At Morgan Philips Group, we talk a lot about transformation.
We talk about organisational structures being dismantled. We talk about conventional, silo-based teams and systems becoming obsolete. We even talk about traditional roles in a company being thrown out the window.
Naturally, in all this talk of tearing up the rulebook in the new world of work, people wonder what this will mean for their role.
Take the HR Director, for example. What does the HRD of future's role entail? How do they deal with the rapid, disruptive changes brought about by the new world of work?
There are plenty of things an HRD needs.
For example, they need to be resilient. They need to combine gravitas with the common touch. They also need to be able to gather people around their vision but then turn that into something tangible – and this needs to happen at all levels, not just with the senior people in your organisation.
They need to wear many hats – the finance hat, the strategy hat, the commercial hat, the marketing hat, and ideally have had some operational experience.
I think they should also be the conscience of the organisation. They should be about ensuring the organisation lives and breathes by its values, and ensuring a great employee experience. They're not responsible for creating the culture, but they should set the structure and the framework for that culture to thrive.
As you can see, there's plenty a good HRD needs in their locker.
But amongst all these strengths, there's one thing in particular that will prove crucial in the new world of work.
They need to be able to act as the disrupter to the organisation. The world of work is changing dramatically – and everything to do with people, what they do and how they do it – will be radically different to years gone by.. Disruption is absolutely key to the new world of work.
HRDs can’t be a yes person. Real HRDs add value to their organisation by challenging the status quo. No matter how much a CEO may prefer someone who just agrees with everything, the ability and the thirst to disrupt and challenge is vital.
Ultimately, their success in the new world of work will hinge on whether the person is willing to constantly question and probe the order of things. Organisational transformation is about change. And for a great HRD, it’s not enough to embrace change – they need to be agents of it, too!