Evolving HR: Transforming through partnerships

BDO offers strategic support to help organizations and HR leaders successfully navigate an uncertain landscape

Evolving HR: Transforming through partnerships

This article was produced in partnership with BDO Canada.

The transformation of human resources over the past couple of years – on top of decades of transition – has been more than impressive. In responding to the crisis of the pandemic by helping organizations both survive and thrive, the profession has easily demonstrated its strategic value.

Despite the upheavals of the past years, HR is in an exciting space, according to Nadeem Rasul, Manager People Advisory, BDO Consulting, at BDO Canada.

“We're seeing an uptick in asks to engage with our firm to assist in delivering day-to-day HR activities, HR maturity assessments, and, most notably, supporting recruitment efforts.”

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that change is inevitable, and it happens rapidly – whether you're prepared for it or not, he says.

“Organizations, their people, and HR, are required more than ever to be agile in their ability to manage change and articulate a forward-thinking employee value proposition that resonates.”

Those organizations that can provide their workforce with a defined culture, people experience, and multiple collaboration points will inevitably be able to navigate uncertain future economic landscapes far more successfully, says Rasul.

Partnerships help HR move forward

As HR’s scope and importance have become more critical, headcount hasn’t kept up in moving from the backroom to the forefront of organizations.

“What we're seeing is helping and gaining some traction is forming relationships with third-party consulting firms like BDO. That can help organizations navigate through this successfully and can consistently prove to be impactful,” says Rasul.

With the hybrid work environment, there are more opportunities to facilitate conversations between IT and HR executives and make sure that their objectives are met in the middle, says Shafina Hassam, Manager, Modern Workplace at BDO Canada.

In planning the future of work and thinking about the technologies that should be rolled out, HR should consider what kind of data can be driven from the IT department, and how this data brings the right insights so that decisions can be made in terms of: How do we need to develop our corporate culture? How does the organization need to think about hybrid management styles? Is there employee burnout?

Focus on upskilling, technology

A critical piece for HR is continuing to have a business focus, which includes upskilling, says Rasul.

HR professionals must continue to establish themselves as leaders, he says, ensuring business and financial acumen are among their top competencies.

Creating partnerships with third-party firms can lead to future and forward-thinking strategies, he says. Then, it’s about leveraging the right technology at the right time, with the right data, to develop strategies with the most valuable assets in mind — the organization's people.

In terms of leveraging the right tools and technologies, a lot of organizations come to BDO because they don't know where to start, says Hassam.

“It's not their background, it's not their wheelhouse... And every organization is in a different place in their transformation journey.”

But in talking about technology, you need to understand the talent strategy, she says.

“That starts with design thinking, understanding the various personas, and what you're trying to achieve… What is that lasting impression you want on your employees?”

Then it’s about mapping through the entire employee life cycle, says Hassam, starting from the moment a candidate applies for employment , the communications, the scheduling of interviews, the onboarding process, how they progress throughout their professional careers within the organization, and, finally, retirement.

BDO works with organizations using Microsoft Viva, an employee engagement platform that focuses on how employees are connecting, learning, collaborating and managing their well-being , connections and productivity at work. Learn more about BDO’s Modern workplace.

“It's a holistic platform that Microsoft has been working on for the last number of years, for exactly that, for HR groups to really offer an employee experience,” she says.

HR practice groups

Another interesting concept to consider is internal practice groups that tackle cross-functional HR priorities.

“When professionals with different backgrounds and experiences are able to connect, this can lead to really exciting, impactful, and diverse thoughts,” says Rasul. “Sharing best practices and moving away from siloed groupthink can be very powerful and can help drive and move HR forward.”

Third-party consulting firms such as BDO can be an immense and critical addition to an organization's practice groups, he says, “for the purposes of providing insights into best practices, into business processes, and to highlight external market and professional considerations that internally may not be covered fully.”

According to Hassam, HR practice groups can drive innovation within an organization, “not just by leveraging technology, but empowering their employees to bring that diversity in thought to the table to help move the entire organization forward.”

For further insights and support visit BDO’s HR Resource Hub or connect with a BDO professional today. 

 

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