upskilling and reskilling. to hire new talent
Similarly, last year’s survey into global talent trends found
that when it comes to hiring new external employees, 55
percent of HR leaders in the U.S. use predictive algorithms

20
But beyond HR departments, HR's role will also be crucial in Guidance
helping organizations at large move towards the future. In a
world where our work — to a larger or lesser extent — will be ⬣ In short, HR professionals need to invest in building up
digitalized, our systems will need to switch from managing their digital proficiency as well as technological
jobs to managing tasks instead. As the opportunities offered savviness. These competencies are crucial not only in
by automation grow, so will the need for organizations to making HR's job more impactful, efficient, and effective
break down job roles into tasks in order to optimally redesign but also in helping the company make the best use of
work. HR will be the only department that will be able to help automation and augmentation.
deliver this change, as well as help companies hire and ⬣ Upskilling HR departments (to become digitally and tech
remunerate people based on tasks rather than job
savvy as well as showing strong business acumen) will
descriptions.
also allow for and facilitate the necessary upgrade of
organizations' operations to become fit for purpose in the
new era of work. It will help companies make optimal use
of in-house talent through job redesign, for instance.

21
4 | Data-driven people decisions

From rising inflation and disrupted supply chains to the

The benefits of using data in HR
pandemic, companies are learning to live with uncertainty.
But uncertain does not mean unprepared. HR departments HR is one of the areas where using data can make the
can help organizations use data to prepare for the future the biggest impact. The use of people analytics in HR and
best they can (even if they won't be able to always predict it business decisions leads to demonstrably better outcomes
100 percent). (organizations that use data in HR see an 82 percent
higher-than-average profit over three years compared to
their low-maturity counterparts); but more specifically,
people analytics can help solve concrete business problems.

For instance, an HR department of one U.S. retailer found an

Organizations using innovative way of collecting and using candidate data to
data in HR see an

82%
improve the recruiting and hiring process. Through an app
that they had developed, the HR department was able to
screen potential employees, gather feedback, collect
credentials, schedule interviews, and track candidates as
higher-than-average they moved through the pipeline.
profit
over 3 years

22
Having access to this data and using it to improve the hiring People analytics in action
process has led to impressive results. The retailer saw a 60
percent increase in the applications’ processing speed, an ⬣ Credit Suisse used predictive analytics to identify which
80 percent reduction in paperwork, and higher employee employees were at risk of leaving, and why. They used
retention rates. All of which has had a positive impact on the this information to create targeted interventions to keep
company’s bottom line – in particular in today’s tight labor them on board, saving them approximately
market. $ 70,000,000 a year.

⬣ Best Buy was able to demonstrate the link between

turnover and employee engagement. Data revealed a
turnover increase of $ 100,000 for every 0.1% increase
in engagement, prompting them increase the frequency
of employee engagement surveys.

⬣ A large Dutch FMCG retailer used people analytics to

analyze the effects of training. The analysts used A/B
testing to measure the effect of training shop personnel
on the shop’s financial performance. This revealed that in
the first year alone, the ROI of their training program
was 400%.

23
HR needs to master data literacy skills

But while the benefits of data-driven decisions are now High

largely recognized — with 92 percent of the Fortune 1000
companies currently increasing investment in data
Data analysis & Data-driven value
initiatives, so much so that by the end of 2023 the big data reporting creation
analytics market will be worth more than $100 billion —
when it comes to HR specifically, the potential is still largely
untapped. Data-driven
(Knowledge)
The reason behind this has to do with the fact that 59
percent of HR professionals worldwide still lack proficiency
Data-uninformed Data-informed
in basic data literacy skills, according to AIHR research (for
observation decision making
more information, turn to page 35).

Mastering data literacy as a competency requires a

combination of knowledge and practice:

First, HR professionals will need sufficient knowledge to read Low High

and use data — in other words, they need to be data-driven. Analytics translation
(Practice)
And second, they should be able to use this knowledge in
practice to translate data into action, policies, and decisions
that have a direct impact on the business.

24
A data-driven culture requires the right:
To be more specific, every data-literate HR professional
should:

HR professionals should treat ⬣ Comprehend and be able to establish metrics and KPIs
Mindset data as useful in their daily
⬣ Read and interpret reports
work lives.

