Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/1212438
www.hrreporter.com 9 But automation will not necessarily replace all jobs, and it will enhance organizations' capabilities, says Sterling, adding that it's important for CPOs to fully grasp this reality. "A lot of people's mindsets automatically go to 'This is a replacement of the human capabilities' versus 'This is an opportunity for us to cohabitate in organizations and actually lift each other up' — whether you're lifting the robot or the robot is lifting you — to an even more exceptional level of performance in an organization. Technology sometimes is scary because, for some people who have a traditional mindset, they're afraid of how that's going to impact their role, their team's role, their relevance in the organization." Connecting with the C-suite With a new urgency to get the people equation right or risk negative business consequences, "the CPO of the future must adopt an ambidextrous mindset driving strategic business initiatives in revealed that highlight the skills, behaviours and experiences they'll need to manage the changing world of work." The five imperatives are: push boundaries to power organizational agility; unleash digitalization; embrace perpetual work reinvention; rethink culture and leadership; and elevate HR decision science. Wholesale technological change can cause a lot of consternation among CPOs, says Ariganello. "A big part of this is awareness and also fear. You've heard some of the talk around artificial intelligence and how that is rapidly growing, not only because companies are investing significantly but how that will affect organizations," he says. "There's a big unknown there and I think that's part of it in terms of why maybe CPOs aren't necessarily ready yet. I think the status quo and the old mindset has to go: It's a new dynamic and I think we need to start being able to live in that environment now." the C-suite while continuing to deliver flawlessly on administrative and operational tasks," says the study. To meet this mandate, HR leaders can't go it alone — this also requires the same commitment from their C-suite peers, the CEO and the board to transform the work of HR, it says, and "radically reset expectations" for the CPO role. Gaining that acceptance and buy-in from the C-suite is a two-way street, says Ariganello. "To me, it's always a joint issue here. It's not just about the CEO, it's also about the CPO saying, 'I want to be part of those conversations because I can add value. I can bring about ideas that can help grow the organization at all levels, not just in human resources.'" But it's not necessarily that they need more buy-in; there is definitely an understanding and an acceptance of need, says Sterling. "Outside of that, people just get stuck. It's the old adage of 'The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.' Well, that's the same thing here — you've got to start somewhere. And that, quite frankly, is where I think it's just difficult. They understand they need to do it; they just don't know how to get it started." CHRR "Technology sometimes is scary because for some people who have a traditional mindset, they're afraid of how that's going to impact their role." Lisa Sterling, Willis Towers Watson