Human resources, for most of its existence as part of Corporate America, was recognized by the C-suite as a cost center.

That mind-set shifted when the pandemic hit and organizations turned to HR to gather real-time data about their people, meet the needs of workers working from home and regroup the company virtually. The recent labor shortages and wave of resignations meant HR had to offer fresh and flexible approaches to retain the organization’s top talent.

For the most part, HR delivered and finally got the seat at the table it has coveted for decades. To hold on to that allotment, HR should take the lead as innovators—leaning on people analytics and deploying agile, customized strategies for learning and performance.

In the midst of nonstop disruption, some HR professionals might doubt their ability to lead from the front. These tips will help you stay on track.

• Take your people’s pulse. People analytics provides insights into how employees are thinking, feeling and acting over a period of time. Companies leaned on these tools to capture information in a variety of ways during the pandemic, said Ryan Wong, chief executive of Visier Inc., a Canadian people-analytics company. Mr. Wong suggests that organizations continue to gather and interpret data outside of traditional HR systems. Analytics from applications such as Google Workspace and Microsoft Outlook are useful in identifying high-performing employees who might otherwise remain under the radar, he said.
• Build a culture of innovation. At Edmunds.com Inc., the HR team is taking the lead in creating a culture that is agile, willing to experiment with new approaches and making connections. The auto-review provider’s chief people officer, Jamie Epstein, launched several group programs that have gained momentum across the business. The Edmunds Olympics, for instance, which features five teams competing against one another, is now leveraged as a companywide ideation vehicle. A Choose Your Own Adventure-esque approach to learning, which provides three frameworks for employees to select from based on their unique styles and roles, was also adopted universally.
• Focus on execution. Coming up with innovative ideas is one thing, but implementing those ideas is quite another. Do you have the resources to affect change, and are those resources targeted in the right areas? “You must understand what you are trying to achieve and be willing to let go of legacy efforts that are no longer serving their purpose,” Ms. Epstein said.
• Pursue change. Approach talent management and the HR function as a student would, and actively learn from a variety of sources including business partners, industry thought leaders and workers themselves. For instance, at Edmunds, “We saw that employees needed different guidance at different times in their career journeys, so we provide conversation starters and ask employees to engage with their managers in the way that’s meaningful to them,” Ms. Epstein said. These conversations replaced performance reviews.
• Count your wins. To bolster her team’s influence and visibility at Edmunds, Ms. Epstein keeps tabs on success metrics such as engagement scores. In March, nearly nine out of 10 employees agreed with the statement: “Edmunds inspires me to go above and beyond.”
• Don’t compare. Instead of following what others are doing and trying to catch up by replacing all your people-management systems in one go, make small tweaks that deliver immediate value in your specific situation. “This is a faster and safer way to impact the business and build trust with the CEO, allowing for more complex initiatives down the line,” Visier’s Mr. Wong said.

Adoption of technology including artificial intelligence is associated with significant reorganization of company workforces.

According to 2022 research jointly produced by Columbia University, the University of California and the University of Maryland, U.S. companies that make greater investments in AI also experience a flattening of their hierarchical structures.

The transition—which the researchers attribute to the need for a more educated and highly skilled tech workforce—results in more workers at the junior level and fewer at the mid and senior levels. It’s a positive development for junior workers, because with the help of AI, they are empowered to make more decisions with less tenure under their belts.

Not surprisingly, the research also found that many human jobs, such as those in customer service, legal and HR, still can’t be delegated to AI regardless of the level of investment.

Access the full report.

A growing number of cities and towns all over the U.S. are handing out cash grants and other perks aimed at drawing skilled employees of faraway companies to live there and work remotely.

Back in October, there were at least 24 such programs in the U.S. Today, there are 71, according to the Indianapolis-based company MakeMyMove, which is contracted by cities and towns to set up such programs.

• Encouraging Employees to Be Intrapreneurs Pays Off (Society for Human Resource Management)
• The Pandemic Changed Us. Now Companies Have to Change Too (Harvard Business Review)
• How HR Directors Can Lead With Creativity (HR Magazine)
• The Future Workplace Depends on Efficiency, Effectiveness and Balance (MIT Sloan Management Review)                                               
• 5 Lessons on Bringing an 'Agile' Approach to Any Workplace (Fast Company)         
• How to Create a Future of Work Strategy (TechRepublic)

Chitra Vemuri curated and edited this newsletter.

✍️ Feedback on this newsletter? We would love to hear from you, so please get in touch. And be sure to visit us at The WORKPLACE REPORT