- Let's take a quick look at the history
of HR's evolution over the past few decades.
Now, HR stands for human resource, and I think
that says a lot about what HR is.
HR has always been responsible making sure
that human capital, that people, are available
to be able to do the work
that the organization needs to get done.
So people were treated like a resource, like steel
or firewood or any other resource that's available.
And so HR has always been
about very transactional processes.
Let's make sure we hire, train, and retain people.
Now the dirty little secret about all of this
is that HR was also responsible for risk mitigation,
to make sure that things don't go wrong.
So when they bring those resources in,
they don't say things they shouldn't do, they don't
take actions that could get the company in trouble.
But now, today, HR has a very different role.
Because people have so many choices,
they can go work anywhere they want, HR now is responsible
having a relationship with employees.
Now this is the real reason why many people get into HR.
We like being around people.
We like working with people and developing them.
But that dirty little secret, again,
is that that's not what most the time HR does.
So I think in many ways, what the digital revolution
is saying to us is that in this time and place,
when employees have so many choices and places to go,
where will they choose to work?
They're going to choose to work at places
where employers are focused on that relationship
and want to develop them.
And how are relationships developed?
Through everyday communications, through these touch points,
and in a world where digital dominates our lives,
we have to get better
at developing and deepening relationships through digital.
That's the key reason why HR needs
to go through a digital transformation.
And the importance of that is all the more important
because of this war for talent, this demand
that employees have for a different type of relationship
with their organizations.