The 2023 Talent Summit in Dublin inspired us to reflect on what’s really important in HR and what are the key areas of focus to consider for the future.
While the popular current narrative is that employees and employers are in conflict, with a new generation of employees demanding more and more as employers dig in their heels to control costs, the Summit presented a much more optimistic view of the workplace of the future: Workplace 3.0.
HR needs to drive Workplace 3.0
A key theme that emerged from the Summit could be coined “Workplace 3.0”. The core idea of Workplace 3.0 is that, despite pressure from the business, we can never go back to the pre-pandemic workplace. The ideas that worked in the past will not get us to where we want to go in the future.
We have made up much ground over the past years and while many of the working practices born of the pandemic may not be sustainable over the longer term, we can, for sure, chart a new course, taking the best of what’s gone before us and bringing a new set of rules to the table. Now is the time to be brave, now is the time to disrupt, and now is the time—once again— for HR to take the lead and move boldly forward in a new direction.
Set within that context, the need to build a foundation of trust and connection is key. Building the foundations from which people can grow and weaving the threads that bind people together requires real intentionality and focus. A lot of discussion at the Summit centered around the courage that CPOs need to drive that effort forward and ensure that we are addressing the right things, the things that will drive our businesses forward across a new landscape.
Uplifting new insights for HR leaders
Dave Ulrich (known as “the father of modern HR”) offered a blueprint for the kinds of areas to be addressed as part of the strategy of unleashing human capability—no small ambition. Set inside his framework is perhaps the first taxonomy of HR accountabilities and some really key questions to ask ourselves when designing our priorities in HR.
Some truly thought-provoking insights came from other CPOs who have highly original takes on HR including Evelyn Doyle of Patagonia and Claude Silver of VaynerMedia, who are individually rewriting the rules on HR and taking a fresh perspective on what really matters to the business. They provided some wonderful insights on the power of listening and empathy, designed for a workplace that puts its people at the heart.
Making Workplace 3.0 a reality
We finished the day feeling uplifted, inspired, and that the best is yet to come. Our belief that transforming the way you manage and reward your people has renewed relevance and gives us a sense of purpose that tells us we are focused on the right things. We are more ready than ever to help create the Workplace 3.0 of the future.
For more information about how beqom can help to create a culture of connection, growth, purpose, and results, contact our performance and reward specialists at beqom.
