ReBuilding@HR - or is HR still needed in the context of Company ReBuilding?

In 2016 we already wrote that in our view the HR function will play a decisive role in the future - provided it is set up correctly. Our thesis was: "The CHRO will outstrip the CDO". We are also convinced of the importance of the HR function in companies. For example the successful HR Digital & Innovation activities at Deutsche Telekom (Lead: Dr. Reza Moussavian) - which we were able to support successfully from the very beginning - illustrated the significant influence of HR on the digital transformation of the company. In parallel with our support for the division, we also addressed the following question: How can large companies successfully position themselves against the numerous start ups and "digital attackers"? This was the hour of birth of our Company ReBuilding approach, in which, among other things, our extensive experience in the areas of innovation culture, digital business models and New Work was incorporated.

In this article we would like to address the following question: What is the role of an HR or people management function in the context of Company ReBuilding? We asked ourselves whether this function is still needed at all or can be replaced in the future by intelligent platforms such as Upwork, Tara or iCombine. Remaining tasks could be shifted to managers - if we still have classical managers at all. Our answer is a clear: YES. Peoplemanagement becomes even more important. As described in our basic contributions, we have to look at several perspectives in Company ReBuilding. The classic group or the original large company is not lost or laboriously channelled through a restructuring project, but continues to provide the necessary financing and, in particular, the asset and technology base for the newly created units (cells), which form the basis for a new (mostly digital) ecosystem.

But what role does HR or people management play in the context of Company ReBuilding? Here are (... in its well-tried form ...) some theses, which we will concretize in the following articles.

1. talent management at the centre

As has been explained in detail several times in my articles, we are indeed in the age of digitalization, where one technological breakthrough is chasing the next (e.g. Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience). However, technology (as well as fixed assets) no longer makes the difference. Because technology is almost freely available, IT infrastructure is becoming cheaper and cheaper thanks to Moore's Law. The differentiation factor in the digital age is: the human being! The human being who has the right capabilities and skills and especially, the right mindset (see also article). Those people who possess the game-changing skills described by the Word Economic Forum, such as creativity, emotional intelligence and a far-reaching understanding of technology. And who doesn't just think in castles in the air, but in ruthless implementation (... and doesn't think that New Work is about optimizing leisure time). Identifying these talents, addressing them, bringing them into the company and retaining them will be a task for all employees in the future and definitely the focus of a people management role. And finally also the Prio. 1 Topic of the CEO ... (but that would be an additional article ,-))

2. selection of the High-Performing Team

In our Company ReBuilding approach we describe that the birth of a new unit (cell) is the selection of a High-Performing Team (what is meant by a High-Performing Team can be found e.g. in Leadership Coaching / Henley). Crucially, this is where classic assessment methods fall far short, even leading to the selection of the completely wrong people. Here, topics such as diversity, strength-based selection, potential as well as current skills play a decisive role. The selection of this team is crucial and forms the DNA of the new cell – making the difference, when it comes to developing a new and successful business model. As the authors of "Good to Great" so nicely describe, the critical step for success for companies (and their transformation) is: Get the right people on the bus! This selection process can be initiated, among other things, by formulating challenges (see e.g. Thinking Tools for High-Performers, G. Wohland), which provides an optimal pre-selection of talents for the High-Performing Team. Keep this process up and running is a very important task of the people management function in the Company ReBuilding context.

3. people management becomes platform and competence network management

Who of you knows the platform "UpWork" or the software solution "Tara". Both are examples of solutions for the future management and optimal allocation of workforce in the context of Company ReBuilding. UpWork is the largest freelancer platform in the world and offers not only the possibility to select the optimal individual for the respective job based on customer ratings, certifications, etc., but also to put together teams based on social information that are not only available but also optimally suited to the respective issue. Tara is able to almost completely automate IT project management - at least for backend solutions. Or think of the incredible potential of LinkedIn, where employees voluntarily update their data and skills are more or less automatically recorded and evaluated by the crowd.

Solutions like this will become more and more common in companies in the future (... in Germany - due to the regulatory landscape - with a corresponding time lag compared to e.g. the USA and Asia - which will again cause a corresponding backlog ...). By definition, an ecosystem formed by company rebuilding consists of many small, agile units and the added value is not only created through organically grown cell structures, but also through co-creation with customers and partners. The corresponding abilities / skills of all participants in the value chain have to be a perfect orchestrator using platforms and technologies such as those described above - an ability that becomes relevant for all employees (both in the cell organization and in classical structures). Helping to develop this ability and also setting up the corresponding technological landscape together with IT will be a core task of HR in the future. It should also be clear that these platforms will also completely change the way performance is assessed. Let us hope that an appropriate regulatory framework will be created that will open up these opportunities for us in Germany / Europe as well.

