Seventy-nine percent of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills in their workforce, according to a recent survey by PwC. Ninety-eight percent of Human Resources professionals feel burned out, the Academy to Innovate HR has found. Another survey, by Gartner, shows 74% of employees were willing to support organisational changes in 2016 — but that number dropped to 38% in 2022.
Those numbers are telling us something important: People leaders have no choice but to reframe their worldview and capabilities. They need to identify and contextualise innovative approaches to their organisations.
They must get comfortable with change and the fluidity of the modern workforce. They must understand new expectations, anticipate future trends and adopt a more externally facing approach to their role, similar to what we observe in the most successful CEOs.
In 30-plus years of working with senior HR leaders, executives and business owners, I have never seen such uncertainty when it comes to people-related issues. People-related decisions are potentially more expensive, time-consuming and risky in the face of dramatic and increasingly fast change affecting everything and every organisation.
All leaders are people leaders, but many are really only managing.
Current workplace and workforce changes demand a rethink and reimagining of the role. Leadership and care of people-related practices used to be the mandate of HR. However, change, structural shifts and redesign mean that these days, this is often not the case because of resource allocation, new philosophies, or capability available. The Chinese giant Haier, for example, has 11 HR people taking care of 230,000 staff; people leadership issues now are taken care of at the team level.
Whoever is responsible for ways of working, well-being and long-term development of people now faces a situation where simply upskilling and reskilling may not be enough. They must take another look at what is possible in a very different world of work. Here are some of the challenges:
Expectations of how the People Leader/HR function needs to change are outpacing the speed at which the profession is actually upgrading.
They need to understand how the nature of work will change over the coming years and be thoughtful about creating an environment that will enable them to overcome challenges such as the resulting skills shortages.
Employees are more engaged and outspoken than ever thanks to social media which gives them a megaphone to hold organisations accountable for their words and actions.
The successful people leaders will need to see around corners, be proactive instead of reactive, and think long-term while being responsive to immediate needs.
If reframing is so critical to remain competitive and adaptable, where do we start?
Take time to make sense of the changes happening today. Get together and discuss the trends, technology shifts in (and outside) your industry, societal and (your) workforce expectation shifts, and what they all could mean for your organisation. Get on the same page. There may be all sorts of alarm bells, good ideas and insights available, that for whatever reason no one has mentioned. Do not let current culture get in the way. No one can be the ultimate expert these days.
Look at what your data is telling you. Insights must be data-driven and validated by further inquiry. Look deep and across your data, get someone to verify it with the real people providing it, and produce some ideas to respond to any worrying situations.
Plan for what-ifs. Have some of your team take the emerging information and plan for each eventuality. Techniques like 3-horizon scanning can help you take a theme and map out what would need to be done to address it over a given time period. Use themes for your situation — the real situation, not abstract or trendy issues. This works best collaboratively with many departments involved.
Find or build the people you will need. Start now. You may see some roles becoming obsolete or reduced, so it is the retraining of those people today. If AI can help, identify where you can better use your people’s time.
Plan with future agility in mind. The future will continue to change. Nobody mentioned the current impacts of Chat GPT to me one year ago. For example, my assistants’ roles have changed dramatically because AI frees them up to do other things I ask of them. Do not get attached to a single plan. It will be about experimentation and evolution, and that is okay.
Start conversations today. Leadership means communicating. You cannot do all this alone, and there cannot just be you talking about it. You must engage others from the start to manage or bulldoze any resistance.
Don’t try to do it alone. Who else can help you? Turn to your peers and professionals you know. Get as much insight, opinions and support as possible. Use what you learn and build new perspectives.
Most importantly, do not wait, get started today. It does not have to be formal or require investment; start small if you have to. Technology, AI, disruption, economic fluctuations, changing expectations among generations, the workforce and society mean that even your best current practices could fail quickly, and just at the most crucial time when expectations are rising but available resources may not be.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer, Managing Director, and Founder at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Centre. She is fascinated by the challenge of transforming education for all to create better prospects for Thais and people everywhere. Reach her email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa