theHRDIRECTOR – Latest Synopsis
PLEASE PITCH YOUR TENDERS VIA OUR ONLINE SUBMISSION PORTAL 12th January 2025.
Independence is our strength – covering the issues that directly impact on those with the duty of directing human resources
ISSUE 246 – Synopsis – April 2025
Talent management
With the churn of workplace change, tough economic environment, the necessity to diversify and redefine business direction – and where the dynamics of workforce engagement are increasingly unpredictable and transient – talent management has to be focused on agility and adaptation. TM teams that have adopted AI are gaining significant advantages over conventional methods, with game-changing prescience through a continuous and real-time pulse on talent, both within an organisation and externally. AI is also proving a game changer, with its capacity to check and screen candidates, reduce bias and instantly find qualified candidates for roles. Unquestionably, TM is one particular area of business operations whereby technology is freeing up time, to put more resources into recruitment, onboarding and onward career journeys. But sentiment in the talent market suggests that candidates still prefer to deal with a human being. So, technology asides, in this issue, we are looking for guidance on how TM teams can best manage the heightened expectations of talent, how to develop team leaders to manage remote and transient talent, as well as how to configure workforce planning, at a time of constant change and shifts in market direction. We will also be looking for guidance on how to encourage a culture that enables talent to diversify skill and experience sets, how to spot talent in unconventional places and what the key elements now are to attract and retain talent. We will also be looking for opinions on what the current and future challenges of talent acquisition and retention are and how employers must set themselves up to be competitive in the continuing battle for skills.
Change management
HR is in constant change mode and with no breaks, it is difficult to take stock of how well the profession copes with it, at the crucial organisational level. HR does tend to shoulder the blame when change management fails – even when the profession is not officially included in the change management programme. That change is a constant has become something of a cliché and yet for many business leaders, it stands as an unexpected reality, mainly because of a lack of consideration for assessing the impact it will have on processes, technology and people. Consequently, it is with little surprise that studies show a staggering 70 percent of change initiatives fail in achieving their objectives. Recalibrating how an organisation operates is a vast and complex undertaking, requiring understanding between leaders and management level and the alignment and cooperation across functions and stakeholders. Change programmes fail often because of alignment problems. If the strategic vision is not translated into an operating model and a way of working, all parties are left without well signposted nodal points and concrete targets for their managers and KPIs to measure their success by. In this issue, we are looking for examples of where change programmes haver succeeded and where outcomes have fallen short, what the results have been and where the future challenges lie.
DEI
What is the future of D&I? Have we reached a point of burnout with the growing ‘anti-woke’ sentiment seen across society? How can HR navigate this increasingly complex area?
It is all-too easy to be drawn into heated and often toxic debate over DEI. We look towards the USA and see the same issues, but different agendas and approaches to the UK, where there are so many similarities to draw upon. Politically DEI has gone from being a football to a punchball, which serve nobody, only imperils those who are already vulnerable and risks setting the dial back to the beginning. In this issue, we would like to explore how businesses are approaching DEI in light of the hardening of attitudes towards DEI. The general principle being that reverse discrimination is complex and that there is a fine line between that and equity programmes. It’s also easier to revert to type and employ “people like us”, ultimately leading to vanilla, groupthink, siloes, stagnation and legacy fixation. Diversity in the workforce can be disruptive, but it is also dynamic and innovative and the progress and momentum that has been made must not be squandered. Indeed, employers need to be the exemplars and have a duty-of-care to be at the fulcrum of the DEI initiative, supporting, promoting and championing diversity, equality and inclusion. That is why DEI must be front and centre of the culture and values of an organisation in 2025 and integrated into the fabric of workplace cultures. DEI is at an inflection point, requiring determination and a heightened level of understanding around intersectionality. In this issue we are looking for articles that will help employers keep on track to keep moving the DEI agenda forward, for the sake of all stakeholders.
Employment law
Post Brexit – and in order to align with the needs of the hybrid working era and advances in technology – 2025 is predicted to be a monumental year of law change, with newly-introduced, revised, repealed and cancelled employment legislation. Readers will be well aware of the huge swathes of incoming employment law legislation and so in this issue, we are looking to our learned friends in law and HR practitioners, to shine a light how employers should plan and prepare for. We are looking for angles for articles to bring insight and guidance on what is being proposed, what it means to the world of work, all stakeholders and how businesses operate. We are looking for guidance to the devil in the detail and how it is being interpreted by the legal profession. With employers under great strain and dealing with constant pressure and change, do they have the time and resources to make sure they don’t fall foul of the law? On a cynical level, is the increase in employee protection practical, let alone required in a world of work which is more open and fair than it ever has been? Could this extra pressure from legislation force employers to snap back to type and not take chances on diversity, in order to avoid the risk of litigation? As they say, every action has an equal and an opposite. As with all our subjects, we welcome your ideas for potential articles, to bring insight and guidance to our readers.
As with all of our subjects in issue 246, we welcome your expert knowledge and ideas for potential articles, to shine a light on the future challenges and opportunities that our readership faces in 2025.
Please post them on our Editorial Portal.
Please click here to submit your article for our flagship publication.
If you would like to be added to our Monthly Synopsis Mailing List, please CLICK HERE