⬣ Learn how to produce data visualizations (i.e.

dashboards) and use these for data storytelling

⬣ Understand the intersection of people data and the

Your HR team will need to business they serve (which necessitates some level of
Skillset upskill to become more
data literate. business acumen)

Beyond what this means for HR professionals individually,

data literacy also implies a shift towards a more data-driven
culture. Without it, your HR department or organization at
People analytics and
technology go hand-in-hand. large won’t be able to leverage data to its full potential.
Toolset This means you will need your
IT department to work closely Even in the most capable of hands, data cannot provide all
with you.
the answers. But in an increasingly volatile, uncertain,
complex and ambiguous world, having an accurate picture of
current reality will give your company the advantage of
People data is an ongoing knowing what's around the corner — and put you miles
process. The data collected,
Dataset analyzed and used will need to ahead of organizations flying data-less and blind.
be constantly assessed to
prove accurate and useful.

25
Guidance

⬣ There is one core competency at the heart of this step

and that is data literacy.

⬣ HR professionals are not data scientists and do not need

to become them. But by improving their data knowledge,
practical skills and learning how to use insights to drive
business results, they will put their organization, the
workforce and their own department at an advantage —
an advantage that will allow their organizations to be
more agile to respond challenges, better prepared for the
future, and more able to bring added value.

26
5 | Make purpose count

A blind spot that has the potential to undermine

organizations' efforts to build an employee-centric
organization is a lack of a clearly defined purpose.

‟
While much of the current debate about the post-pandemic
future of work has focused on hybrid working and whether or
Instead of making not people should be given more flexibility, employees
themselves have gone one step further. Instead of making
choices only about
choices only about where, when, and how they work, they

where, when, and how have begun asking why they work, too.

they work, employees The 'why’ question is particularly relevant because it implies
that workers are not only concerned about how much and
have begun asking where they work, but care just as much about their work's
quality and purpose.
why they work, too.
But while COVID-19 has driven people to reconsider their
relationship with work and re-emphasized the role of values,
the importance of purpose at work was already growing
pre-pandemic due to the generational turnover.

27
Studies have shown that younger workers are more Organizations no longer have a choice but to invest more in
purpose-driven at work than their older counterparts. And defining their purposes and aligning it with employees if they
with Millennials and Gen Z'ers to account for 75 percent of wish to remain competitive. Ultimately, they will need to
the workforce by 2025, the importance of purpose in the upgrade their workplace culture to ensure that decisions,
workplace is set to grow further. conversations and behavior across all levels are integrated
with that purpose.
Consequently, we see young people's work expectations
change: according to the Cone Communications Millennial And there's only one department that will be able to drive
Employee Study (published before COVID-19), 64% of and lead this change: Human Resources.
Millennials won't take a job if their employer doesn't have
That's because HR professionals with strong business
strong social and environmental values. What's more, Gen Z
acumen are best placed to connect company-level values
is the first generation to prioritize purpose over salary.
with employee-level purpose. They understand how the

There's only one department that can organization's values reflect the broader world and how
these core values help motivate employees themselves.
help organizations bring purpose in:
HR's role is to help their organization identify its values,
HR
understand how these resonate with employees, update the
organization's business culture accordingly, and then work
Organizations which have not given enough consideration to
with management to ensure the company also lives by these
how their values relate to those of their workers or potential
values in practice. The result will be a more productive,
hires are more likely to lose the talent they have and fail to
engaged, and motivated workforce.
attract the new talent they need.

28
Moreover, having a clearly defined purpose also helps HR Guidance
with talent acquisition. In the current tight labor market,
having values that resonate with candidates can make or ⬣ This step plays to one of the HR professionals strengths:
break a job offer. There are many examples of companies people advocacy. No other department is able to help the
that have smartly used purpose and organizational values organization update its mission statement and ensure it
to their advantage, including Nike, Netflix, and Buffer. plays a key role in motivating employees than the HR
department.
Ultimately, while identifying and staying true to your purpose
may not look like a solution to all your business challenges, it ⬣ HR professionals will need to understand the ins and outs

is a first (and necessary) step towards ensuring your of their organization, measure employees' demands, and

organization becomes future-proof. needs and align (the best they can) the company's vision
with people's values. This requires good and constant
communication with employees and a thorough
knowledge of their business.

⬣ Only with sufficient competencies in people advocacy

and business acumen will HR be able to ensure
organizations live up to their values and that people who
work for them will feel fulfilled by the job they do.

