What advice would you give to HR leaders seeking sustainable functional improvements?
First, maintain an active interest in academic research and industry best practices. These are your compass, providing insightful perspectives and tangible examples of effective strategies.
Next, ensure your people strategy is tightly interwoven with your business objectives. The end goal is twofold: fostering an engaged workforce and driving commercial success. Remember, a strategy without execution is merely an elaborate thought exercise. Ensure your plans move beyond PowerPoint presentations into actionable, measurable steps.
Consistency and persistence are key. Strive for progress rather than chasing the elusive perfection. Incremental improvements can collectively yield substantial transformations over time.
Lastly, regularly review and analyse your data. Outcomes should guide your strategic adjustments. Stay attuned to paradigm shifts, like the advent of generative AI, that may drastically influence the work landscape. By maintaining this proactive stance, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate your organisation towards continuous improvement.
How do you identify and develop future leaders in today’s business landscape?
Going back to the 1960s, Shell had an approach in place to identify those individuals we see as able to achieve the highest leadership levels within their Shell career. Shell’s approach was originally based on a methodology which set out the skills, capabilities and mindsets which could make someone successful and enable them to reach the highest levels of leadership – by assessing CAR: Capacity – which is about thinking, Achievement – which is about delivery and learning and Relationships which is about people and outside in thinking. This early underpinning helped us identify qualities early on in our employees so they could be supported to their full potential and the approach was adjusted incrementally over time to best meet our needs.
In today’s world the bar on leadership is constantly raising. Leaders today must be champions of diversity and inclusion, who celebrate differences and use their influence as a force for positive change, while maintaining humility. Moreover, in an era characterised by rapid innovation and constant disruption, our leaders need to be agile, embodying a strong learner mindset, embracing experimentation, and having the resilience to fail fast, learn, and move forward.
With these requirements of future leaders in mind, we sought to update our approach and worked with our in-house organisational psychologists who developed, tested and validated an assessment tooling. This tool helps line managers and additional assessors to measure CAR – with some updates to the underlying criteria – for our employees. We are transparent on the outcomes and give our employees with a clear perspective of their career options and opportunities for development. These tools also support succession planning and ensure fairness and objectivity in the identification process.
Leadership development, on the other hand, builds upon our leadership framework consisting of Mindset and Behaviours, Leadership Skills, and Experiences. The Mindset and Behaviours element emphasizes the characteristics we believe are pivotal to our business’s success. Leadership Skills, meanwhile, pertains to the foundational abilities leaders need at different stages in their careers. These are essential skills, and they can be developed and honed through targeted development efforts. Experiences are also a critical part of leadership development. Through a rotation model, leaders are exposed to a range of experiences that test their character, judgement, and ability to handle diverse situations. This helps to unearth potential derailers and provides leaders with a broad perspective that fuels their growth.
In summary, the process of identifying and developing leaders in today’s business environment is an ongoing journey. It requires continuous assessment, learning, and adaptation.
What strategies have you employed to drive digital transformation in HR and enhance the employee experience?
Firstly, we moved towards a unified Human Capital Management (HCM) system. The goal was to consolidate disparate systems and processes into a singular, user-friendly platform. This allowed us to streamline operations, minimise redundancies, and ensure a seamless, interconnected HR experience for all employees.
We invested heavily in User Experience (UX). The emphasis was on simplicity and ease-of-use. We sought regular feedback from employees and incorporated it into our design, ensuring that our digital tools were meeting their needs and expectations.
Change management was also a vital aspect of our digital transformation strategy. We understood that introducing new technologies can be disruptive. Therefore, we put in place a comprehensive change management plan that included training sessions, demonstrations, and ongoing support to help our staff adapt to the new digital environment. We also established clear communication channels to address concerns and queries in real time.
To ensure greater accessibility and flexibility, we provided multiple entry routes to HR operations. This included options such as mobile access, self-service portals, and a helpline. This allowed our employees to engage with HR at their convenience and from any location, thereby enhancing their overall experience.
Continuous improvement was another cornerstone of our strategy. We adopted a data-driven approach to regularly review and refine our processes. This involved collecting and analysing user feedback, system performance data, and key performance indicators to identify areas of improvement.
