Many workplaces are undergoing rapid transformation.
54% of employers are already automating business processes that were once performed by people, according to a recent report from Capita Resourcing, and this figure will only rise in the coming years.
Therefore, we spoke to Doug Sawers, Managing Director at SD Worx UK & Ireland, who gave his view on how HR will fare in the upcoming the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“Welcome to the fourth industrial revolution,” he said, “hailed by many as an era of change in which industries and organisations adapt to rapidly developing smart technology automating working processes that would previously have been undertaken by humans. But is this something to celebrate when we consider the potential threat to job security?
“Automated core processes achieve more accurate end results with a reduction in running costs and resources while diminishing the likely human error count, but this enhanced efficiency does not necessarily mean that there will be less of a role for humans to play in the future, merely that their role is likely to change over time to adapt to rapidly evolving powers of technology.
“Robotics and automation may be useful interventions for work that is repeatable and scalable. In a payroll context, robotic process automation (RPA) can operate at the user interface layer of applications and work between existing systems to mimic tasks that payroll administrators have historically done. While robots are scalable, audit compliant, cost-competitive, and easy to integrate within many network environments, they do also need humans to guide their usage.
“Automation is presenting opportunities to HR to fundamentally change its role within the business. As Mark Bowden, a Director at Deloitte, articulated back at the end of 2015: ‘The rise of technology is allowing the simplification of processes and policies, freeing up the HR professional’s time so he/she can instead concentrate on more strategic roles’.
“Technology can be key in helping HR deliver a better service to employees. Critically, it also helps free them up from bureaucratic, time-consuming processes and, thanks to the latest high-powered analytics, it allows them to better understand and report back on the link between employees and business outcomes, enabling them, in turn, to gain credibility and exert more influence in the boardroom.
“Recent research carried out by Fujitsu indicates that just 55% of business employees are positive that they personally get the most value they can from the services and solutions on offer at work. At the same time 67% of employees believe that organisations should invest more into digital services and applications over the next two years.
“As we look to the future then, we have a vision of a business world where robots do not replace human workers but instead complement the work that humans do and free them up from the more repetitive and onerous tasks, allowing them to add greater value to the business. HR is already helping businesses achieve this vision. It needs to continue this guiding role long into the future.”
Source: https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/feature-2017-04-28-how-will-hr-fare-in-the-next-industrial-revolution
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