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The HR team in 2028 – our predictions

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Posted by Alastair Cole on 30 October 2018

The HR team in 2028 – our predictions

HR Reward | Reward Consultancy |

‘Personnel’, ‘Human Resources’, ‘People Operations’ - all names that can be given to the department or function that looks after an organisation’s most valuable resource: its people.

The HR profession has witnessed a dramatic evolution over the decades, from its genesis as an employee welfare provision, to the strategically-aligned and value-adding function we are (or strive to be) today. 

The history lesson is the easy part. But imagine if you were presented with a crystal ball and could see into the future. What could the HR team of 2028 look like? Are the days of the pure HR generalist numbered, with the increasing requirement for some form of specialist knowledge?

This might be a slightly extreme projection, but one thing is fairly certain; the HR team in 10 years’ time will be no place for technophobes. It’s a given that technology will continue to advance and drive change in HR. This means administration and processes will become more streamlined and automated, freeing up more time for proactive, value-added work and strategic thinking. 

What does this mean for reward? 

I think this is great news for reward professionals, if it means less time wrestling with spreadsheets and more time applying insight to formulating reward programmes that are totally in-tune with organisational aims. 

Despite advancements in HR related technology, I believe there are three fundamentals that will not change: 

Agenda - designing appropriate reward programmes and retaining the organisation’s talent will still remain the primary focus for reward professionals. 

Robust data - at the heart of any HR system worth its salt, is a reliable and clean set of data, which can be used to form the basis of the whole range of HR activities, not just reward. The more data available the better and without it there is no HR system. 

Insight - while technology will reduce the time spent on much of the number crunching, interpreting the results and translating them into meaningful insight that can be used to inform business decisions, is where value can really be added. What’s the point of having a pretty set of graphs and tables without knowing what they are telling you in relation to your business and the wider market? 

While we can only speculate on the range of forces that will shape the HR agenda in years to come, technology will continue to revolutionise the way HR does business.

Regardless of the speed and range of analysis that HR software can perform, and no doubt improve upon in the future, this will not replace the role of the human mind to make sense of the outputs and know how to apply them to the development of HR and reward strategies.

Innecto can help with any area of pay and Reward. Give us a call on 020 3457 0894 or email alastair.cole@innecto.com

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