29
6 | Reshape leadership

The hybrid model is redefining the way we work — but also

HR's role in leadership changes
the way managers manage and leaders lead. The sudden
switch to remote work forced many of us to become more 1: Democratized leadership
independent and autonomous.
What's at stake: The pandemic has caused a massive
Moreover, as many management roles are redefined and as democratization of leadership responsibilities. The rapid rise
CEOs and companies are required to become more socially, of remote and hybrid work is shifting the focus towards
culturally, and environmentally conscious, HR will play a key workers who need a greater degree of autonomy and away
role in reshaping leadership and what we mean by it. from middle managers, allowing companies to remove
expensive and somewhat redundant organizational layers.

The role of HR: Organizations looking to make such

sweeping changes need to rely on data and hard evidence.

‟
These consequential decisions require CEOs and C-suite

HR will play a key role in leaders to work closely with HR departments with a unique
overview of the company's workforce. Moreover, HR can use
reshaping leadership data analytics to draw insights that will match the needs of
the business against the potential of the workforce.
and what we mean by it

30
2: Redeployed managers Fujitsu empowers employees
What's at stake: Many middle managers who have not been
In 2020, the Japanese tech giant Fujitsu pioneered in Europe
made redundant will need to be redeployed to new and
a new work concept which has put more emphasis on local
different roles.
decisions and empowered those who weren't previously
The role of HR: HR departments are key in helping involved in management. And while this transition meant the
organizations assess which leaders need redeploying and end of middle manager roles as such, the company made the
which managers need upskilling. HR is also heavily involved effort to ensure that the people who filled these roles would
in helping these managers upgrade their skills through skills still remain part of the journey — albeit in a different
development programs and coaching. capacity.

Furthermore, the democratization of leadership and

redeployment of existing leaders require a fundamental
change to business culture which, again, will depend on HR's
contribution and ownership.

31
3: Emphasizing top tier management Guidance
What's at stake: We have witnessed the growing importance
⬣ Much like the previous step, reshaping leadership
of leadership in the top echelons of organizations — a trend
requires a combination of business acumen and
that is not new but has been massively accelerated.
established HR strengths such as people advocacy,
This means that CEOs, CHROs, and other C-suite leaders understanding of the workforce, and employee
have been put under more pressure to take a stance on and development.
lead in an increasing number of issues that transcend the ⬣ HR will need skills to analyse the current leadership
walls of their organizations (e.g. addressing inequalities, the
structure, use data to identify which leadership roles
pandemic, or fighting climate change).
need to change, and repurpose many leadership roles

The role of HR: It is HR professionals and CHROs in and work with C-suite leaders to become more socially,

particular that can help CEOs keep their thumbs on the pulse culturally and environmentally responsive — and do so in

of their workforce and the society at large. They can help a way that is consistent with the company's mission

them become more socially, culturally and environmentally statement.

conscious and active in supporting causes that are aligned

with their personal and business values.

Thanks to a more strategic role and HR professionals'

increasing business savviness, HR has been able to forge a
stronger link between the business and the outside world
and help companies serve their consumers and clients
better.

32
The T-shaped HR professional

The challenges outlined in this report are complex, and

require a new range of skills and competencies that
previously were less important for the HR's success.

In order to drive business impact and build employee-centric

organizations, HR professionals will need to learn to
cooperate across and with other departments. To that end,
they will need to complement their specialist HR knowledge
with generalist competencies that make them more efficient
and effective professionals.

As mentioned throughout this report, there are four

competencies that HR professionals will need to develop to
keep up with modern business demands:

⬣ Data literacy

⬣ Business acumen

⬣ Digital proficiency

⬣ People advocacy

33
The T-shaped HR professional's competencies

Data Business Digital People

Literacy Acumen Proficiency Advocacy
The ability to read, apply, The ability to translate the The ability to leverage The ability to create a strong
create and communicate organization's purpose, technology to increase internal culture, get the best
data into valuable mission, goals, and context efficiency and to drive HR out of people, and act as a
information in order to into strategy, positioning HR and business value. trusted champion and
influence decision-making policies and activities to best communications expert.
processes. serve the organization.

Functional
Competencies
HR Professionals need to
become specialists in at least
one functional competency
and a generalist in four core
HR competencies.

34
But despite the many challenges facing modern businesses 1: Tech and digital skills are the least
and the key role HR has to play in providing a way forward, common
research reveals that most HR professionals do not have the
Only 41 percent of HR professionals are able to improve
necessary competencies.
efficiency and drive business value through skilled use of
In our latest survey, we collected data from 5,648 HR technology and data. Being data-driven and having digital
professionals around the world and found out that only 21 proficiency are essential skills for being able to anticipate
percent of them have shown sufficient knowledge in all four challenges, not just react to them.
core competencies.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our study.

