As more employees begin working from home, the role of Human Resources (HR) within organizations has never been more critical. Remotely keeping track of performance, time-management, and productivity are becoming an integral part of the relationship between management and staff.
Where HR once primarily focused on employee happiness and satisfaction, the role is fast-transforming into one of project facilitator, knitting together entire departments to keep the wheels of industry turning.
The role played by HR will continue to evolve over the coming months and years as increasing numbers of staff make a move to homeworking. Indeed, the current trend of remote-working is expected to continue way beyond the Coronavirus pandemic, potentially shaping the way we work forever.
The New Normal isn’t just changing the way society interacts - it’s also changing the way it works and, crucially, where it works.
The role of Artificial Intelligence in HR
At the heart of these changes lie tailored Human Resources Systems and protocols capable of adapting to the fundamental changes in working practices. We will also see an increased use of Artificial Intelligence to look after the more repetitive processes of dealing with remote staff. These systems will play a pivotal role in shaping the organizational frameworks of the future as company staff and departments become more geographically distanced.
HR and sustainability
HR is also beginning to shape the sustainability of companies. As the world becomes more digitized - and our reliance on the internet to stay connected and perform our jobs increases - so the role of the HR practitioner will become even more central to the sustainability of businesses.
For too long, companies have viewed sustainability purely from a commercial point of view, with little regard for employees. Remote working is set to redress the balance – where the commercial viability of a company will rely increasingly on the effective use of its remote staff, placing trust in their abilities to work without someone over their shoulder. HR will be essential in this process, allowing staff to develop and perform at their own pace.
Of course, crucial to this will be helping employees understand their revised roles within the new digitized environment - granting them the freedom to work in a family-supportive atmosphere, which takes account of the stresses and pressures inherent in working from home.
As we work more and more online, new staff-centric practices and solutions will evolve, placing increased importance on individual productivity. An excellent example of this is the way work hours are expected to change. The traditional 9-5 is expected to disappear, replaced instead by a more sympathetic approach to work hours, tailored more around the needs of the individual.
Changing environments mean changing roles
As environments change, roles will likely change too, and there is already an emerging need to retrain or re-purpose staff to keep their skills relevant to the new working conventions. This responsibility will primarily lie with Human Resources departments, again reinforcing HR’s importance in the on-going sustainability of both employees and employers.
Indeed, by September 2020, it is predicted as many as 195 million workers could lose their jobs as a result of Coronavirus. Moving forward, these people will need to be retrained in some way to keep them relevant in the new digital future – most likely through apprenticeships or in-house training.
The future of Human Resources
HR’s role within a new, post-COVID world is likely to encompass all manner of employee management, including improving efficiency and productivity, performance monitoring, recruitment, effective time-management, motivational guidance, and identifying/provisioning supplemental training.
While the shape of business after Coronavirus may still be a little unclear, the importance of HR in its future is without question.
