With workplace change due to accelerate, one HR ability really stands out when it comes to meeting future trends face-to-face
Workplace change in the Asia-Pacific is accelerating at a pace far greater than most other regions according to new research from ADP, a provider of human capital solutions.
The study, entitled The Evolution of Work – The Changing Nature of the Global Workplace, surveyed more than 2,000 employees and employers in 13 countries. It found 86% of APAC workers believed traditional workplace departments and hierarchies would not exist in the future.
This was far higher than the global average of 54%.
To meet this change, John Antos, VP Marketing, APAC said that the skill most essential to HR was driving collaboration in the workplace.
This includes the ability to “work together, form & lead teams, and work with people in different places and different cultures,” he said.
With traditional workplace hierarchies on the way out, businesses were starting to shift towards a ‘matrix’ model, he told HC.
“Companies that are still in a traditional business unit-type model are very hierarchical with a top-down structure. Everybody has one boss and you work in a team.”
In the matrix model, “you’d have one hard line boss and two to five other dotted line bosses. There may be people working on individual teams on projects from different work groups. They may also be at different levels at this point,” he said.
This is something that HR needs to be very aware of, Antos added, to be able to drive collaboration and ensure all resources are still available for associates and employees within the company.
As this trend accelerates, there is also a need for HR to focus more heavily on change management, making sure that those within the matrix structure are on board.
“HR is at that spot where they’re going to need to understand what changes are coming, and what the trends are which are driving these changes. They will need to understand the individuals in the organisation and the best route for change.”
In order to cope with this rapid change, Antos pointed towards a better use of HR technology.
“These tools continually get more and more sophisticated,” he said. “That’s really important to actually help HR deliver in an increasing pace of change and perform change management well in those types of environments.”