The UK is clearly undergoing significant political uncertainty at the moment which is causing HR professionals to think carefully about how to proactively manage the situation as it impacts employees.
But Brexit is not the only existential issue at play in the UK market.
The factors below will drive and impact the main key trends in both areas of HR policy and practice in the UK in 2019 and beyond.
- Brexit – This has two aspects; firstly migrant workers in terms of the number and the different sectoral implications of that and secondly, relocation of financial services jobs – to what extent is some bank rhetoric about jobs losses in the UK close to reality? What is likely to happen, and what will be the impact on London’s position as the world’s leading financial centre, is a moot point. London’s long-term position as a global financial centre and agglomeration is so much more dominant than any EU city
- Gender pay gaps – following the BBC scandal and the need for companies to produce gender pay gap reports and explain them, these will continue to be crucial
- Levels – this is at both the top – such as the recent furore over university vice-chancellors with some ‘tin ear’ attempts to defend them – and bottom, such as policing and enforcing the national minimum/living wage, especially as the number of workers being paid these minimum wages is set to soar
- The UK gig economy and zero-hour contracts – the legal case about whether or not people are ‘contractors’ or ‘dependent contractors’ or actually ‘employees’ of businesses, such as Uber, will continue
- Technology – driving the above is technology, which is creating more pressure on fixed jobs and increasing the numbers of remote workforces and telecommuters – it will also have impacts in terms of how firms find and recruit, such as ‘blind hiring’ and ‘bots’ for resumes and HR documents
- Productivity – linked to all of the above, this is the most important area for HR: productivity needs to be improved – UK plc needs to try to develop the nirvana of high employment and high productivity and GDP per head, a la Germany
Against this backdrop, digital HCM transformation is more required than ever.
We at Zalaris are asking HR professionals across the UK – “Have you started your transformation to digital HCM? Do you dare to challenge the status quo?” Can you cope with these powerful forces in the UK market?
The bad news is that payroll transformation is already long overdue. Less and less of the total workforce may be employed by you, but you still need to be GDPR compliant.
Any paper whatsoever in the HR office is a sign of an industry laggard. The gap between HR’s self-perception and business expectations widens every year. HR doesn’t seem to get the funding it needs to become a hero.
But that’s also the good news: It’s never been easier to be a hero in HR than it is right now. We can help accelerate your digital HCM journey with a strong business case. Just call us, and let’s discuss!
Closing the Gap
The full impact of digital disruption and transformation is well-established at this point. There’s nothing you can do to slow it. Getting started is an imperative. However, as obvious or redundant as that may sound, most companies are not yet doing what needs to be done.
Deloitte found in its 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report that 49 percent of companies worldwide weren’t redesigning their organizations for digital business models. Forty-four percent failed to leverage digital or mobile tools in their HR program. Sixty-seven percent didn’t even use any embedded intelligence to deliver HR solutions.
The gap between what is possible and what is being achieved is called the “productivity gap.” You’re at risk of losing a significant chunk of your current revenues due to this gap. The gap persists, although no doubt it is closing rapidly as companies continue to adopt and adapt. Employees crave an integrated, modern work experience focused on empowerment and productivity, and companies are catching on. We must shift the focus from cost and compliance to business productivity, keeping in mind that the future of work is all about a compelling experience that unleashes the full potential of your total workforce while securing ethics and trust.
HR has to lead the way to business transformation in a never-ending and agile journey of reinvention and the key is to start with the core and aim for agility.
Zalaris is featuring in SAP SuccessConnect at London this year, drop by our stall and let’s discuss your next step in the HR transformation journey. It’s very easy to spot us there, just watch out for the Orange Sneakers.
