How HR Drives Growth in Key Areas in Asia-Pacific
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Human Resources has evolved to become one of the most strategically critical departments in any organization, particularly in three key areas: talent acquisition, learning and development, and technology integration. Without the expertise, support, and knowledge of an in-house HR department, companies fail to utilize their most valuable asset: their people.
Talent Acquisition That Supports Strategic Goals and Growth
HR is responsible for identifying, attracting, and hiring the right talent for the organization. In many ways, HR is the company's biggest brand builder.
By developing an employee value proposition (EVP) that reflects the company's culture and values and communicates what makes it a great place to work, as well as diverse and inclusive recruitment strategies that attract talent from different backgrounds and experiences, HR ensures that the business is poised for growth.
“Gaps in employer and candidate expectations have become glaringly apparent. We found that candidates in the APAC region prioritized three requirements before deciding to join a company: leadership, company culture and values, and having a sense of purpose. On the other hand, employers thought that salary, career progression and employer branding, or reputation, were the critical components in attracting talent,” says Kumar Bhaya, Vice President Cielo Client Solutions, APAC.
In the APAC region, candidates prioritize leadership, company culture, and values, and having a sense of purpose before deciding to join a company. On the other hand, employers consider salary, career progression, and employer branding as the critical components in attracting talent.
To adapt, companies need to listen to potential candidates and employees' needs and review their HR policies based on that feedback while considering the needs of the business. This can take the form of talent market intelligence, localizing an employee value proposition to the region or country, and integrating technology, such as data or tools, into the hiring process to enhance the candidate experience. Other talent acquisition services and attraction strategies should also center around employer reputation and an organization's sense of purpose, not just as a narrative, but in action.
Employers should strike a balance between what candidates and employees want and their business needs. They should collaborate with their HR teams to review their internal employee value propositions, work culture, welfare, and benefits packages. Only then would companies be able to move forward and navigate the changed talent acquisition landscape effectively, writes Bhaya.
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Future-Proofing through Learning and Development
Finding talent isn't the only challenge organizations face. According to research by Gartner, 58% of the workforce requires new skills to do their jobs. The total number of skills required for a single position has been increasing by 10% every year since 2017. One in three skills in a typical IT, finance, or sales position posted in 2017 is already obsolete.
Skills obsolescence means that organizations will lag behind unless new skills are acquired. Acquisition isn't always a feasible strategy. In today's environment, hiring is not possible for many organizations. Instead, companies can look at current employees who have skills closely matched to those in demand and utilize training to close any gaps," says Alison Smith, director of the Gartner HR Practice.
By increasing the transparency around current employee skill sets, identifying and leveraging non-obvious skills adjacencies, and adjusting career pathing strategies, HR professionals can future-proof and protect the organization from the fallout inevitably caused by skills obsolescence. There are other benefits, too, including increased retention rates and employee satisfaction.
According to the HR Exchange Network's State of HR in Asia-Pacific report, HR professionals are firmly focused on learning and development. Many respondents said adapting training to a hybrid workforce (17.49%) and identifying skills to train for (16.94%) are their focus in L&D. Nearly 20% said that addressing the employee skills gap was the biggest challenge to the future of work.
HR professionals should support learning and development in the organization by identifying gaps and training requirements in the company and developing a focused training program that aligns with the company's future goals.
The opportunity to participate in external training programs, conferences and workshops, formal and informal e-learning programs, and coaching and mentoring programs can all be useful in helping employees develop their skills.
Technology Integration To Improve Efficiencies and Experiences
HR professionals have been frontrunners when it comes to adopting new technology for the benefit of the companies they service. Human capital management (HCM) systems that centralize HR data and streamline HR processes have enabled companies to make better decisions about hiring, retention, and employee engagement, while self-service portals have proven incredibly useful in helping employees access much-needed information and services, even when working remotely.
However, HR has a wider role to play in helping employees adapt to and adopt new technologies, especially at a time when employees are concerned about obsolescence because of the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in their industries.
AI and machine learning has transformed the way we do business - but the technology we use in business was originally conceived to help employees lead a more productive life at work and at home.
HR plays a critical role in integrating technology into the business to improve efficiency and productivity without losing sight of the employee experience and overall happiness, particularly against the backdrop of hybrid work.
“In most organizations I’ve been in, I’ve seen misalignments between HR, facilities, and IT. We’ve put these three areas under one umbrella to ensure our people have tools and systems satisfying their personal and business needs and not what the IT department wants or what some old HR legacy policies and systems dictate,” says Monir Azzouzi, Chief People Experience Officer at GoToko. “Traditional HR departments aren’t able to take full ownership of people experience holistically. The physical workplace, digital collaboration tools, the way we’re organized, our culture, and the way we engage with each other all impact the way we feel and experience our workplaces.”
By communicating the benefits of technology and the ways it can make their jobs easier and more enjoyable and addressing any fears employees may have about the new system, HR can reduce the adoption curve in the organization. It can also lead the efforts to provide the necessary training and support, as well as access to additional self-learning tutorials and user manuals, to ensure that employees are equipped to use new technology.
HR Is The Key That Unlocks Business Growth and Development
The HR department plays a crucial role in attracting and hiring the right talent for the organization, future-proofing the organization to protect it from the fallout caused by skills obsolescence, and assisting the company with efforts to integrate new technologies into the business. It's clear that the department is central to unlocking growth and development for years to come.
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