The magazine’s first issue of the year features the article “What’s in Store for HR in 2015?” by Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte. In the article, Bersin makes nine predictions about how HR will redefine the workplace this year. When he focuses his prognosticating abilities on talent development, Bersin says: “HR teams will get a new design and a new focus on professional development.”
According to Bersin, the highest-performing HR teams use the following strategies and all organizations should consider adopting these innovations during the upcoming year:
- Reducing the number of HR generalists and replacing them with a fewer number of senior HR business partners. These senior roles should function as business-led consultants, working with line leaders to identify talent programs and to develop strategies for HR-related issues such as recruiting, leadership development, employee relations, coaching and training.
- Shifting the focus of “centers of expertise” to “networks of expertise,” so that everyone in HR is connected. HR specialists should function as a “network” and not as a corporate “center.”
- Investing in research, benchmarking and professional development.
- Refocusing hiring and training efforts toward new competencies found in high-impact HR teams. Today’s HR professionals should diagnose problems and push forward innovative solutions and should not focus solely on helping people and making employees happy.
In addition, Bersin made a “bonus prediction” urging all HR practitioners “to be bold, innovative and forward-thinking” during 2015.
“Yesterday’s approaches to recruiting, performance management, training and even compensation don’t necessarily make sense today,” Bersin concluded. “We need to re-engineer the workplace and rethink the way we attract, engage and manage people.”
The HR Magazine feature identified Mary Hough, vice president, talent and development, at Science Applications International Corp. in Washington, D.C., as an HR trendsetter, and leader in pushing these trends forward.
Bill Leonard is a senior writer at SHRM.
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