6 Principles To Keep In Mind For The Transformation of HR (New Year's Resolution)

As we come to the end of 2017, thinking about the things we did and achieved during the year and committing to the “new year’s resolutions”, we are also in a good place to start reflecting on the big goal of transforming the human resources (HR) function and all the opportunities that 2018 is bringing us to do so.

2018 will be a decisive year for many industries and companies. The accelerated rate of innovation and digitization will bring many opportunities. But it will also increase the pressure for change, especially in corporate functions that still operate under obsolete assumptions.

HR won't really have an option but to change in order to remain relevant.

As we think about the way to carry on with such HR transformation, there are six principles that are fundamental to keep in mind.

Principle No. 1: THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.

The transformation of the HR function is necessary. Delaying it any longer will only increase the pain and leave less opportunities to be proactive about such transformation. Most business leaders agree that HR is not delivering its potential value. Research shows that HR continues to be focused on transactional work (administration and policy enforcement and compliance) at the tune of 85% of the total time allocated for HR activities.

Unfortunately, policy enforcement doesn’t deliver the kind of value that companies, business leaders and employees demand from HR. No surprise that 40% of the CHROs come from the “business” (operations) and not from HR. In times of extreme chaos and volatility, hypercompetition and ultra-fast paced innovation, HR can’t remain the same it was one hundred years ago, when it was created.

Principle No. 2: INCLUDE OTHERS TO CO-CREATE THE FUTURE OF HR WITH YOU

Transformation and change is not easy for all. Don’t expect everybody to be onboard with major HR strategic changes. Some people, hopefully most, will be champions of the transformation and engaged with its successful realization. Some others will be neutral, and some will oppose it.

What’s important is to successfully engage and include HR people from the beginning of the transformation to ensure the least amount of pain possible for those who would otherwise be left behind. And I don’t mean to engage them as merely recipients of information, but rather as co-designers and co-creators of the future of the HR in your company and industry.

The transformation of HR will need of many people, with diverse backgrounds, experiences and needs. Designing the changes and transformation of HR only with people from within traditional HR is a huge and expensive mistake. Don’t be afraid of bringing HR and other areas onboard. Don’t be afraid of conflicting or controversial views of the future of HR. It will all serve the purpose of helping building a stronger (and flexible) vision.

Principle No. 3: TECHNOLOGY IS AN ENABLER. IT SHOULD BE ABOUT PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST

The transformation of HR is not just about technology. Please do not think that by implementing a new recruitment system based on artificial intelligence or that by using blockchain to run background checks you will become a “transformed HR”. The transformation of HR must be systemic and holistic. Technology is a tool to enable change, it isn’t change in itself.

The commitment to transform HR must consider several factors. Perhaps the most important one is ensuring that the transformation always puts people first. HR has traditionally put company, processes and rules before people and I’m scared that now we might put technology first.

For example, more and more people today think that their jobs are useless and meaningless. Technology won't really solve that perspective, but perhaps increase it. Instead, HR has to consider the need to not only upgrade tech tools people use, but even the very nature of the work they do. HR has to redefine organizational structures, job descriptions, expectations and performance measures, new, less stringent processes have to be put in place in order to ensure a minimum level of standardization and a maximum level of creativity.

The point is that the transformation is not just about technology. It's about putting people first and designing and organization that revolves around maximizing employee experience, engagement, creativity and potential.

Principle No. 4: EXPERIMENTATION, RISK-TAKING, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION AN OPEN-MINDEDNESS (GROWTH-MINDSET) ARE CORNERSTONE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF HR

The transformation of HR isn’t a quick, simple or straight-forward process. We would be dead wrong if we thought that life was a straight line between where we are today and where we want to be tomorrow. Life is but a rollercoaster, with ups and downs, goods and bads, successes and failures.

And the same principle of life applies to the transformation of HR.

