HR needs to be bold, brave & brilliant: Syukri Sudari

Asia Pacific’s largest study on the State of HR Transformation recently launched by Alight Solutions and People Matters highlights organisations with adaptable HR have better readiness for future risk. They also have a focus on strategic outcomes and adapt to technology well to drive outcomes. 

In a recent episode from the series: Adaptable HR - The future is Now, Syukri Sudari, Chief People Officer, AXA Affin General Insurance, Malaysia shared, “The name of the game is agile.” 

“Adaptability means readiness to respond to the disruptive environment,” added Syukri. It is all about how comfortable we are entering into the unknown and discovering new things on a daily basis. 

The bold, brave, and brilliant HR

The pandemic has shown that nothing is impossible. All that organisations had planned for a year, they had to implement in three months. It was all about speed and agility to change. 

“Amid the pandemic, organisations have built muscle. Especially HR. And that will change behaviour going forward,” reiterated Shaswat Kumar, Vice President and Asia Head - Payroll, Advisory, and Cloud Solutions, Alight Solutions. 

As the study finds, 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.

To be able to respond to rapid change and a disruptive environment, Syukri believes, HR needs to be bold, brave, and brilliant. 

Accelerating the HR function for a digital present & future

AXA Affin General Insurance, Malaysia started the HR transformation journey many years ago. Syukri shared how at AXA, the journey of HR from a support function to an integral part of the business started a long time back. In fact, responding to the rapid digitisation, they have been investing in digital HR and enabling their HR team to adapt to these changes with agility and speed. 

Today, digital is key for HR to deliver both on employee experience and compliance. Furthermore, as the study shows, there is a sharp rise in the application of Robotic Process Automation in Contact Centres, Payroll and Workforce Administration. Recruiting and Analytics, on the other hand, see greater application of Natural Language Processing and Unstructured Data Conversion technologies.

Resonating with these insights from the study, Syukri shares how they have been relooking at their entire HR system as well. The focus is on transforming processes, delivering employee experience, and boosting efficiency. Syukri shared that AXA has been investing in RPA to drive innovation, and they actually started this journey way back in 2016.

Currently, the insurance firm is working on Alex, the robot being developed inhouse to streamline HR recruitment process and benefits and compensation. The idea is to enhance efficiency, reduce labor intensive tasks, and enable the HR team to focus more on strategies and innovation.

The adoption of digital tools for the talent process and businesses will continue to rise. It is nature that will keep on changing. From painful to effortless, expensive to affordable, generic to individualised: Digitalisation will continue to be the key driver. Syukri says, it is all about how fast you can seize the opportunity. 

Beyond digitisation, the HR team has to focus on engagement & communication. The pandemic has created a dire need for HR to tap into the human element and be a trusted partner for employees. Are you there to listen to their problems? Are you creating a platform or opportunities for them to share their challenges? 

Syukri shared, “Actions speak louder than words.” So invest in your talent. Show them that you truly care about them and their future. For instance, AXA has invested in an engagement solution like Amber that helps keep a pulse check on employees emotional and mental health. It has also launched LinkedIn Learning, amid the pandemic, to enable the talent to learn the skills required for the NOW and the future of work.

In the face of rapid change, to keep the ball rolling, Syukri believes, talent, leaders, HR teams, and the entire organisation must be able to learn, unlearn, and relearn. This is the biggest mantra. 

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