Turning crisis into opportunity: HR leaders, transform thyself

Playing multiple roles, HR, by all accounts, should be one of the most important functions in any organisation. However, over the past 15 years, has HR under-delivered on both its promise and potential, asked Laurence Smith, Chartered Fellow CIPD, and a thought leader in digital mindset and transformation.

He observed, “In many of my conference speeches and workshops in the last few years, I have shown figures that HR has still been under-delivering. For example, a large global survey of HR that I saw indicated that there was still a significant gap between the expectations of the CEO and the capabilities of HR.”

In his new book, Transformation Mindset: 10 Things Leaders should be Doing Today to turn Crisis into Opportunity, Smith exhorted HR leaders to step forward to be the main partner to the CEO in transforming the culture of the organisation to be fit and agile, and ready to compete in a new digital world.

COVID-19, Smith said, has also played a part in seeing HR step forward to work with IT, marketing and communications, as well as facilities managements and finance, in managing the crisis.

Describing how HR is simultaneously rethinking remote working, while coordinating, managing and engaging employees that could be spread all over the world, Smith concluded, “HR now not only has a seat at the table and higher-than-ever credibility with the CEO, but also the moral authority and situational opportunity to transform our organisations faster than ever before.”

Grab your copy of Transformation Mindset: 10 Things Leaders should be Doing Today to turn Crisis into Opportunity, which is now available at a special discounted rate.