Asia Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation recently launched by Alight Solutions and People Matters shows that HR teams with ambition in aspiration and humility in execution will be successful. In the new reality of work, HR leaders have to build their ability to influence and lead change. To be able to do that, they need to strengthen their business acumen and back their intuition and intent with relevant data and insights. 

In this episode of the special video series - Adaptable HR - The future is Now, P. Swasono Satyo, CHRO Sinar Mas Mining says, “For the now and the future of work, organisations must build an HR cloud and invest in technology that enables prescriptive analytics.”

Thriving with agility and adaptability 

The third-edition of Asia-Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation reveals that being adaptable is no longer a choice, it is imperative, it is inevitable. In the first part of this episode, Shaswat Kumar, Vice President and Asia Head - Payroll, Advisory, and Cloud Solutions, Alight Solutions shares the findings of the recent study and highlights that the combination of HR Operating Model, Digital Tools and Disciplined Governance drives success.

“Highly adaptable HR organisations (Mature Archetypes) are not only looking at addressing risks that are closer to the business, but they are also more ready to address these risks driven by stronger governance, right capabilities and the right platforms,” he states.

Satyo also acknowledged that the current times are tough and it is only through agility and adaptability that businesses and people can sail through it. Further he highlighted how it is more about change management and helping the business and the workforce through this transformation. To lead this change, HR teams have invested in themselves and in becoming more agile. 

As a conglomerate, Sinar Mas Mining has 60 companies, each with different CEOs; hence, the diversity is immense. But it is the passion and commitment to drive change and use technology to take better people and business decisions that keeps them together. 

“We want our talent to be equipped with all relevant technical skills, and hence, we invest in continuous learning of all employees,” shares Satyo.

Enabling the talent & HR teams through accessible and relevant learning 

Sinar Mas Mining has built a learning platform to enable all of its employees to have access to free learning that allows them to enhance their capabilities and knowledge. While the soft skills can be learned in the flow of work, Satyo feels some aspects of work require the necessary technical knowledge. Hence, the company ensures that the talent has all the right resources to enrich that knowledge and be ready for any transformation and diverse roles.

Even for the HR teams, the learning never stops. “HR must be multi-skilled. They must understand the many diverse businesses under Sinar Mas Mining. Employees including the HR professionals have to become ready for ‘super jobs’. They should be ever ready for change and that is not possible without continuous learning,” says Satyo.

For HR leaders to become more value-driven, enhancing the business acumen is absolutely crucial. As the study on the State of HR Transformation recently launched by Alight Solutions in partnership with People Matters also highlights, “It is not about HR transformation, it is about business transformation.”

Influencing business decisions with prescriptive analysis 

Predictive analytics predicts what is most likely to happen in the future. Prescriptive analytics recommends actions you can take to affect those outcomes. As the drivers of change, HR leaders need to increasingly use prescriptive analytics. Data and insights that enable HR leaders to make better decisions for tomorrow is the need of the hour. And for Satyo, that’s the key focus area.

As the use of robotics, IoT, BI, AI, and machine learning increases in business, HR leaders have to update themselves with the knowledge in these areas as well. On top of that, they have to also be aware of the changing business landscape and priorities. And then for better business outcomes they have to make better people decisions as well. 

A data-driven approach will enable HR to lead with more confidence and truly impact business outcomes with better and more relevant people strategies.

To download your copy of Asia Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation 2020, click here.