4. in the cell: people management (for the most part) as a role (also drawing parallels with our Company ReBuilding Practice) in addition to existing roles

Let's zoom in consciously on the cell organization. If you read through our basic articles on Company ReBuilding you will find that we speak quite provocatively of "zero overhead" and the mapping of remaining (i.e. not taken over by technology) functional (and therefore not directly value-adding) tasks in the form of roles. This is also the case, with a few exceptions (such as overarching compliance, infrastructure or legal issues). If almost all operative HR tasks are taken over by technical solutions (see e.g. Future HR - What comes after the 3-role model), the remaining topics are transferred in the form of roles to employees of the respective cell units whose strength profile (e.g. Gallup Strength Finder can be an indication here) recommends a corresponding takeover. For example, in our Company ReBuilding Practice within Detecon we have also assigned specific roles such as Recruiting, Skill Development, Mindfulness, or New Work to employees who assume these roles in addition to their other activities which have a direct connection to the end customer. All roles are provided with appropriate degrees of freedom and can rotate as required. We have also defined an overall "Product Owner" for the entire "Employee Experience" complex in the form of an agile logic that clearly focuses on employee value. However, this colleague is also a project manager in various customer projects and fills the "Employee Experience" function in one role. Some best-practice examples, such as Hypoport, bundle central topics, such as transformation management, into one overarching unit. In our view, this can make perfect sense in individual cases if it allows scaling and synergy effects to be leveraged and if these tasks make a specific and measurable contribution towards the customer or employee. However, the starting point should always be: no creation of overhead functions that do not have a direct (end) customer interface.

5. rotation - within the cell and beyond

We have already dealt with the topic of rotation in some of the articles on "Chinese digital success stories". Especially in Chinese top companies, the principle of rotation is often anchored up to top management level and offers a high learning curve, the breaking of silos and the adoption of new perspectives (... a basic prerequisite for innovation). In an ecosystem created by Company ReBuilding, the rotation of participants in the value chain plays an even greater role - ultimately through a large number of small units (remember dunbars number ). However, the rotation principle goes even further, namely beyond company and cell boundaries in the direction of job visiting with value-added partners or the temporary shadowing of the value-added process by customers. To accompany this complex process optimally - also the task of a people management role. Not to mention the orchestration of the respective alumni network, which in future will not only be a topic for management consultancies, but for every company that wants to be successful in the digital age. It is not for nothing that we also talk about network economy.

6. The Chief Employee Experience approach or the "New Work" role

In our view, New Work and the establishment of the Employee Experience approach are crucial when it comes to shaping the people management of the future. Since we have already written so much on New Work and our implementation experiences are well summarized in the book "New Work - on the way to the new working world" including scientific facts, we would like to deal with the topic here only briefly. Most of you are probably aware that New Work is a key success factor in the digital age and represents THE No.1 entry criterion for many talents. The approach of the Chief Employee Experience Officer, at the latest since Airbnb introduced a CEEO and reported on it in detail, should also be sufficiently known. In this approach, all internal tasks that contribute to the "Employee Experience" and "Employee Value" are bundled along Employee Journeys (similar to customer journeys). Ultimately, exactly the same criteria apply here as for the design of end customer products: Simplicity, "one-click" principle, coolness, etc. The role of the CEEO or Employee Experience Manager can be structured along the dimensions described in our New Work approach: People & Organization, Places & Platforms, Technology & Data, Principles & Regulations. The respective role is also responsible for the implementation of the New Work instruments, which we have identified together with the "HR Impulsgeber Institut" as critical for the success of companies in the digital age.

Conclusion: HR is dead - long live HR and people management.

In my career so far, I have been fortunate to be able to take on the perspective of a founder, an IT and software developer, a corporate finance guy, a restructuring and transformation manager, as well as an HR manager, and to accompany these functions in countless projects. In no other function have I experienced so many discussions about my own self-image as in the HR function. From massive self-doubt, collective depression and apparent meaninglessness to model discussions, some of which were over-theorized. All the more reason for me to be pleased that, especially in recent years, self-confidence has risen and more and more people are seeing how HR is successfully beginning to drive forward the digital transformation.

HR and people management can play a decisive role in this process, especially in the age of company rebuilding and the development of agile network structures, as we have described above. We don't want to appear "platitudinous": but in simple terms, we can say that here too a "rebuilding" is required, namely an "HR rebuilding", in which talents and employee experience are in focus and in which HR in particular does not cling to rigid and hierarchical line roles, but allows a role-based approach as well as a radical skills shift in its own ranks. Because then the sentence already formulated in 2016 applies, albeit in a slightly modified form: "People management will rise again".

What is your opinion on this? I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback.

#CompanyReBuilding #NewWork #FutureHR #HRInnovation #Agility #CellStructures #CHRO #CEEO #EmployeeExperience