- So let's talk about HR's future,
and why is digital transformation so hard?
And it's really never been about the technology.
It's not the technology that's hard.
I always like to say, "That if you could shop,
you can do this." (laughs)
Because technology now today is designed to be simple.
What's hard about digital transformation
is that it requires a different mindset.
It requires a change in culture.
And we know that culture change, mindset change,
it goes to the core of who you are as a person
and as an organization.
So this is really hard work.
And that is why HR needs to be at the center of all of this.
Because when you create a digital strategy,
the best digital strategies,
you never know they're going to work or not.
But when you have a digital mindset that is there,
and a digital culture that is there;
it will carry you through those setbacks
that will inevitably come.
So I think HR's role in the future is going
to be the holder of this digital culture,
the place where digital becomes part of the DNA.
And in order for that to happen,
it needs to start in HR itself.
Now when we see all the stats, we look
at all the experiences, HR is one of the last places
where digital transformation has come to.
And what I'm saying here today is
that digital role of HR needs to be there
but at the very beginning, needs to be there now.
Because the organization needs HR to be there,
to be the crucible holding the organization together.
So as you're thinking about your role in HR,
it's not going to feel natural for you to be digital.
It's not going to feel comfortable;
but I think that's when the magic begins,
when you are pushing yourself, and your HR department,
and your entire organization out of its comfort zone.
I'll share a little story.
Every morning I wake up and have coffee in my mug, (laughs)
and it says life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
And I think in many ways this is what HR needs to do today.
We need to stand out of our comfort zone of the way
that we have traditionally done our HR work
and think about how we're going to live
at the very end of that.
And that requires that we look at this digital space
in a more strategic way, in a way that's people-centered.
Because everyone else is going to be looking at technology.
It's only HR that's going to bring that perspective.