Technology is impacting the future of work and many organizations are bracing remote work. Remote workers will account for nearly three-quarters of the US workforce by 2020, as per Buffer’s state of remote work reports.

Huge changes are already happening around the workforce where new methods of engagement, strategies for team building, and employee connection is already on the shoulders of HR professionals.

By 2020, the workforce will have 50% Generation Z, the 1st true digital natives. This generation is focused on social accountability, entrepreneurship, and work-force balance. An inclusive workforce is also on the ascent.

Both large enterprises and SMEs will adopt new technologies that will reconfigure the way we work. For instance, Artificial Intelligence and Automation will replace the traditional nature of work. This will encourage the employees to look for training and reskilling to uphold their existing jobs and adapt to the new normal of work capabilities.

To add to the list, the coronavirus pandemics and its impact on health is a major concern now. Relying on technologies, furloughing, contract employees, downsizing, and many more processes are shaking the debate about the ‘future of work’.

What implications will these volatilities of the times have for HR management? How can HR stay relevant and what changes they can bring in their evolving roles? How to prepare for these unparalleled times? Do these unique times influence HR careers?

As mentioned, organizations were pivoting toward remote and flexible work schedules before the COVID-19 outbreak. We can expect fewer full-time jobs, portfolio careers, increased frequency in job changes, and constant reskilling and upskilling.

Let’s understand the changing roles of HR professionals and how they can efficiently meet their new challenges here.

Moving with the flow

HR leaders must comprehend the future roles and skills they need for employment models like an inclusive workforce, change in organizational processes, and manage a technology-driven workforce. Let’s look forward.

Future-proofing of talent strategies

Emerging jobs require more technical skills, soft skills, and fluency. It is becoming difficult for HR professionals to find and hire the right talent.

As per Gartner’s prediction, AI will create 2.3 million jobs while eliminating 1.8 million jobs. HR leaders have the responsibility to plan their new workforce in the wake of AI implementation and tweak their talent strategy and adapt themselves to AI technology as well.

They need to think in terms like futuristic skills, protection of the organization, and skills that their organization will not need in 5-10 years. They should proactively identify the possibilities of skill gaps and hire those critical talents.

Accelerate geographic growth

As inclusive and remote workforce will become the new normal, HR leaders must accommodate the global workforce. By 2025, it is anticipated that gig workers will account for 35-40% of the workforce.

It is critical to find gig workers and mitigate associated risks. Also, it is crucial to identify the locations for future investment or expansion of business based on talent availability, find hidden talent pools, or upskill the existing talent, and more.

They need to think in terms of business expansion, availability of talent, protection of the employees from various cultural backgrounds by understanding them, consider macroeconomic factors proactively, and at a faster pace encouraging a global footprint.

Gain competitive insights

It is necessary to analyze the hiring trends to incorporate competitive intelligence while planning business strategy, talent acquisition, and management. Moreover, one can choose to acquire talent with a new competition by understanding the market disruptors and emerging trends.

They need to leverage the external labor market, gain knowledge about merging technologies, meet the demand of new technical skills, and use data for talent search.

Invest in training

Employee experience is always on the deck of cards like the Ace of Spades. It is critical to devote time and resources to reskill and upskill talents, encourage them to new tasks and roles. To do this, they also need to retrain themselves with one or two best HR certifications and stay in the race. By serving as an example, a talented leader can make many employees follow the suit.

They need to partner with Universities and other digital education opportunities for career development programs for HR team members and employees as well.

To summarize…

The future of work is now. It has started to show the change. For HR professionals, the future of work is about redefining themselves first. Then comes the redefining part of the workplace or employees.

Human resources are tasked to rethink, design principles, and delivery methods. In this lane, business leaders opt to hire certified HR professionals in their team as they can be the drivers of the evolving workforce and HR role as business strategy partners.