Digital Awakening: The Medley of Dreams and Disruption

If there was one phenomenon that stood out and influenced all important HR conferences, seminars, conversations in 2017 it was the concept of Digital. Unlike other favorite seasonal topics e.g. diversity, millennial workforce, HR influence on business etc., this one took us completely as a storm, where we had no option but to adapt or perish. For some industries, it became reality even before true awakening happened. We all became part of fourth industrial revolution irrespective of the industry or geography we represent.

The beginning of 2017 was mostly focused on new tools, platforms, techniques for human resources addressing one small component of digital i.e. digitization. We experienced huge technology influx in Human Resources and it was welcome change to see that Human resources professionals were not only taking keen interest in technology but also convinced of the fact that this is a way forward. We were quite quick to build talent platforms on ABC of digital i.e. Artificial intelligence, Big Data and Cloud. While the technology came in easily the shift in mindset, ways or working, organization redesign, employee reskilling, digital capability development became the biggest challenges staring at us. The existing business models are continuously under the threat of digital disruption and we now have new set of digitally skilled employees challenging the organization design and operating principles, making it imperative for human resources function to disrupt itself.

Think Digital! for me is easier said than done. There is just so much to absorb and process that journey of confusion to clarity seems a long and difficult one. Digital seems to be much more than just technology, it is the mindset, way of relating to each other, working on solutions for real problems for mankind.  I realized that it was extremely difficult to say that we have understood this phenomenon completely but interpretation of some patterns and trends do give us some threads to weave in.

a.      Our customers are unique, so are our employees: While we have been speaking of employees as internal customers in true sense we have always treated employees and customers very different. Customer centricity, design thinking product and solution development experiences new heights in designing personalized solution and disrupting the markets. But the principles of listening, empathy, product and platform design, prototype testing, end customer feedback have been rarely applied for designing the HR systems and processes. It is quite an irony that it is the people function that kept policies and processes at the core of design rather than people itself. Now we have been pushed to think different, or understand that the same human expectations are at play when we speak either of customers or employees and both the segments have access to the best of world. We are one of the choice for them and we need to work on making the organization their top choice. We need a paradigm shift, no standard one size fit all solutions but employee experience being starting point for personalized talent solutions. New age truly digital Organizations are using design thinking principles to develop solutions that matter, allowing flexible employment norms, policy and practices within broader agreed organizational principles. With the war for talent getting tougher in the digital arena with complete demand supply mismatch and diversity of talent pool it will be imperative to understand what our critical and highly capable employees need and are asking for. Our willingness to design personalized offerings for employees will be key to attraction, engagement and retention of high quality talent.

b.      Skills and capabilities becoming more important than levels and credentials: Gone are the days when the best business ideas came only from the alumni of premier management schools. Start-ups busted the myth around education and background, in absence of any direct co-relations it is the real matter that matters. Innovation is everyone’s prerogative and is coming from different walks of life, more than ever. There is a huge shift in focus on looking at actual skills and capabilities. We have now entered the world where objective skills assessments are replacing human view points and feedback on skills. It does not matter where you come from, what matters is what you bring on the table, the impact you can make on business. There is also greater appreciation of the fact that outcome cannot be generated by one individual effort, it is the team which matters. The ability to work with the team and impact the performance of others is becoming important skill to look for.

c.      What motivates employees is Mastery, Autonomy and Purpose: Dan Pink’s research on what motivates employees is proving to be completely true for digital workforce. It is not enough to have organizational vision, every project that we work on needs to have compelling purpose of serving mankind. What matters is a better future, solving real human issues, it can be anything health, energy, environment, employment, education etc. The team members need to feel the real difference they make to the world and that’s the source of inspiration and passion for them. “Jack of all trades and master of none” is no more fashionable. In the digital arena, there is a realization in businesses that a person with mastery in one area can contribute many times more than the ones who don’t have. The motivation to be the best in your field is becoming a key influencer to employee behavior at work. The job and organizational choice is determined by the opportunity to work and build expertise. The work that we expect our employees to do will require a growth mindset, thinking of possibilities beyond any boundaries. That is impossible without autonomy. Not surprisingly hacks are becoming way of life. Traditional structures and designs are more of barriers and hindrance and are in need for change. The fluidity will be the new structural norm.

d.      Getting Data That Mattered:  Organizations will now have to move from functional silos to one organization unit working in cross functional project teams. The feedback for behavior or performance in no more a prerogative of just the reporting manager but is coming from multiple interactions and opportunity that employee has. Relying on manager feedback for talent decisions will be under question mark. The importance of data in taking high quality decisions is well established. Whether we are looking at hiring or performance evaluation now the data is not only required on performance outcome, but also impact on organization, team and people at large. Assessment of skills, feedback on various point of interaction, contribution to various ideation groups, hackathons, technology influence, social media presence, brand promotion etc. has added on to get complete perspective on employee. Leaders will be using data more to develop collective intelligence not only on internal organizational functioning and culture but also for developing future business directions. The data from every meeting will be seen as source of input for continuous innovation and change.

Organization culture will not only continue to play and important role in organizational functioning but will be a key anchor for success. We will have to create an environment where the master of the craft will have to work with other masters to create path breaking solutions for mankind. We have to practice deep listening to understand how can we help our employees excel in their field. While the most of the data will be generated by systems, we have to build a culture of coaching, where the conversations are focused on performance improvement and performance conversations are non-threatening. It is not necessary to have multiple interventions, it is the question of having the interventions make maximum impact.

In my view 2018 will be a year of massive organizational transformation introduced by digital disruption. This will be an opportunity for human resources practitioners to disrupt the HR function and redefine our roles in organizational success. Most of us have heard about industrial revolutions, now it is our opportunity to be part of one. Let’s innovate, experiment and learn from each other.