A study released in September 2020 by ADP Canada and Maru/Blue found that “over one-third of working Canadians surveyed have no idea what HR does all day long. While over half of respondents recognize the role of their HR team has become more difficult during the pandemic, there remains a lack of understanding of the complexity and importance of HR's role.”
And, says the survey — which compares insights from both working Canadians and Canadian HR professionals — 43 percent of HR professionals feel the role of HR has changed because of COVID-19.
How are HR insiders thinking differently about the role of HR — and what comes next?
We’ve gathered these seven online resources to keep you current on how COVID is affecting those in the field.
1. How The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Change The Way We Work
In an online article published in Summer 2020 by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “HR practitioners and other experts [share] what lessons have been learned during the pandemic and what lasting impacts it will have on the way we work.”
As the article points out, although COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges, it has also “elevated the importance of HR professionals within organizations as never before. HR practitioners no longer need to convince business leaders to consult with them on key decisions. Those leaders are now coming to them, often on a daily basis.”
One key lesson included in this article is the need to “show appreciation for what [employees] accomplished together as a team despite the challenges of working during the health threat,” and another is a new urgency for HR professionals and managers to bring more humanity to the workplace.
2. Five Necessary Human Resources Skillsets For The 2020s
In the article this article — published by the digital publication CMSWire — author Dom Nicastro explores how “the role of human resources leader is evolving to adapt to technological needs in the workplace. And do we have to remind anyone of the digital transformation that accelerated this in the last 12 months?”
One key insight in the article comes from Paul Rubenstein, Chief People Officer at Visier, who is quoted as saying that “being able to write, edit and send a three-minute video to people across time zones is a powerful way of communicating for HR professionals.”
3. A Daily Shot: Your COVID-19 Update
In a leading magazine and website for senior HR leaders, HRExecutive.com editors compile a comprehensive daily collection — featuring “the latest news and insights to how HR can best respond for the betterment of their employees.”
4. Five Key Lessons From COVID That HR Should Take Into The Future
Also from HRExecutive.com, this article by author Tara Wolckenhauer covers lessons and strategies for HR leaders in this changing world.
5. HR’s Compelling New Role In Response To The Coronavirus
In the June, 2020 Forbes article HR’s Compelling New Role In Response To The Coronavirus, author Tracy Brower examines “some of the most important ways HR can lead, partner and drive for the best in their organizations.”
Some key topics she touches on are organizational culture, policy development, benefits, talent strategies and engagement.
6. Twenty-One HR Jobs Of The Future
In the August, 2020 Harvard Business Review article 21 HR Jobs of the Future, authors Jeanne C. Meister and Robert H. Brown report on a nine-month initiative undertaken by the Center for Future of Work and Future Workplace to determine what HR might look like over the next 10 years.
Meister and Brown outline how nearly 100 CHROs, CLOs, and VP’s of talent and workforce transformation helped envision more than 21 possible new HR jobs, touching on five core themes: individual and organizational resilience; organizational trust and safety; creativity and innovation; data literacy; and human-machine partnerships.
7. The Future Of HR In The Face Of COVID-19
A blog series by Deloitte called The future of HR in the face of COVID-19 studies six key questions HR will need to ask itself. Co-written by Cederic Ubachs and Eline Ulrici, the series “dive[s] into the different priorities, key questions and accompanying solutions for HR in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The series explores the ways HR can reimagine its own future and consequently the future of the business/enterprise to thrive again in the post COVID-19.”
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