Ten years of HR Most Influential allows us at Ceridian to reflect on the major changes and trends we have seen in our work, which is all about supporting HR to greater success and impact.
The world has changed dramatically in so many ways over this period – and so has the world of work. From Ceridian’s perspective we see a couple of strong trends, which are impacting on how HR leaders can best add value to their organisations.
Firstly: the power of the individual. More conversations with our customers now start with a focus on employee experience, and employee perception, rather than on simple efficiency and business financial gain. Enhanced efficiency is still a focus, but efficiency is now seen to include assisting individual employees to both produce higher standards and enjoy the experience. The common goal is creating more flexibility for all parties. This is now a battleground of differentiation between competing employers. Making work life better is key.
Secondly: HR the Communicator. Internal communication has usually been the preserve of HR, but the unstoppable rise of social media means we are starting to see successful companies whose external marketing messages are entirely consistent with their internal messaging. This may seem an obvious necessity, but it was certainly not the case a decade or so ago. This shift allows HR to have a far greater influence on marketing. It may even promote the idea that HR should claim its spot as the lead on both communication channels, not just the inside version.
These two trends suggest means successful and influential HR leadership in 2015 looks very different to how it did 10 years ago. Impactful and influential HR leadership today must be cognisant of greater diversity of thought and workforce requirements, seeking motivation and innovation from a wider array of sources, and have a flair for communication, as concerned about customer and market impact as it has been traditionally about the internal.
This all represents a great opportunity for HR to be the most influential area in a business. We look forward to the next 10 years with anticipation.
Doug Sawers (pictured) is managing director of Ceridian UK
