HR function must modernize to stay relevant: Report

Three in five HR executives globally feel that the HR function must modernize its approach to planning for the future workforce to stay relevant, a new report said on Thursday.

According to KPMG International's "Global Future of HR 2020 : Which Path are You Taking" report, 57 per cent respondents globally -- compared to 67 per cent in India -- believe that the HR function will rapidly become irrelevant if it doesn't modernize its approach to understanding and planning for the future needs of the workforce.

In short, organizations of all shapes and sizes across the globe generally agree that the HR function will cease to exist in its traditional form if it continues to operate or deliver in the same way, said the report.

"If organisations are looking at being path-finding, they should simultaneously look at building capability across the following core areas such as shaping the workforce of the future, shaping a purpose led culture, shaping the employee experience and shaping decisions about people and the workforce by using insights from data," explained Vishalli Dongrie, Partner and Head, People & Change, KPMG in India.

Over 1,300 HR executives from across the world participated in the survey, with 90 from India.

Nearly 77 per cent believe that upskilling the existing workforce is among their top priorities while only 60 per cent of HR Functions in India are reasonably prepared to navigate the cultural change the enterprise needs, the findings showed.

"Fifty-two per cent believe that the impact of Artificial Intelligence and related technologies will make no significant difference especially in the area of sales and marketing," it added.IANS