- Now let's turn our attention to
how the workplace is changing.
And this is very important for HR
because, in the context of how work is changing,
HR needs to understand that so that it can do its best job
to support the learning, the development,
the needs that employees have inside of this new workplace.
So if work is changing, HR is going to have to change, too.
And there are three factors that are changing the workplace.
First of all, technology,
artificial intelligence, robotics,
are challenging the way that work is actually done.
The fact that we even need people to do work.
So if we don't have people,
or people's lives are being changed
because their jobs are being taken away by technology,
HR needs to understand how that is impacting the workplace.
The second area is around this concept
of being always on.
What are the expectations of when people are able to work,
where they work, when they work, how they work.
Mobile technologies, laptops,
these are all enabling people to work
and have great flexibility in their lives,
but it also is a challenge for HR to understand
well what are the expectations?
What kind of culture do we build around this?
When my boss is emailing me at 2 o'clock in the mornings,
is he expecting that I get back to him at 2:15?
So how do we set the parameters?
And HR, again, needs to understand how always on
is changing expectations.
And the third area is around the fact
that there are no borders anymore.
Now we know that, in many ways, geographic borders,
boundaries, are falling away
because we can work with anybody,
anywhere where in the world now
because of technology.
But it also means that the borders
inside an organization are changing.
It's no longer the fact that I only work
with people in my department.
I may work with somebody in IT, Customer Service,
and Product Development the next day
and HR needs to be aware of this
and understand where these relationships need to be formed.
How do people develop trust and understanding
with people they've never worked with before?
And that's where a culture born in digital channels,
because these are people not necessarily
working with each other,
that is so important for HR to be able to
understand and develop.
So I think these three factors,
the technology change that's happening,
the fact that we are always on,
and the fact that there are no more borders
of any kind, no restrictions,
but the ways that we work and the people that work with.
These three factors are changing the workplace
in a fundamental way.