HR priorities for 2015

I was trying hard to avoid the temptation to jump onto the bandwagon and write this almost de-rigueur blogpost. And then I a chance conversation on the subject triggered a few thoughts, so I decided to share my perspective. First and foremost, I think HR should ask themselves if they have met all that they decided for 2014. As HR professionals we tend to get enamoured by the next big thing and move on too quickly before we fully implement what we started.

n 2015 is going to continue to be VUCA , which will mean high volatility for us. Business decisions will not always be clear or forthcoming and HR partners will have to be flexible and agile in their ability to respond rapidly to requests or quickly put things on a back-burner. All this without being overwhelmed by emotions. It will call for a very pragmatic but emergent mindset and attitude. Volatility is the new reality and if you are going to be unsettled by volatility then you are going to be unsettled everyday.

n Hiring and retention are going to be important. I have always believed you can only do so much to retain someone who has decided to leave. Hence, it makes sense to invest more energy on the input pipeline. Hiring is going to be the key challenge, equipping the organisation so that strategic plans can be put into action is going to be a competitive differentiator. Not all HR functions will get it right.

n Drawing from the above, this is also the year that the talent crunch will be strongly felt, hence organisations will need to focus on all contributing employees as talent and while the investments in high-potential employees will continue, acknowledging the high and steady performers will become critical. The bell curve will soften or vanish altogether.

n As the size of the development audience goes up (HiPos+HiPerfs+SteadyPerfs), budgets are not going to stretch appropriately. Hence using novel solutions for employee development will become critical. Micro-learning, gamification and the 70 per cent (of the 70:20:10) will gain traction.

n More than ever before, digital will have an impact on communication, culture and employer brand. HR heads and teams who do not understand the medium will not be able to leverage it. If you don't have Twitter on your phone, laptop and tablet, you're behind already. If you do, but are a passive observer, take lessons - ask someone to mentor you and get on it. Digital is probably the greatest tool HR could have asked for.

n HR for HR. Often neglected, HR will need to ensure they invest time and money on developing the skills of the function. Reskilling HR is going to be critical across organisations and HR heads must have a budget for this. While there won't be many lead indicators of impact, there will be clear lag indicators in the long-term around organisational readiness for business challenges. This is where boards and CEOs need to encourage investment. The ones who do, will reap the rewards.

The author is Gurprriet Siingh, country head, YSC International. Re-printed with permission.
Link: https://joyandlife.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/hr-priorities-for-2015/