HR Exchange Live: Future of Work – Day 1 Review

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HR Exchange Network Editorial Team
03/19/2019

The future of work is being brought into focus as part of HR Exchange Live: Future of Work. Day 1 of the premier online event emphasized technology, culture, worker generations, coaching and diversity. For those not in attendance, here are some of the significant points missed.

Future of Work

HR professionals as technologists

Dr. Jaclyn Lee says we’ve entered the 4^th Industrial Revolution. Lee is the chief human resources officer for Singapore University of Technology and Design. The main focus here is autonomy. Lee says we’re seeing more end-to-end digital work, intelligent systems, artificial intelligence, robotics and, of course, data.

REPORT DOWNLOAD: Future of Work and HR

As we continue through this revolution, the questions for HR focus on their roles. Dr. Lee says, “HR has a unique role to help leaders and organizations adapt to technology, help people adapt to new models of work and careers, and help the company as a whole adapt to and encourage changes in society, regulation and public policy.”

Linking Culture to Strategy

As work changes, so must the type of culture that organizations build. The culture of the future will need to not only be engaged, it will need to be agile and aligned. To ensure all three across a distributed, matrixed workforce, an organization’s strategy must be at the core.

To do that, CultureIQ chief culture strategist Paul Mastrangelo says culture must be aligned with your overall strategy from the beginning to the end of the employee lifecycle.

Inspiring Gen Z

As Generation Z enters the workforce, more and more leaders are struggling to inspire and support them. That’s where “in the moment” coaching comes in. Cylient CEO and HR advisory board member Dianna Anderson says this methodology will certainly inspire and support iGen workers achieve their ambitions.

Coaching teaches people how to appreciate how others see the world. Anderson also says it:

Provides a language for discussing differences
Focuses on potential versus being right
Encourages people to innovate and create, together

So, why does this matter?

Diversity and Inclusion

In 2018, the push for gender equality was a dominating topic especially around employment. That conversation will continue into 2019, but expand at the very same time. Race equality and age are growing parts of the conversation. Other issues that have received very little focus are getting more attention. Issues like the hiring of the formerly incarcerated and those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Either way the topic is perceived; Diversity & Inclusion is going to be the most critical piece of the success of the business.

And there is some proof to support this. According to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers, 87% of global businesses say diversity and inclusion is an organizational priority.

Even so, we are still a long way off from being completely diverse and inclusive.

37% of the businesses say their leaders are given specific diversity and inclusion goals. 42% say that diversity stunts employee progression within the company.

Panelists included:

Johnny C. Taylor Junior - President and CEO of the Society for Human Resources Management.
Rhonda Hall - Vice President of HR and Organizational Development for University Federal Credit Union.
Horace Porrás - Vice President of HR – Latin America for the American Tower Corporation

The most significant take away from the panel relates to the idea that diversity and inclusion are not only the responsibility of HR, but the entire organization. Every person must realize that they have their own inherent biases and they must overcome them. More importantly, it is a requirement now more than ever.

A look ahead

Day Two of HR Exchange Live: Future of Work gets underway at 12p EDT on March 20, 2019. Topics include the engaging the remote workforce, employer branding and employees ruling the roost. Speakers are: