What is HR 3.0?

You're in it...transform your skills, team, and company to meet the demands of the current and future workplace demands.

We know that things are not the same. The workplace changed radically. Our employees were changing before the pandemic - and now they are a completely different group of people. The talent challenge was tough before, but now it's more difficult than ever. We face greater obstacles, more frequently, and more pervasive than ever before. It can be exhausting.

At the same time, never before has HR had so much opportunity. This past year has allowed HR to move into the spotlight of leadership. Business counted on HR to maintain sanity as it sent its entire workforce home overnight. Coordinating complicated paid sick leave laws, work from home rules, CDC guidelines, onsite health checks, and close contacts are only a few of the most visible tasks HR was charged with. HR also took care of the back end of morale, talent retention, mental health, performance, employee engagement, and internal leadership. Everyone looked to HR to see what was coming next - the next change that would affect production, employment, and progress.

Now we are at a crossroads. Prior to the pandemic, we saw the changes at hand. Talent was difficult to find and becoming scarcer. Most were slow to adopt digital transformation, instead sticking with more comfortable ways to manage administrative tasks. People have changed - looking for an Employee Experience (EX) rather than simple employment. Our efforts as strategic business partners has been good. We add value in HR to help managers achieve their goals. However, we found that we were not optimizing our contribution to the bottom line. Times have changed - have we?

Through the mid-'90s HR ran under what we may refer to as HR 1.0 where it was focused heavily on administrative burdens, forms, policies, and procedures. In the mid-'90s, new models emerged thanks to our friends such as Dave Ulrich and Jac Fitz-Enz. (Thanks guys!) They emerged with a focus on helping HR shift into HR 2.0 as we became strategic business partners, earning a "seat at the table" by redefining our service model and aligning our efforts to help the business achieve its goals. These efforts are still needed - we just need to do them more efficiently so we can move on to the new world.

IBM shared an article "Accelerating the Journey to HR 3.0" (https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/hr-3). Within this article, it shares some of the concepts of what we are facing today. I would argue that we are not transitioning to HR 3.0. We are here.

Today's HR must increase its resiliency, flexibility, and leadership to align technology, people, and business. HR must go beyond just looking at its people and become better subject matter experts about the business - what it does, makes, and sells. How can managers trust us to find the right talent if we don't know what we're looking for? We need to increase our business acumen and expertise to know and understand our business better than anyone.

HR must understand the global economy and recognize its impact on talent availability and skill development. Rather than waiting for managers to tell us what they need, HR must be the purveyor of talent - knowing in advance what managers need and the availability in the market (either internal or external). As employers shift to more of a competency base to hire, HR will shift into sourcing agents by matching individuals and their competencies to match project-based competency needs to get the right skill set to the right project at the right time for the right period of time. Some may say that has always been HR's job - however, now we need to do it faster, better, and more resiliently.

To help HR succeed under this new model, HR professionals must transform 6 areas:

1. HR Service Delivery Model - HR must be seen as a function, not a department. Managers do HR - the HR team facilitates it. HR must do better at helping managers enhance their ability to execute HR functions at the front lines to gain new efficiencies and increase effectiveness.
2. Digital Transformation - It's time to ditch the spreadsheets and adopt AI. If HR is not taking full advantage of tools to offload processes, admin, and paperwork, it's wasting time for themselves, managers and employees. Time to shift now.
3. People Transformation - HR must take ownership of improving the performance of all employees. HR 1.0 was about building better evaluation forms. HR 2.0 was about helping managers improve their ability to manage performance. HR 3.0 is about improving the overall performance of all employees.
4. Change Leadership - As Peter Drucker said, "One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it." We can drive the change or be changed - it's time for HR to be the leader. That means we need to be out there in front to know what is going on so we can influence the direction of where we should head.
5. Management and Strategy Development - The development of leaders has largely been the responsibility of HR all along. It's time to shift the curriculum to greater proactivity and influence to shift the trajectory of the organization. Transformation begins with mind shift - HR has the ability to affect this mind shift in how it develops the leaders who affect the direction, performance, and attitudes of employees.
6. Cultural Transformation - Culture will happen no matter what. You can either guide it or let it just happen. When a strong CEO is present, they will influence and drive that culture and we can help transform the organization to align with that desired culture. In the absence of a strong CEO, the culture will be left to evolve itself. HR has the opportunity to lead the cultural influence to achieve the organization's mission.

At the heart of all of this is the HR Professional. To make this happen, special emphasis must be placed on the HR Pro to transform their mindset, behavior, and results to succeed. Setting a clear vision, aligning resources, continuously improving, and shifting personal perspectives are the first steps. Taking action and executing on the vision are next to rally support, build a team, and drive the effort throughout the organization. Creating wins, staying flexible, maintaining resiliency, and moving forward despite the challenges that emerge will be key.

Remember - HR 3.0 isn't about NOT doing the admin (1.0) or maintaining your partnerships (2.0). It's about transforming your HR functions to lead the business and your people to succeed in this new stage of uncertainty, challenge, and opportunity and add value that drives results.

Here's to your success!

Dr. Wade Larson - Optimal Talent Dynamics

www.OptimalTalentDynamics.com / [email protected]

Stay Tuned for the New Book - HR Transformation! Available in May from the website or on Amazon.

See the rollout presentation on HR 3.0 on May 11th - visit www.INSHRM.org for more information or to sign up!