HRD Summit 2018: Here’s what I learnt

Purpose, transformation, wellbeing, productivity; just some of the many themes that made a frequent appearance at this year’s HRD Summit 2018.

Held in Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC), we were treated to an all-star line-up of speakers, including world leading HR analyst Josh Bersin from Bersin by Deloitte and bestselling business author Nilofer Merchant, as well as representatives from the likes of KFC, BBC, LinkedIn, BT, Unilever and many more.

With more than 1,000 delegates from the HR community, the summit truly was a hub for thought-leadership within the sector. Here’s some of the key messages that really stood out to me:

Number 1: Change is already here.

The “future of work” is here now — we’re living in an era of disruption, and technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have already infiltrated the workplace.

Siemens’ Corporate Executive VP and Global Head of People and Leaders, Dr. Robert Neuhauser, gave an interesting talk about business model disruption and the breakdown of business structures. As new technologies come out on the market, many organisations are changing the way they do business as a result, but in some instances, these new technologies are completely disrupting existing business models.

And in Josh Bersin’s presentation on the new world of work, he pointed out that a surge of new jobs is on its way.

At present, we’re in the early stages of a technological revolution, and as with similarly-sized revolutions in the past, such as advances in electrical or manufacturing technology, it often takes us a while to realise the full potential a new technology has.

While new digital technology has already had a substantial impact on our working lives, it pales in comparison to the new wave of digital technology on its way.

The challenge facing HR professionals is how to introduce and fully utilise new digital technologies to the workplace in a way that increases employee productivity as well as benefits the business as a whole.

Number 2: People need a purpose.

Just by taking a look at this year’s programme, it was clear that purpose was going to be a major theme — and it was!

For starters, Hudson’s Head of Talent Management, Tim Drake, spoke about how organisations can create a link between their own purpose and that of their employees. In his presentation, Tim pointed out that “purpose is your why”, and tied it in with real life findings from his work with Brunel University London. Hudson’s Director of Consulting, Dr. Tim Sparkes also ran a workshop on purpose.

Purpose also played a central role in the presentation by Ericsson’s Vice President and Global Head of Talent Management, Selina Millstam. Talking frankly about some of the key challenges Ericsson faced after losing several of its senior level staff (including its CEO), she shared how her team worked with employees to discover how to increase engagement.

Ericsson defined its purpose as “Innovating Technology for Good,” and went about improving engagement through a strategy that involved shaping people’s mindset, giving people a compass (employee behaviour), and connecting to the why (purpose).

Number three: Wellbeing is an HR issue.

Another interesting point that came up was around the growing demand for HR to incorporate employee wellbeing into the workplace.

In Josh Bersin’s presentation, he pointed out that people are statistically working more hours and taking less leave. According to Deloitte’s findings, the average professional spends 47 hours a week working — 49% work 50 hours or more and a further 20% work more than 60 hours. This has an obvious impact on people’s stress levels and, as a result, many employees struggle to keep up with their personal lives and wellbeing.

The average employee spends 25% of their day reading and answering emails, and they check their mobile devices over 150 times per day. Bersin pointed out that it’s up to HR professionals to find ways of managing people’s time more efficiently, such as investing in work-specific tools that help to track and manage people’s time more efficiently.

Salesforce’s Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing expert, Claudine Wilson, shared how the organisation has incorporated consumer-style app technology into its employees’ day-to-day working lives. This has had a major impact on employee productivity and it places the employee at the heart of the organisation, letting them have a collaborative influence on how the business is run.

But over the course of HRD Summit 2018, the main theme that stood out above all else is that people come first. Technology is having a major impact on our lives, and a great deal of change is on its way, but it’s important to remember that technology is just an enabler — people are what matter and should always be given the priority.