practices lie in the right combination of humanity and technology , argues futurist Jacob Morgan .
Organisations around the world have had to transform more in the past 10 months than they have in the past 10 years , particularly in HR . But never before have we needed HR not to think , act or be like traditional HR . I want to challenge all professionals in this area to move away from thinking of yourselves as being in human resources to understanding that you are all in human transformation .
For my most recent book , The Future Leader , I interviewed more than 140 CEOs around the world and surveyed 14,000 employees in partnership with LinkedIn . I was able to uncover a specific set of mindsets and skills that leaders need to embrace in the new world of work . We call these The Notable Nine .
One of these mindsets is that of the chef , and it ’ s an especially crucial one for HR professionals to master . Any chef will tell you that in order to make a dish that tastes and looks good , you have to balance many different ingredients . In HR , there are just two crucial ingredients you must balance in order to stand out and create great talent practices : humanity and technology . I call this HumanIT .
Creating a purpose-driven culture
Humanity includes things such as developing a sense of purpose and building the employee experience . The human side of work is ultimately why people work for their organisations . Employees want to work for a company where they feel valued and seen ; where they are excited to come to work every day . Building a strong culture and empowering employees with the tools they need to succeed plays a huge role in the overall employee experience . HR leaders must be purpose-driven and care about their people . Employees aren ’ t just cogs in the machine to drive higher profits . They are real people with goals , plans and personalities .
To create sustainable organisations , HR leaders need to understand their employees and foster strong co-worker relationships . They need to help make work meaningful and create development opportunities for all employees . The challenge when working with people is the combination of skills and personalities and ensuring everyone is in the right place doing meaningful work . Trust , innovation , collaboration , sales , and the like , all come from humanity .
Using technology in the right way
Technology is transforming how we live and work right before our eyes . It ’ s especially evident in today ’ s COVID-19 pandemic . We cannot ignore technology because it is coming at such a rapid pace and will surely disrupt us if we don ’ t proactively find solutions .
Let ’ s be honest , sometimes in HR we can get a little technology happy . It ’ s not uncommon , for example , for a prospective employee to have to submit a CV and cover letter via a platform , take a personality assessment , play an online game that evaluates them on soft skills , and do a video interview with a bot all before they get a chance to interact with a human being . The process takes months and it ’ s anything but human .
Technology should be used to help make the organisation more human and to bring people closer together , not further apart . Speed , efficiency , improved decision-making , productivity , and the like , all come from technology .
The future isn ’ t about pitting technology and humans against each other ; it ’ s about technology and humans working together in a cohesive environment created by thoughtful leaders
Leveraging the power of humanity and technology
People and technology are both crucial to a business and HR must embrace both . Use too much technology and your firm will be efficient and productive , but it will struggle with innovation , attracting top talent , and shaping the future . Focus too much on humanity and your firm will have top talent and great ideas , but it will be too slow to move and won ’ t be productive or efficient .
You need both , but in balance . Humans and technology have their limits , and HR specifically needs to recognise and appreciate both the abilities and constraints . The future isn ’ t about pitting technology and humans against each other ; it ’ s about technology and humans working together in a cohesive environment created by thoughtful leaders .
Just as a chef carefully crafts their recipes to highlight the unique characteristics of each ingredient , HR leaders need to build teams and organisations carefully to leverage both humans and technology . Thinking like a chef can help you and your company embrace all of the ingredients , find balance , and pull together individual flavours to create innovative masterpieces and make your talent practices stand out .
Jacob Morgan is an author , speaker and futurist . His latest book , The Future Leader : 9 Skills and Mindsets to Succeed in the Next Decade , was published in 2020 .