At the HR Vision Amsterdam Summit, Content Hub had the opportunity to interview both Paul Zak, Neuro-economist at Immersion Neuroscience and David Rivel, Co-Founder of PathMotion, to find out how they are tackling their corporate challenges.
Thinking back to the past, what is the single biggest change you have seen over the last 5 years?
David: Generally, the fact that online/software is replacing a lot of traditional businesses (e.g. Amazon) and bringing a lot of efficiencies for businesses and consumers alike. Also, new players in the shared economy are disrupting whole industries such as the likes of Uber and Airbnb disrupting the Hotel and Taxi industry. In HR, this has meant access to better tools to source, select, assess, convince, and develop talent – disrupting traditional recruiters and giving more visibility to what works.
Paul: I have two answers. The first is that HR professionals are increasingly tasked with sustaining and improving productivity. This runs the gamut from hiring, to training, to retention. The second is the embracing by HR professionals of data analytics. The big question, of course, is which data matter? The jury is still out on that, but the options are getting clearer.
Thinking about the future what will be some of the biggest challenges HR will face?
Paul: Labour shortages hands down. Labour markets are tight almost everywhere in the world, even in many developing countries, and keeping high performers working for a particular company is getting even harder. This is where recruiting for culture and mission become critical.
David: Attracting and retaining top talent will, indeed, become increasingly more difficult. According to PwC, 63% of CEOs said skills availability is already a serious concern. The war for talent will only intensify with demand continuing to trend above supply for talent and an increasingly transparent job market will push the power towards candidates and employees. HR will need to use the right tools and techniques to attract and retain top talent, but also make the case to push the C-suite to invest significantly in offering the right work environment and opportunities to their workforce.
There is a view that HR is still not trusted to be a true business partner by CEOs and the wider business, to what extent do you feel that’s the case? Why?
David: This is a trend that is changing with forward-looking organisations. There is a realisation that talent is an organisation’s #1 priority. A McKinsey study also shows that organisations with outstanding talent outperform their competitors by 20%.
CEOs are therefore more willing to invest in anything that attracts or retains the best, from high profile leadership programmes for young talent, to promoting learning and development along the career paths of employees. One example of this is the increasing presence of distinct functions within HR related to attracting and promoting talent, including talent attraction, employer branding, talent management and happiness officer.
Paul: The HR professionals I work with are consummate pros. Because of the shortage of highly qualified colleagues, HR must be seen as the key component to a profitable business. One sign of this is the change in the name of this department such as Talent Development or Human Development.
We’re still hearing about leaders in business needing to upgrade their skills. What new skills are required to be a CHRO in today’s workplace?
David: The value of a CHRO has increased over the last few years, taking the same trend that Finance did over the last few decades; becoming a true partner to the CEO. People are the lifeblood of an organisation. The CHRO has the responsibility to make sure the right people are in place to achieve the business objectives, and for that to happen, it is increasingly important for the CHRO to:
* Be data driven, whether it is to hire the right people or understand the value created by different teams and draw informed conclusions out of them.
* Challenge any existing HR practices which do not deliver ROI
* Identify tools and technologies which can help the HR team achieve more despite having a lean team
Paul: Two stand out: Data analytics and a neuroscience. Data is increasingly driving decisions, so CHROs need to understand what the data mean and how to act on it. Human behaviour is driven by our brains, and neuroscience is increasingly entering into, and affecting, how CHROs do their work. Both of these are important and can improve how organisations are run.
[See Paul’s video interview – Are HR professionals ready for the shift towards data and analytics?]
Mastercard’s CHRO, Michael Fraccaro, recently announced that the leading global payment and technology company is planning to invest a lot more in the Indian market and hire talent in areas of artificial intelligence, data analytics, research & development and innovation from this region.
How important are emerging economies for you in your digital and tech evolution?
Paul: Many emerging economies in Asia and Africa have already reached the growth inflection point. South America has amazing potential, especially Brazil, Panama, and Costa Rica. Globalisation plus the internet means that many of the bad government decisions that kept people in these countries out of finding valuable jobs are less of a hurdle. We’re moving from “those people” to “that person”, finding high-performers around the globe.
David: Emerging economies are markets with a lot of talented people, however they’re also economies that are booming at compounded rates of 40%, creating a lot of opportunities for this talent.
The Harvard Business Review argues that employees in the developing world are particularly attuned to brand, for instance, because a desirable affiliation may lead to personal advancement —especially when the brand is associated with inspirational leadership, the kind that challenges employees to develop themselves as leaders and to help build a great company that plays on a global stage.
The tech world is playing an important role in recognising this talent and has pushed governments across developed countries to give them more opportunities to access the developed markets with special visas. It is also easier to reach out to this talent without having to relocate them, with countries such as Russia, Ukraine or Cambodia developing outsourced tech hubs, alleviating the missing resources that can’t be found in the developed countries.
It’s time to bring the future of work into focus. Join HR leaders from some of the world’s leading organizations, who will share their experience and expertise in a two-day event designed for those shaping the future of work.
