Industry 4.0 represents a major transformation in the way companies approach manufacturing. This fourth industrial revolution has already reduced the human resource requirements of many companies through automation and in the same vein, the exchange of data between different systems has dramatically increased efficiency and decision-making processes.
While the world will see even more change in the coming years, much of the necessary technology is already in place to replace half of all work-related activities today. Meanwhile, industries such as defense and aerospace could consider themselves to be at high levels of digitization by 2020.
No one can know for sure what will happen when companies need fewer people to operate their needs, but one thing we do know is that working as an HR professional will be totally different from the way each of us does today.
I thought of three aspects for our reflection and that perhaps it is worth starting to observe:
1. People
Undoubtedly, much of the importance of Industry 4.0 lies in its impact on people. For starters, an increasing number of workers are finding that their knowledge, skills and other capabilities are no longer needed, and in the meantime, people who remain employable have increasing expectations about their jobs and working conditions.
In the enterprise landscape, these automation technologies and other evolving technologies are changing the needs of organizations. For starters, business owners and managers will need to reevaluate their structure and redefine what tasks they will require human involvement and this will surely create a new need in their hiring practices.
Industry 4.0 will also put HR professionals under a new magnifying glass. To begin with, we will need to work closely with the companies we work with to support them in their new staffing needs, and then find and hire the people most adhering to these new profiles and in this process, all the chains involved will, necessarily, need to adopt new technologies to remain competitive in their areas of expertise.
To be different, as you deal with the reinvention of the human resources industry, you must deal with employers, employees, and colleagues who are also experiencing upheaval in their working lives, yet consistently prioritizing people's needs over processes and others. considerations, you can thrive during the current revolution.
2. Recruitment
Industry 4.0 is affecting all industries at all levels and it affects all aspects of HR, including recruitment processes. If teams and head hunters don't adapt, they will lose their competitive edge. So to continue to match the best talent with the jobs available, you will need to embrace this evolution.
At this point, data intelligence will support everyone involved in this process to understand what makes a company attractive to candidates and, consequently, HR will have the ability to play a key role in shaping corporate culture and values. Likewise, HR professionals will potentially learn more about where and how to connect with qualified prospects for any job opening in their fields.
As you become more proficient in matching organizations with adequate human resources, you will become instrumental in reducing recruitment costs. In other words, HR 4.0 gives you the opportunity to create sustainable competitive advantages for you and your business.
3. Teamwork
In the past, all HR tasks within an organization were performed by internal teams or external agents. Now, Industry 4.0 is making technologies available that include virtually every area of ​​a company in the hiring process, transparently to whoever is applying for a position.
To help different areas within companies coordinate their activities with HR teams, HR professionals will need to learn about digital technologies and use them to work more efficiently and this involves the use of collaboration and communication tools, as well as the digital record keeping and business analysis.
The job of an HR professional includes more than finding and hiring the right talent. In what we live today, tasks such as onboarding and training that present a new experience for those who are boarding the company will be as important elements as the financial proposal/benefits that the new employee is receiving. In this bias, automation, gamification and metaverse connected tools will customize the journey of new collaborators and create a new relationship rule to be followed.
Industry 4.0 has already brought many changes to the business world, and many changes are on the way. As an HR professional, we need to research and embrace the disruptive technologies that will help us work smarter and more efficiently and raise the bar for delivery for our companies.
Needless to say, part of our job will involve discovering and meeting the changing needs and expectations of our clients, whether they are companies or candidates. Furthermore, I think we can expect the new industrial revolution to open up new opportunities for us to provide new solutions in performance management and ongoing training that will help us stay relevant to the employers and employees we serve every day.
Fabian Seabra is an HR Associate and columnist for Gente Mais Portal