{"id":1626,"date":"2019-11-01T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T03:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/?p=1626"},"modified":"2026-02-10T22:17:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:17:27","slug":"7-ways-hr-is-changing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/7-ways-hr-is-changing\/","title":{"rendered":"7 ways HR is changing \u2013 and how progressive HR and People leaders can get ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t7 ways HR is changing \u2013 and how progressive HR and People leaders can get ahead\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tLuke Thomas<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How many times have your priorities or to-do list changed today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a huge clich\u00e9, but so often in HR it really does feel like change is the only constant. After all, you\u2019re ultimately dealing with people. They have changing priorities, desires and wishes too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changing nature of HR was in fact the single biggest theme which emerged from our recent research from 500 global HR and People leaders<\/a> on the challenges and priorities they\u2019re facing in the sector, and their roles, today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These changes aren\u2019t just day-to-day, however. HR, the workforce, and the world of work is changing. Seismic shifts in the way organisations operate, manage their people and work are occurring as a result \u2013 with huge implications for HR and People teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the research <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our research set out to find out what these changes mean for HR and People leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked them how they\u2019re adapting to the changing world of work, what they\u2019re doing differently, and what\u2019s on the horizon in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we asked them about the impact for their teams and their own professional careers: how prepared are they and their teams for the continued changes ahead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their answers uncovered some revealing findings. Here\u2019s what we learned, and what it means for HR and People leaders today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free research report: The changing face of HR<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Seismic shifts in the way organisations operate, work, and manage their people are occurring. We surveyed 500+ HR leaders to discover how they are responding.<\/p>\n

Uncover insights on how to stay ahead and transform HR from a process focused function to a people driven business.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. HR is changing to People \u2013 but most organisations haven\u2019t fully transformed yet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just as Personnel evolved into HR in the 1980s, it\u2019s now changing into a \u2018People\u2019 function. 94% of respondents echoed this by anticipating changes in the next three to five years as part of this transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, just 18% of HR leaders feel they\u2019ve made the transition from HR to People already. Most are in it for the long haul, with 86% expecting the transformation to take up to 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Over a third of HR leaders have adopted new ways of working across the board<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On average, over a third of HR and People leaders have adopted new ways of working across all areas, our research revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, seamless onboarding and automation<\/a> in recruitment; data-driven decision making; enhanced employee experiences; holistic wellness programs; flexible and remote working; and employee-driven learning. The research report breaks down in full, for each of these areas, how far HR and People teams are in their adoption of new ways of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, a huge 95% of HR and People teams are either already offering flexible working<\/a>\u2014or plan to in the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Employees\u2019 expectations of HR are shifting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Changing employee expectations are also driving some of these operational changes as HR teams continue their HR to People journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A whopping 69% of respondents said they expect employees\u2019 expectations of HR to completely change in the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Technology adoption is slow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our research found that top priorities for HR and People teams are cloud and mobile technology, with 43% and 36% of organisations adopting them respectively, followed by analytics (26% adopted) and self-service (24%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HR and People teams are also showing early signs of experimenting with technologies such as AI (13%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

adopted) and gamification (12%), but there\u2019s still more to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third of HR leaders have fully automated HR \u2013\u2013with a further 28% planning to adopt this in the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. HR leaders are concerned organisations won\u2019t be able to keep up with changes <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Worryingly, 43% of HR leaders believe their organisation won\u2019t keep up with changes in technology over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, there was a striking message from respondents that, despite there being appetite for change on their side, HR and People leaders are facing barriers in their organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n