TriNet’s own Elizabeth Brashears, SPHR, Director of Human Capital Consulting, was recently featured alongside other industry experts in this piece by Erin Osterhaus, the Managing Editor of Software Advice’s HR blog, The New Talent Times. Also included in the discussion is Raymond A. Parker, Senior Vice President, Human Resource Consulting for SOI
When you ask people to envision the future of work, they might think of an office with all the high-tech accoutrements seen in Steven Spielberg’s 2002 blockbuster, Minority Report. Then, when you ask those same people to envision the future of human resources, a profession most generally associated in pop references to the oft-suffering (and insufferable) Toby from The Office, there is a disconnect. Toby can’t use touch screen computers! He’s definitely not as tech-savvy and cool as Tom Cruise’s character in the Spielberg film.
But the HR technology evolution is coming. What are the changes HR professionals like Toby (most of them probably less annoying) will have to cope with in the coming years, and what can companies do to help them prepare? The HR experts I interviewed provided the following predictions and tips:
Prediction 1: In-house HR will downsize and outsourcing will increase.
As new software solutions allow employees to perform much of their own data entry through self-service portals, experts predict in-house HR departments will shrink. However, there will be increased opportunities for those in the HR profession outside of a company’s four walls as the demand for outsourced HR services will increase.
For benefits administration in particular, outsourcing will grow. Elizabeth Brashears, the director of Human Capital Consulting at TriNet, a cloud-based HR management firm for white-collar employees, believes benefits administration will be especially impacted as a result of increasing regulations and a globalized workforce. Brashears says, “As regulations surrounding employment, and particularly benefits, become more and more complex, I believe that companies will turn to field experts to help navigate through the landscape.”
Prediction 2: Strategic thinking will become in-house HR’s new core competence.
The leaner version of HR that remains will need to reposition itself as a strategic partner within the business. In fact, the trend toward smaller, more strategy-focused HR departments was predicted 11 years ago in SHRM’s 2002 report, The Future of the HR Profession.
Raymond A. Parker, Senior Vice President – Human Resource Consulting for Florida-based SOI, a TriNet company that focuses on grey- and blue-collar employees, notes, “The role of the chief human resource management (CHRM) will be to position and effectively communicate human resource management (HRM) insight for the organization’s strategic decision-making. The ability to interact at enterprise level as a genuine and valued partner to the ‘C-Suite’ requires not only business acumen that will carry the organization forward, but also a well-grounded generalist knowledge, skill and ability in human resource management, the more comprehensive term for HR, encompassing the complete scope of a full functioning HRM professional and department.”
In fact, the shift toward a more strategic HR department is now so strong that Brashears predicts the trend toward a more strategic HR function may even drive the creation of new job titles. As she explains, “HR professionals will likely transition into HR business professionals who not only understand HR implications but also business operations and strategy.”
Prediction 3: Managing a remote workforce will be the new norm.
Recent moves by companies like Yahoo and Best Buy to end their remote work programs are the exception, not the new normal. Without a doubt, HR will increasingly have to tackle the challenge of managing a remote workforce.
TriNet’s Brashears names the ability to build effective teams in both the physical and virtual workplace as an essential skill for HR professionals to possess by 2020. As she says, “The workplace issues that HR will face over the next decade will be around building and managing virtual teams–both domestically and globally.”
Preparing for 2020
In light of these predicted changes, what can forward-thinking HR professionals do as individuals to ensure they remain relevant in their field? And what can companies do to ensure their HR departments are on the cutting edge? All experts agree on one thing: keep learning.
Parker emphasizes the need for HR professionals to stay on top of things as he states:
Compliance, benefits, training, compensation, and safety specialists will be engaged via outsourcing to facilitate the new-era human resource management executive in providing material contribution to the strategic direction of the organization.
Brashears also notes that business savvy will be of utmost importance for the HR practitioners of the future, saying:
HR professionals are going to have to have a full understanding of the business operations and strategies in place to fully maximize the investment the company has placed in its people, and will likely transition into HR business professionals who not only understand HR implications, but also the overall business operations and strategy.
If you want your company to benefit from the changes Brashears and Parker predict, encourage your HR department to pursue further education, whether it be business classes or leadership development training. In the new world of employment, the more skills you and your employees have to draw upon, the better.
This article was originally featured on SOI Blog.