Lastly, we embraced an agile approach to our digital transformation journey. We understood that technology and user needs are constantly evolving. Therefore, instead of aiming for a ‘perfect’ solution upfront, we focused on iterative development. We rolled out minimum viable products, gathered feedback, and then made incremental improvements. This allowed us to quickly adapt to changing requirements and ensure that our digital HR system remained relevant and effective.
What steps can HR professionals take to foster inclusivity and diversity?
Fostering diversity and inclusivity in the workplace is a crucial undertaking, but it cannot be achieved in isolation. It demands a holistic approach, one that understands that “success is not the result of opportunity alone; it is the product of equal opportunity.”
At the forefront of this mission, it is critical to highlight the moral and equity-based dimensions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I). This doesn’t imply that the business case is irrelevant, but rather, that our pursuit of DE&I should be grounded in our shared values and commitment to fairness. The truth is, when we focus on the moral case, we create a powerful drive aligned with our purpose that transcends numbers and tick boxes, leading to authentic, meaningful change.
One step towards this goal is to disperse the responsibility of DE&I across the entire organisation. Although HR plays a crucial role, DE&I should not be seen merely as “an HR thing.” Instead, it should be seen as a collective responsibility, owned and driven by all business leaders. By doing so, DE&I becomes embedded into the very fabric of the organisation, weaving a stronger, more inclusive corporate culture.
In addition, we must harness the power of our employees’ voices. Leverage their unique perspectives, experiences, and narratives to build a more comprehensive understanding of diversity and inclusion. Their stories are not mere anecdotes; they are profound lessons that illuminate the realities of our workplaces and the challenges we must overcome. Amplifying these voices fosters an environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Lastly, remember that the journey towards an inclusive and diverse organisation is a constant one. It requires ongoing learning, unlearning, and relearning. It demands resilience, empathy, and most importantly, genuine commitment. Inclusivity and diversity are not destinations; they are paths we continually navigate and negotiate, fostering a workplace that celebrates differences and champions equality.
You introduced Self Identification in Workday in 11 markets. Can you share the impact and lessons learned from introducing Self Identification in Workday for promoting diversity and inclusion?
As a company, we strive to foster equity, inclusion, and diversity. While our policies are designed to enable this, history has shown that society doesn’t always meet these expectations. Therefore, we acknowledge that we, like society, are on a journey to make progress.
Let’s first differentiate between equity and equality. Imagine a group of people standing in front of a tall fence, trying to watch a football game happening on the other side. The fence represents barriers of challenges that individuals face in society. Equality can be compared to giving everyone the same box to stand on, regardless of height or ability. Whilst this might seem fair, it doesn’t consider inherent differences and needs of each individual: some may struggle to see the game as consequence. Equity would involve giving people different sized boxes based on height/ability allowing everyone to see over the fence.
Equity of opportunity recognises that talent is distributed equally among individuals, but opportunities are not. It is our aspiration to provide equitable opportunities, supporting individuals to achieve their unique potential. We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer, making decisions based on skills, performance, and experience rather than non-objective factors.
Self-ID not only helps us understand representation better but also allows us to aggregate and correlate data across various processes, revealing potential statistical differences. It is important to note that correlation is not causation. However, better data serves as our first step toward identifying potential issues, having necessary conversations, and taking appropriate action to improve equity of opportunity.
Not everyone understands the purpose of self-identification or the safety of their data. Therefore, it is important that collectively we emphasise that data privacy is of utmost importance. We have made commitments to strictly limit access to the data, ensuring that only those with a legitimate role can process it. Proportionality, accountability, and fairness are paramount. We will not use this data for individual decisions but to meet legal requirements and gain insights at an aggregate and anonymised level.
We are dedicated to transparently disclosing our progress, already publicly sharing DEI data in the sustainability report. We have now launched an all-employee dashboard, providing insights into our progress in each country at an aggregate level so individuals can see the value in disclosing their information.
What advice would you give to organizations looking to implement continuous upskilling and reskilling programs for their workforce?
While I believe in the value of skills in the workplace, I remain sceptical about the notion that all enterprises will become skill-based organisations. It is unlikely that traditional job roles will disappear entirely, given that job taxonomies and employment laws are built around them. Instead, it is more likely most organisations will adopt a hybrid approach, incorporating various organisational models.
