In the future, HR professionals are likely to embrace a scenario where they will have to deliver sustainable value for the organization in terms of achieving top-line growth and bottom-line profitability rather than focus on traditional HR roles, such as negotiating and managing terms and conditions of employees and facilitating administrative transactions. Additionally, HR professionals are more likely to be integrated into the business processes and mission statements of the organization, ensuring that their functions are aligned with strategic initiatives and business outcomes of the firm. In light of this trend, future HR professionals are more likely to focus on organizational deliverables and business process outcomes rather than traditional HR activities. Lastly, HR professionals will not only become more dependent than ever on softer organizational agendas such as talent and capabilities to achieve positive business outcomes, but will also seek to shift into competent and business-focused executives with the view to avail intellectual and process leadership for people and organizational challenges (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2009).
As HR professionals look forward to the future, they require clear thinking, effective practices and insightful research to be able to surmount the challenge of shifting from traditional HR practices to accommodate more business-oriented roles as demanded by the ever shifting and increasingly competitive business environment. Future business environment demands HR professionals to have new knowledge and expertise to not only connect their work directly to the business, but also use newly emerging information and communication technologies to drive organizational success and improve efficiency of HR administrative work. Lastly, HR professionals must develop strategies to surmount the challenge of rapid cultural and organizational change by increasingly adopting the role of identifying, stewarding, and supporting the changes as they come. Such strategies will not only improve the capabilities of the organization to compete and grow by turning what is known into what is routinely done, but will link external organizational identity to internal employee actions and behavior (Ulrich & Brockbank, 2009).
Reference List
Ulrich, D., & Brockbank, W. (2009). The HR business-partner model: Past learnings and future challenges. People & Strategy, 32(2), 5-7.