What Skills Will HR Professionals Need in the Future?

The world has changed a lot in 2020. As we scramble to get used to these rapid changes, HR professionals are trying to maintain their workforce remotely. But what will the future hold? Will everyone still be working at home?

Based on an article by HRM, these are the skills HR professionals would need to move forward. 

 

Agility and essential skills

The two the biggest challenges HR professionals encounter are getting used to a hybrid working environment and identifying the differences between a distributed, remote & flexible workforce.

Workforces will change from being remote first to a hybrid of some employees working from the office, others from home, and those that switch in between.

HR professionals will need to think fast and figure out the HR competencies and capabilities needed to lead the employees in those three scenarios. There is no one-size-fits-all scenario, therefore HR professionals need to understand the business models and strategies required to manage those scenarios. Managing employees in the office is far different than managing employees remotely. 

 

Data and financial literacy

Data literacy will be needed to identify any new trends that may affect employee performance. For instance, measuring employee performance during remote work, return to work and hybridisation.

Understanding how to use people analytics will be a skill in high demand in an economic climate set to be impacted by budget freezes, limited resourcing and financial uncertainty.

HR professionals should also know how and when to use surveys. It can help both HR, managers and the organisation focus on the needs, the risks and the opportunities. Surveys can also assist in the decision-making about employees based on the data coming from them.

HR professionals will need to delve even further in the company to understand what it needs to move forward.

 

The only way HR professionals can use people analytics effectively is through financial literacy. HR professionals need to understand these four elements:

• The financial mechanics of the business. 
• Why the company operates.
• What market the company operates in. 
• What the company is trying to achieve and what resources it has for that.

Why these four? Because everything HR does impacts the company. HR professionals need to use every skill and resource to achieve company objectives. The only way to do that is by:

• Finding out what point in time your company is at,
• What the future state of the company needs to be in,
• What the company needs to get there.

 

Recruiting ability

Recruitment is one of those HR duties that can slow the profession down. From clunky processes, slow decision making and skills shortages, recruiting be extremely tough. 

HR professionals need to know when, where and how to hire in an unpredictable job market. Competing for top candidates can be made easier with a strong employer brand and messaging. 

As the hybrid workforce becomes the norm, HR also needs to consider outsourcing. There are pros and cons of outsourcing, and HR will need to identify which function is suitable. 

There's also the need for cultivating talent from within the company. With limited budgets, HR will need to help managers figure out how to do more with less. HR should start focusing on internal referrals and promotions. They must first identify the skills and opportunities for each employee.

 

These three main points highlight the skills HR professionals must focus on in order to survive the future and stand out from the pack. 

Source: HRM

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