- Now that you're convinced that you have to have a seat
at the digital transformation table, where do you begin?
Our research found that there were six different archetypes.
And as I go through this list,
think about where you are along this journey.
So the first archetype is The Conventionalist.
This is somebody who, again, is doing really good work in HR
but really relies on analog ways of working.
And will use the digital tools only when they have to.
The second archetype is The Experimenter.
This is someone who goes oh, I'm really intrigued
by that new technology, I wonder if it'll work.
So they kind of stick their toe into the water,
dabble a little with it,
not quite sure about jumping in yet, but curious,
curious about how digital could really change
the way they're accomplishing their HR goals.
The third archetype is The Tactical Supporter.
This is somebody who sees digital
as taking hold in one area.
For example, it might be in recruiting
and being able to use digital tools for that.
They say okay, this is a place
where I can say I'm going to support this,
but other areas, I'm still not convinced.
So I'm going to be tactical and pick and choose
where I'm going to support digital ways of working.
The fourth area is where things really start to change.
The fourth archetype is The Culture Shaper.
This is somebody who is now thinking about
how does culture change,
how do I think about digital impacting our culture,
and the way we get work done.
'Cause that's what culture is.
And if digital is going to be the way that work gets done,
then we need to systematically think, as HR professionals,
how we are going to shape this culture
and not just let it happen by accident.
So these culture shapers are thinking
much more strategically about their role as HR
in the digital space.
The fifth archetype is The Strategic Partner.
This is somebody who says,
I see the digital transformation strategy
that the company has to go through,
now how do I partner with all the other departments
around the organization, how do I work with them
and integrate all the best knowledge and practices
that we have in HR, so that they can accomplish their goals.
Because we all realize that people are at the center
of digital transformation,
so I need to go out of the HR department,
into those departments
and be able to help them strategically
and work with them in a partnership way.
And the last archetype.
This is one of my favorite archetypes, is The Provocateur.
This is somebody who lives and breathes digital so deeply
into the core of their being,
that they don't see themselves as an HR person anymore,
they see themselves as a digital evangelist.
And really speaking on behalf of the people
inside the organization, to push the organization further
and faster into the digital space.
They're using their knowledge and their position in HR
to be able to speak from a point of authority now,
to provoke people, to move faster into digital,
because this is the way that we are going to create
and deepen those relationships.
They have escaped the bounds of HR,
even of most of the employees in the organization,
and are seen as this disruptive force,
really moving the company forward in digital transformation.
Now when you think about where you are in this,
along the spectrum of six players,
think about, not how much you can become that provocateur,
because that's not something that everybody will be.
In fact, our research found that 68% of people
fall into the first three of those archetypes.
Now, the thing that defines those first three
is that they tend to be more tactical
in the way they're thinking about digital.
And that tipping point,
where they move into that fourth archetype,
The Culture Shaper, these change.
You're no longer thinking about small,
tactical step changes.
You're now thinking a much more strategic way.
So no matter where you're beginning,
think about the next stage,
think about the next stage where you can move into.
Think also about how quickly you can move yourself
into that fourth stage of being a cultural shaper
'cause that's where things really start firing.
That's when the magic really starts happening,
in terms of digital transformation.