59%
of HR professionals
are unable to drive
business value
through technology
and data

35
 This means that almost 60
percent of HR professionals are
falling behind more tech-savvy
colleagues in terms of efficiency
and impact.
63.8%
Lacks competency Of all four core competencies,
41.3% 41.0% 45.3%
Has competency data literacy and digital
proficiency show the highest
Data Digital Business People
Literacy Proficiency Acumen Advocacy levels of insufficient knowledge
and have the greatest potential
10.2% 2.9%
for improvement.
17.5% 17.2%
33.6%
44.5%
41.2% 41.8%
Insufficient

47.0% Basic
30.7% 29.8% 35.2% Sufficient

10.6% 11.2% 10.1% 16.5% Expert

Data Digital Business People

Literacy Proficiency Acumen Advocacy

Greatest opportunity for

improvement

36
2: Half of HR professionals are not aligned 3: HR professionals are essential people
with their business' objectives advocates
Furthermore, less than half (45 percent) of HR professionals On the flip side, two-thirds of HR professionals (63.8
have a solid understanding of their business, its customers, percent) have shown strong competency in people advocacy,
and the greater economic context which would enable them meaning they are able to create a strong internal culture, get
to help the company achieve its mission and goals. the best out of their people, and act as a trusted champion
and communications expert. It is also the competency in
More than half of HR departments thus bring limited
which HR professionals exhibit the highest level of expertise
business value and are, to a large extent, decoupled from
(with an average of 15 percent more professionals with
what the business is trying to achieve.
sufficient skill level and 4 percent more experts than in the
other competencies).

Given the nature of the HR function, this competency is

45%
indispensable for HR professionals. In addition, mastery of
people skills is certainly useful when helping organizations
adjust to the new era of work.
of HR professionals have
business acumen

37
Building competencies in 7 steps

The lack of data, digital, and business competencies does

not mean that moving towards a more employee-centric
model is out of reach for most organizations. The past two
years have proven how resilient, innovative, and agile HR
departments are. This makes them exceptionally well-suited
to upskilling initiatives.

With the sheer scale of the competency gap facing HR

departments, it can be difficult to determine where to begin.
But by following these 7 steps, you will be able to develop
targeted L&D interventions fully aligned with strategic HR
priorities.

38
1: Understand strategic HR priorities 5: Draft an implementation plan
Determining which competency gaps need to be addressed Create a clear and concrete plan of how to most effectively
first will help you get your HR organization to a higher level at deploy your planned L&D initiative.
a faster pace. The best way to identify skills gaps is to plot
your HR professionals' abilities against your business goals.
6: Training delivery
Launch your skilling hub and get learners onboarded and
2: Specify learning objectives engaged.
How exactly should HR professionals in your organization put
their digital proficiency or data literacy to work? What are
7: Continuous learning, monitoring, and
their ambitions and which skills does the organization need
optimizing
them to develop? Staying on top of changing learner and organizational needs
will ensure that your HR department will embrace
3: Select target audiences continuous learning, and focus on the skills and
Which HR professionals should take part in these L&D competencies that your organization needs most.
initiatives for maximum impact?

4: Develop learning journeys

Set your learners up for success by building a clear path for
them towards their desired competencies.

39
Conclusion Key takeaways

HR's established expertise is crucial for businesses seeking With the right skills and capabilities, future-proof HR
to overcome the long list of complex and urgent challenges departments will be able to:
that lie ahead. But people advocacy and specialized
⬣ Create individualized workplaces to allow for flexibility
expertise is not enough. Only when HR professionals are
and better collaboration
able to combine these with more general competencies will
they have the strategic knowledge, insight, and expertise ⬣ Be able to not only hire talent externally but also build it
necessary to identify and capitalize on new opportunities. internally

⬣ Use the latest technology to empower employees

The past two years have underlined not only the importance
of the HR professional, but the scope of what they can ⬣ Use data to be able to see where others will be flying
accomplish. Equipped with the right competencies, they will blind
be perfectly positioned to help organizations not only survive ⬣ Engage employees through emphasizing purpose and
in tomorrow's uncertain business environment, but thrive. aligning with their values

⬣ Reshape leadership to create a more democratized,

repurposed and value-driven management

40
At the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR), it is our mission to make HR
future-proof by offering world-class, online education programs available
anywhere, anytime.

Any HR professional who is committed to lifelong learning can expand their

skill set with relevant and in-demand skills. AIHR is the place to learn the
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