{"id":8090,"date":"2020-11-01T10:23:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T10:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sage-people-scraping-gb.local\/?p=1104"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:05:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:05:23","slug":"goodbye-hr-hello-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/goodbye-hr-hello-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye HR, hello people: Why human resources is changing for the better"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\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
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tGoodbye HR, hello people: Why human resources is changing for the better\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

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tJessica Leyshon<\/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

The people who make up a company are so much more than a resource. They are its ideas, its creativity, its ambition and its potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are its values and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are one of the company\u2019s biggest assets for growth commercially. More than anything, they are people with different motivations, mindsets, passions and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why do we still call the department responsible for its people human resources?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And why is a company\u2019s biggest asset for growth \u2013 its people \u2013 only seen as the responsibility of that one team?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Request a free, live demo of Sage People and discover how it can help your organisation attract the best people, retain your key talent and increase productivity<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Goodbye HR: A new world <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The make-up of a company\u2019s workforce and how, when, and where it works has fundamentally changed \u2013 and today\u2019s workforce is more diverse, mobile and technologically-enabled than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, the workforce comprises five different generations, all working side-by-side, and all coming with varying expectations and standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contingent workforce is growing and becoming more diverse to include agencies, freelancers, gig workers and job bidders, presenting challenges to the way leaders manage their teams and track performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is magnified by a culture of employee mobility, especially among millennials \u2013 meaning the retention of high-performing talent is more vital than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees are increasingly seeing seamless customer experiences in their companies, and demanding the same from their employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They want to book time off on their mobile at the touch of a button, as easily as they can shop online in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, low unemployment and the war for talent have given people choice, and organisations must therefore work harder to attract the best talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello people: Embracing change <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a result, HR teams are moving towards automating a lot of the traditional ways of working, and giving their employees autonomy to do things themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workforce is moving away from solely being the responsibility of the HR team \u2013 and instead, forward-thinking organisations are recognizing the whole leadership team need to focus on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this means HR and people teams are free to focus on people, and have wider support to do so from the rest of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These people-centered organisations \u2013 or, \u2018People Companies\u2019 \u2013 truly put their people at the heart of what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have certain characteristics which set them apart from others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of all, they acknowledge that the people agenda is not the sole responsibility of the HR department, and this is reflected in how they engage their workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People Companies understand that HR operations as we know it is transitioning to automation and augmented intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gut feel and spreadsheets is moving towards data and analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional recruitment methods are making way for employer branding and People Marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Occasional clunky HR systems are transforming to on-demand mobile apps, designed for employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company training is being facilitated through autonomous and social learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year-end reviews are being replaced with continuous performance conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And annual engagement measures are being replaced with continually creating great workforce experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People Companies are also embracing the shift from HR to people by appointing chief people officers, or CPOs, and other focused roles, such as business psychologists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the executive board, CPOs don\u2019t just direct human resourcing, but orchestrate and leading the experiences of the people in a company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They facilitate the people agenda\u2019s responsibility with the whole leadership team and other people-focused roles, so the company places enough focus on embracing and leveraging its people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes their different motivations, mindsets, passions and interests \u2013 and how the organisation embrace and leverage these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They use actionable insights to identify patterns and trends, and create great workforce experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Download your free report, The changing face of HR, and discover why ‘HR’ is changing to ‘People’<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Getting ahead <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People Companies automating transactional processes and leaving their leaders free to focus on people get quicker feedback and take remedial action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By continually redesigning better ways of working, People Companies provide better workforce experiences, and see a faster impact on engagement and productivity as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as we waved goodbye to Personnel in the 1980s, we\u2019re now waving goodbye to Human Resources and saying hello to a people function, to reflect that a workforce is so much more than a resource \u2013 it\u2019s made up of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question is: are you embracing the transition? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sage People live demo<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Want to attract the best people, retain your key talent and increase productivity? Request a free, live demo of Sage People and discover how it can help you achieve your goals.<\/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\tRequest a free demo<\/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\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/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\tSubscribe now<\/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\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t