Technology, Globalisation, Millennials: the future of HR in 697 words

erning people over the next five years will be marked by three inevitable factors:

1. technology, particularlycloud technology and artificial intelligence (AI);
2. increasing globalisation, particularly in emerging economies;
3. demographic changes, especially related to the ageing of the population in western countries and the generation Y (even Z) that make up the workforce.

The impact of these external factors will be felt in organisational leadership(value-based and transparent), business structure (project centricity, virtual teams, borderless joint ventures ), culture (focus on collaboration, relationship with customer, employees and suppliers) and human resource practices(staffing, talent development and flexible working).

The reality is that the way we work is already transforming:

• technology increases productivity, but also leads to the replacement of less skilled labour by robots;
• Globalisation means that the workforce must be considered on a planetary scale;
• the ageing population and the Millennial generation (Generation Y) induce changes in career management, in the drivers of the relationship with work and in the design of the work itself and flexible conditions, for both genders.

Human Resource departments are slowly starting to familiarise themselves with the trendy e-HRM, which is basically the application of information technology to provide networking and support to workers, managers and the department in their shared performance of human resource management. There are three ways of using e-HRM:

1. operational: use of technology only to satisfy operational objectives, i.e. to automate administrative tasks inherent to human resources management;
2. relational: using technology to satisfy relational purposes, enabling easy connection between line managers and workers to increase collaboration and the level of service quality (this is the modus operandi of the most sophisticated companies);
3. transformational/strategic: using technology in a more holistic way, making it possible to create value through recruitment, development, performance management and compensation.

In this embryonic phase, some practices still raise concerns, namely ethical ones. One example is choosing candidates through cybervettingwhich involves actively researching their backgrounds and covertly gathering information from non-institutional and informal sources online, through social media and search engines, to assist in decision making. On the other hand, some validity challenges can also be added, e.g. the predictive ability of online interviews by avatars, or the replacement of traditional performance appraisals by real-time online feedback systems.

The global labour market is an opportunity for multinational companies (or companies that want to internationalise), but also a challenge for national companies, due to increased competition in the war for talent. In this sense, managing diversity to create an inclusive culture is high on the organisational agenda, reinforced by demographic changes. Companies with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, in terms of nationality, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, among others, need to embrace differences to become more innovative and effective.

The strategic role of People Management is refocusing on:

• the creation of a humanistic culture - using technology to attract, develop, retain and engage people;
• the support of line and senior managers to develop a culture of innovation;
• the assurance of a reputation for integrity, where employees feel respected and valued;
• the design of an internal environment of trust that supports meaningfulness, where people feel they can make a difference to a more prosperous future.

As with any period of profound change, this is an opportunity to grasp this new ecosystem and transform the HR Manager role, giving it relevance to impact much more than management.

Original article written in English and available on Medium da Nova SBE