HR is evolving

HR is evolving. With better tools and less focus on a traditional hierarchy, it makes sense to integrate HR into the people and teams on the ground of an organisation. In my first #TalentVoices piece, I discuss the need for HR fluidity as a way of empowering individuals and promoting accountability, visibility and continuous learning across the board. Who wouldn’t want to run that kind of business?

Why we no longer have a HR department

 Before I begin, I must admit that the headline above is something of a red herring. We still have HR - it’s the “department” bit that we’re rethinking… 

 With each passing year, agile ways of working are becoming more and more important - in all sectors, but especially in IT - after all, agility and adaptation are the product we are selling. As the needs and demands of the modern workforce seem to shift a little every day, traditional business structures, processes and procedures are becoming less and less adequate to support them. In recent years, we’ve seen clear acceleration in so many areas of working life - now it’s time to turn that lens to how we grow and develop our people.

 Of course, rethinking the very core of your business is not something to be taken lightly. It takes guts to try something new - particularly if your old ways aren’t causing any specific harm. Personally, I love change - so much so that I majored in HR and change before becoming a consultant. I am driven by the sense of achievement and impact that comes when you take a leap of faith and it pays off. 

 I am always excited to discover talent at Ordina. But knowing someone has talent is one thing, working to make the best of it is another thing, and having an organisation that enables it is another thing still. At Ordina, we believe that the future of HR is fluid and reflexive; as good at supporting the needs of the individual as it is leveraging the needs of the individual to benefit the wider organisation. 

 To that end, we have been working on putting the power of HR back into our teams in an all-new ecosystem featuring HR-performing coaches. There are no barriers in business anymore, we all like to communicate with one another often - it’s how we do our best work and come up with our best solutions. We are now in the process of integrating HR expertise throughout the organisation to learn how to evolve our business from the people who know it best and work with individuals to empower personal and collective growth and development. Everything we do is measurable, with goals, sprints and deliverables making reaching our goals faster, better, and more fun for everyone involved.

 How it benefits individuals

 On a day-to-day basis, having a HR mindset - and all the skills and discipline that come with it on your team - can be extremely valuable. People feel more heard, seen and supported, that their challenges will be noted, and that the organisation has more of a complete picture of what work really looks like to assist in making big decisions going forward.

 Don’t underestimate the value of flattening that HR hierarchy on individual growth and development. Having this slightly flattened structure creates more transparency regarding the roles and responsibilities of the individual, and helps facilitate trust and support within the structures that remain. With HR pros there to reflect on what’s going right and what’s going wrong, individuals have the power to get on and grow much faster than they would in the traditional hierarchy. 

 This rationale can be extended from the individual to their wider team. Knowing that there is someone there specifically to assist with the challenges you face as a collective can be invaluable in helping teams feel valued and supported.

 How it benefits HR

 And now, for our first big question - how does this approach actually benefit HR? 

 When I started out in HR, I didn’t like the element of the role where we always seemed to be the ones saying, “no”. As HR professionals we can dig our heels in with our rules and regulations, or we can get to work moving the needle and getting people on board.

 Our tools are evolving, but our value will remain a constant - provided we can develop our core skills and mindset. Just as adaptability and learnability will be vital to our talent in the future, they will also be vital in creating a HR function that can keep up with them. Instead of relying on one concrete team, we now select and train people who can uphold standards throughout the business in our stead.

 The best thing about this particular change is that HR professionals are keen and on board, because they are used to looking for where the real value lies and adjusting their strategy accordingly. Embedded within teams, HR professionals are able to deploy their own expertise with greater efficiency - and have front row seats to see the impact their work is having.

 How it benefits the business

 Naturally, our second big question is the question we are all used to hearing multiple times each day. Where is the commercial value for the business? 

In this context, this is a valid question. What we are ultimately doing is asking business owners to relinquish some of the control, becoming more fluid and adaptable in order to facilitate rather than restrict agile development.

There is good reason to do so. Putting HR back into teams empowers all involved, promotes an exchange of accountability and visibility between team members and leaders, and nurtures a new culture for learning and growth across the business. With the capacity to learn new skills THE #1 asset for up-and-coming talent, who wouldn’t want to run that kind of business?

Because individuals have the ability to progress faster, I would even argue the case that working in teams is a great instrument for attracting and retaining talent. 

 It’s not always a walk in the park. On the one hand, teams have the know-how to empower themselves. On the other hand, it takes more coordination - we favour monthly reviews and bespoke dashboards, but this is always open to revision. For my team, it has become less about planning, more about relating and supporting - with clear targets, of course! 

My advice to my fellow HR professionals and leaders is quite simple. Remember, talent growth is accelerated by the steps you take to organise your business. To manage either well, you have to manage both well.

I’d love to hear what you think about our new approach. Have you tried anything similar yourself? Share your thoughts with the #TalentVoices hashtag.