Organisations are held back by the assumption that HR transformation is the key responsibility of HR leaders and HR’s performance does not have a direct impact on the overall business transformation. As we think of the future of work and talent, it is important that business transforms and the first step to business transformation is transforming your HR, as shared by  Sanjay Dutt, Global Head - Capability Development at EXL. 

Being adaptable is no longer a choice, it is an imperative; it is the inevitable. And HR needs to be at the forefront of accelerating the change of their HR Service Delivery Model and drive the shift needed in organisations to adapt to this new business model.

To help you through these tough times and accelerate your adaptability quotient, it is our privilege to bring to you some of the key findings from Asia Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation conducted by Alight Solutions in partnership with People Matters and also insights from some leading CHROs on what ‘adaptable’ means to them in today’s context, in an exclusive video series - Adaptable HR: The Future is Now!

Continuing with our endeavour to help you craft your journey towards Adaptable HR, here is yet another episode that features, Sanjay Dutt, Global Head - Capability Development at EXL; Shaswat Kumar, Vice President & Asia Head - Payroll, Advisory, and Cloud Solutions, Alight Solutions, and Yasmin Taj, Senior Editor, People Matters. Watch them reflect on “Why the next curve of business impact is Adaptable HR”.

Chapter-1: Adaptability in HR: A brief overview

In this rapidly evolving business ecosystem, adaptability plays a central role in helping organisations navigate the uncertain and ambiguous future. The third-edition of Asia-Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation, recently launched by Alight Solutions in partnership with People Matters, focuses on the theme Adaptable HR. As business, talent and the HR community at large, face unprecedented situations triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, the study shows how being adaptable is no longer a choice, it is imperative, it is inevitable. 

Everything at the workplace is undergoing a dramatic transformation and interestingly, what could have been a reality of the future, has now become the present. Kickstart your journey of Adaptable HR, in this first chapter of the episode, with Shaswat Kumar, Vice President & Asia Head - Payroll, Advisory, and Cloud Solutions, Alight Solutions as he decodes what Adaptable HR means and why it is the next curve for your business impact. 

Chapter-2: Insights from Asia Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation:  A deeper outlook

In the second chapter of this episode, Shaswat Kumar, Vice President & Asia Head - Payroll, Advisory, and Cloud Solutions, Alight Solutions answers the following key questions that might puzzle you when you activate your Adaptable journey:

• What does adaptability look like?
• What are the signs of adaptability?
• What are the kind of outcomes one should expect from their adaptable HR journey?

Chapter -3: CHRO’s take on adaptability in HR

Reflecting on the enablers of successful transformation from Asia-Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation, it was found most of the success comes through when HR is willing to change itself. In fact, resistance to change from HR is the biggest barrier in realising transformation. In the third chapter of the episode, Sanjay Dutt, Global Head - Capability Development at EXL reflects on the findings of the study and shares how organizations should approach a logical, disciplined, and impactful strategy towards the art of becoming adaptable.

Q1. What does adaptability mean to you in today’s context?

The role of HR has not only changed or evolved because HR itself has driven it but the entire business transformation has put HR in the front and centre of the several business critical decisions and outcomes. Hence, the first thing that needs to change is how we see HR. Organisations, in the true sense, would be called adaptable when they would realise that the role of HR is beyond service delivery and rather about creating experiences for employees and clients.

Q2. Going through the State of HR Transformation Study 2020, what are some of the trends you relate with the most? 

HR transformation is about business transformation. If you want to transform your business, you have to start transforming your HR first. Further, I want to quote from the research the importance of technology in driving these transformation efforts. I think integrating intelligent and intuitive technologies like AI and robotics is imperative to accelerating this transformation. Having said that, a lot of HR technology which gets implemented are straight forward transactional which takes away your routine work but might help you make the right decisions. Hence, one of the trends I relate most with is to leverage niche technologies like AI and robotics to help you drive more intelligent work and outcomes.

Q3.  How are you looking at accelerating your HR function to make it more adaptable?

There were always people who were pushing for digitization and then there were people who were in a state of inertia. What pandemic has done is it has made digitization an imperative. Today, we have to drive the majority of our conversations, discussions, and engagement digitally and hence, digitization has become an imperative now. There is no place of inertia!

In this entire transformation journey, I want to highlight the importance of data that will help organisations drive the transformation agenda by making the right decisions and taking the right actions.

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