HRHeadStart #13: Tech Skills in HR; Managing Your Manager; Pursuit of Excellence
The Talent Agenda
In a recent engagement with university students, I was asked what technology skills do HR professionals need to succeed. Do young professionals need to learn to use HR software? Do they need to learn coding? Those are nice pursuits, but I think a more important skill would be the ability to design tech-enabled processes and evaluate tech alternatives to deliver the process. Workforce analytics skills would be crucial too. And while technology streamlines HR operations, there will be a lot of emphasis on change management, stakeholder management and data-driven storytelling.
Singapore's Institute of Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) had commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of technology on HR jobs and skills. You can scroll to pages 41 and 42 of the report to check out the emerging skills requirements of HR professionals broadly and also by HR sub-functions.
Working Better
We often talk about the need for organizations, teams and individuals to be responsive to the changing business environment, yet we often find ourselves working in low-trust cultures. We, at times, experience low levels of psychological safety and don't feel comfortable voicing ideas and concerns to others. This slows down learning, which is a crucial ingredient for success. Here are some ways to bring up difficult conversations with your manager. The essence is to find ways to bring your manager into your world and involve them in the problem-solving process rather than have them act as a bystander who is only evaluating your work.
A Productive Workout
A workout is a great way to create mindspace for processing and learning new ideas. And it primes you for creative thinking. I had written about themes like flexible work and metaverse earlier and it is key to hear different voices to understand these topics well. For your next walk, run or workout session, watch or hear Satya Nadella's (CEO, Microsoft) take on these topics. What I also found fascinating is his vision of how Microsoft's technology will evolve to deliver powerful employee experiences.
Tiny Thought
What leads to extraordinary human performance? Is it predominantly a function of a particular technical skill you have in a specific area of work? I believe exceptional performance is explained by a multitude of skills and experiences which are accumulated deliberately or sometimes serendipitously over time. Each of them are ordinary in isolation, but when applied together with intention, produce extraordinary results. Excellence is not an elusive goal achievable by a critical few, but by all of us.