Notwithstanding, AI-enabled skills technologies may be the key to adapting and thriving in a rapidly evolving world. A comprehensive understanding of changing skills in the market empowers organisations to adapt workforce planning strategies and grasp how AI impacts the time spent on various tasks within jobs, enabling them to identify “o-ring” skills—those that are crucial for success. Job design and personalisation of career advice, learning pathways, and job recommendations becomes essential for engagement and for individuals to be productive and feel they are safeguarding their employability.
Whilst AI-enabled skills technologies hold promise, there is no “silver bullet” technology solution currently available. If you are embarking on the AI-enabled skills journey, here are five practical tips:
- Think through your skills architecture, with the aim of using a single taxonomy and AI across different applications. Avoid replicating functionalities offered by your HCM. Having a single taxonomy will help with user adoption.
- Work out where you need skills and where competencies are required. Contrary to some statements that skills will replace competencies, this is wholly undesirable. Skills and competencies can coexist, particularly in safety-critical, ethical, and compliance contexts.
- Prioritise Validity: Self-assessed, peer-assessed, or line manager-assessed skills lack validity. Instead, consider factors like length, breadth, and recency of experience to enhance credibility.
- Spend time organising your Job Catalogue: Investing time in structuring your job catalogue pays dividends in various areas, including pay and reward, talent and learning initiatives.
- Partner closely with your ethics and compliance team. Ensure you look for bias by running statistical correlations.
What digital solutions or tools have you found successful in optimizing HR processes and enhancing employee engagement?
There is no single tool or ‘silver bullet’ that can optimise all HR processes and enhance employee engagement. Successful digital transformation often comes from a combination of tools and solutions tailored to the business’ unique needs.
Transparency is a critical element of this digital ecosystem. Integrated systems not only streamline operations but also provide valuable insights. This is where tools like Alteryx and Power BI become exceptionally beneficial. Alteryx allows us to prep, blend, and analyse data from various sources to facilitate informed decision-making. Power BI, on the other hand, helps in visualising this data in a user-friendly and digestible manner, creating a ‘single version of the truth.’ This combination has greatly improved our ability to interpret and communicate HR data.
These tools have significantly improved our ability to track the run rate of our Total Human Asset Costs transparently. By providing real-time insights into our spending, we can proactively manage costs and align our human capital investments with our business objectives.
What key workforce trends and skills should HR professionals be mindful of for future-proofing their organizations?
While I hold some scepticism towards the notion of “future-proofing” – as the future is an undiscovered country, shaped by myriad influences we may not yet see – there are certainly trends and advancements we can keep our eyes on, to better adapt and navigate this evolving landscape.
One phenomenon that has caught my attention is the rise of generative AI. It’s a remarkable piece of technology that holds immense potential. Evidence suggests that it not only increases productivity across the board, but it may also reduce disparities in productivity and quality of work, especially benefiting those with lower ability.
I’m a fan of David Autor, who has indicated that this might be a fundamental paradigm shift – akin to the first Industrial Revolution. Just as the Industrial Revolution initially displaced artisans but ultimately spurred an increase in productivity and the birth of a thriving middle class, generative AI has the potential to create a similar shift. So far, computerisation has been skewed towards skill-biased change, amplifying wage polarisation through the displacement of middle-skilled jobs. Yet, generative AI may disrupt this trend, making more roles accessible to lower ability workers and possibly even lead to wage deflation for higher ability workers.
This is because generative AI learns from the most capable and disseminates this knowledge widely, thus democratising access to expert advice that was once the exclusive domain of knowledge workers. This could fundamentally reshape our concept of expertise and the value we place on different skill sets.
Yet, as I said, the future isn’t something that can be precisely predicted or prepared for in every aspect. These are but glimpses into potential future scenarios. It’s a rich topic with many implications and while I would love to delve deeper into these insights and possible strategies for navigating this potential future, I don’t want to steal my own thunder. I look forward to unpacking this a bit further in my upcoming talk – so hopefully that’s whetted your appetite to come and listen!
Join us at HR Event to embrace the future of HR and explore transformative practices for growth and innovation with top HR leaders.
