Looking to the Future: HR Strategy for 2020 & Beyond

Jordan Ingersoll
October 7, 2020

HR leaders participated in a panel to discuss talent acquisition and recruitment in the new normal, leveraging digital innovation for the long-term, and intentionality in creating a workplace culture of racial inclusivity and equity. Featured in this session is Curtis Brooks, VP, Corporate Career Development, DE&I Education, and Content Curation and Strategy at US Bank; Adrianne Pettiford, Head of Client Insights and Analytics at pymetrics; Analissa Sanchez, Director of TA at Methodist Healthcare; and Stephanie Becerra, Sr. Manager L&D, at Southern Gas Association. 


Watch the session here.  


The Current State of HR. 

COVID-19 has caught most organizations off guard, causing this panel to agree that HR in particular has undergone a variety of recent changes. HR leaders found themselves having to pivot quickly to change their strategies behind talent acquisition and talent management. Recruiting had to shift to a completely virtual setting. Hiring managers had to adapt to a new environment and technologies they were not accustomed to using. In addition, they had to revamp the content of conversations to enhance engagement. Creating experiences for the candidates, such as virtual office tours, is one example of how many hiring managers attempted to bring the opportunity to life virtually. 


Training is also a function that was impacted by COVID-19. The resources available in the office to execute training sessions are no longer available, so everything has had to be revamped virtually. US Bank, for example, commented that they’ve implemented remote training to offer employees advice and tools to remain efficient, healthy, and supported at home. 


Looking Towards the Future. 

Digitalization was already an emerging trend among many organizations. Companies use technology everyday to simplify and make more accessible a variety of processes, so it has been essential for vendors to meet them in the market where they are. COVID-19 has accelerated this process of adoption and revealed several silver linings. For one, HR has expanded their digital toolbox to consider an array of candidates regardless of geographical location and offer them an engaging experience, whether they are hired or not. Furthermore, removing geographic location as a barrier has enhanced D&I, and a broader talent search leads to a more diversified workforce which increases creativity and your organization’s bottom line. 


Companies are also realizing that remote work has allowed employees an improved work-life balance. They are able to spend more time with family and doing things for themselves. The panel discusses how efficiency was a concern after the shift to remote work, but quickly realized employees experience more enjoyment and satisfaction which leads to greater motivation. This has made many organizations reevaluate the workplace environment and whether that must be an office moving forward or if a hybrid model could improve productivity. COVID-19 has made most organizations reevaluate the future of work as the need for technology, creativity, and flexibility has become significantly important. 


The Impact on New Hires. 

Onboarding all new hires virtually is a very new task for HR leaders and presents challenges such as getting computers and other necessary tools to new hires, to integrating them into their team, and relaying company office etiquette and expectations. The panelists discussed some techniques that proved to be successful over the past six months including onboarding checklists, virtual company and team introductions, team building sessions, and offering new hires KPI’s so they have measurable outcomes to measure against. 


For organizations where hiring has been placed on pause, HR leaders suggest looking internally now more than ever for internal talent. While there may not be resources to acquire new talent, the show must go on. Consider leveraging your current talent and redeploying them to more crucial roles. 


D&I for the Future of Work. 

Taking a step back from digital TA and TM, the panel turned their focus to D&I efforts and strategies moving forward. Amidst social injustice and outcry, leaders have had to step up to take action in order for change to occur. Now more than ever there needs to be more action (outside of just conversations) such as policy-making, encouraging select company sponsorships for the long-term, considering employees from minority groups for open leadership and management roles, and allocating the proper resources to your underrepresented groups. Many organizations are choosing to cut D&I budgets to make up for loss in earnings, but it is important to not scale back. 


The Importance of HR Right Now.

While TA is not at the forefront of HR right now, flexibility with talent redeployment will be crucial to business because it allows you to leverage expertise in different ways. There are a plethora of functions that HR professionals can realign their focus toward. Maybe your organization needs to enhance training models, career development frameworks, or TM processes. In addition, maybe it is important that your HR team be well versed in the newest recruitment technology in order to optimize processes and talent in the future. Whatever it is, use this time as an opportunity to improve areas of HR expertise that may have previously taken a backseat to TA. 

To learn more about how pymetrics can enable your digital Talent Acquisition & Management transformation journey, please check out our solutions here.