It isn’t a straight line. It’s complicated and it will take time. Even more importantly, the way to design and implement such transformation and its final outcomes aren’t written in any handbook. You’ll have to figure it out by yourselves through experimentation, risk-taking, creativity and innovation, open-mindedness and a growth-mindset.

I’ve learned that many HR practitioners prefer the comfort that comes from tightly controlling the way a system works and its outcomes than the adrenaline that comes from experimenting with new ideas without having certainty about their future. Unfortunately, these aren’t the times where we can really control anything with total certainty.

Principle No. 5: ADOPT A DIGITAL MINDSET

Albert Einstein said that “we can’t solve the problems we create with the same thinking [mindset] that we had when we created them”. Paraphrasing Einstein, we can’t solve 21st-century people operations’ challenges, transform HR and deliver our potential value with the same mindset that we’ve always used to try to solve them.

I like to call these two mindsets the analog mindset (or the old-system thinking) and the digital mindset.

Those with an analog mindset think that HR challenges can be solved with outdated practices. They see change with disdain. And too often, not only do they oppose the transformation, but prevent it from reaching higher levels within the organization. On the other hand, those with the digital mindset understand the extraordinary important of change and transformation. They aren’t afraid of change.

Do digital mindset people have the answer to all the HR problems and challenges? Not at all. But they are extremely open-minded to experiment and learn what works and what doesn’t.

The digital mindset if critical for the transformation of HR. And even though I left it last in the five principles, it’s perhaps the all-encompassing principle without which there wouldn’t be any transformation.

Principle No. 6: LEADING CHANGING THROUGH ANALYTICS

Imagine an athlete who has always taken good care of himself, watching his training, nutrition and performance. If that athlete gets injured one day, he will probably be disciplined enough to rest and heal. Perhaps the healing process would be faster and more efficient because it's based on the discipline that the athlete has practiced in his career.

Now imagine the athlete who hasn't done that, someone who was only focused on adding more and more training and didn't pay enough attention to the proper training, nutrition or performance data. This is an undisciplined athlete. When he gets injured, he doesn't rest properly and, instead of healing, makes the injury worse and the healing process longer and even more painful.

HR is more like the second athlete. It hasn't taken good care of its practices, processes and focus. It's been so undisciplined and trying to do the same thing over and over that it never stopped to measure performance and evaluate whether its practices were still relevant. And HR is injured today. It's not delivering the value it needs. And because how undisciplined it's been, the healing or transformation process might be more painful and longer.

Ultimately, the transformation of HR requires discipline, a genuine capacity to lead the change and strong business and people analytics acumen to measure performance. HR needs to be like the first athlete, especially in times where the race for survival, relevance and value-creation is fiercer than it's ever been.

After notes

Unfortunately, the way HR operates today is based on obsolete assumptions. The HR operation is not adding the kind of value that company and people demand.

This makes the transformation of HR both fascinating and scary.

I understand that "transformation" and "change" make a lot of people anxious, especially those with an “analog mindset”. But I also believe in the flexibility of HR and people's capacity to change and remain professionally relevant.

Transforming HR is not a technological luxury. It’s a systemic necessity that overlaps the work of HR, the way people operate and the business operations.

I hope these six principles help establish a basic framework for the transformation of HR. I will continue to explore ideas on how to ensure a successful transformation, with the least amount of pain for the least amount of people, and the most amount of impact for the most amount of people. 

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About the author:

Enrique Rubio is a Tech and HR Evangelist. He's passionate about Human Resources, People Operations, Technology and Innovation. Enrique is an Electronic Engineer, Fulbright Scholar and Executive Master in Public Administration with a focus on HR. Over the past 15 years Enrique has worked in the HR and tech world. A lot of his research and work revolves around the digitization of the workplace and Human Resources. Enrique currently works as an HR Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank. He's also the founder of Hacking HR. Enrique is currently building Cotopaxi, an artificial intelligence-based recruitment platform for emerging markets.d