This is an ongoing series of posts about the state and future of the Human Resource problems and processes. In this post I’ll cover why the HR of the future should seek out “SAP” expertise to insure they explore and document the past to deliver a bright and somewhat predictable future.
As I have noted before the name “Human Resources” is a misnomer in and of itself. But, for the sake of continuity with the current terminology being used I will use the words Human + Resources together to refer to the people, processes, and technology that corporations use to organize their Human Resources.
I prefer Laszlo Bock’s model of “People Operations” as ne noted in his years at Google and his book “Work Rules”
The Workforce of the Future is Changing (click2tweet)
It’s mobile, it’s more diverse … both in age and skills and in some cases gender. And, the expectations for each are constantly shifting. Making it very challenging for traditional Human Resources people, processes, policies and technologies to keep up. To be fair … People Operations professionals have the same challenges.
It’s not quite the Gig Economy, but it’s getting closer. That’s the topic of another post and has been addressed here in The Three Pillars of The Gig Economy.
The workforce of the future is changing in ways that some companies seem to be getting a handle on. But, others are woefully behind and it shows in their hiring and ultimately in their performance. I am holding back on naming names, but you can likely guess who these companies are … either because you have dealt with their inefficient efforts or because you can observe the effects directly.
The bottom line is that the smart and enlightened companies will need more eyes and ears on the workers and and the business. Both in terms of what they are tasked with doing and with what they actually do. Of course, this is not rocket science. This is how companies have been run for many years … at least in terms of expectations vs. actual results. The difference is … wise companies are documenting their past while setting the stage for the future.
The future People Operations professionals (nee HR pros) will need SAP. (click2tweet)
Where SAP means …
- Sociologists
- Anthropologists
- Psychologists
You might be thinking … WHAT?
Yes. Hiring professionals that have focused on degrees in Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology (SAP) is good business.
Where Sociologists will be responsible for understanding and evaluating the underlying patterns and behaviors of people as a group. Big companies are hiring sociologists --- NASA, Deloitte and IBM are, and even Facebook.
Sociology – noun
The scientific analysis of a social institution as a functioning whole and as it relates to the rest of society
And, as expected Anthropologists will look to the past in a business (even a young business) to document what happened. Not to make a judgement. Rather, just to document and annotate what is going on with the business, the people, the partners, and the customers. This is not a new idea. Thomas Davenport has been espousing this for years and this HBR article from 2007 brings it back to the fore - The Rise of Corporate Anthropology. And, anthropological research helped Adidas to understand the customer's world in Here's Why Companies Are Desperate To Hire Anthropologists
And, Psychologists, which of course, have been involved in businesses for many years. Sometimes internally for evaluations of employees and creation of employee measurement programs (where they might work with the sociologists to evaluate the social structures and the technical teams might crunch the numbers). The role of psychologists will likely change too. One example is how Microsoft utilizes psychologists to enhance people development and with different groups across the company.
As more and more workers are being monitored and evaluated they will seek to have access and control over this information. As a die note there might be a battle brewing for who “owns” employee SAP data. But, that’s a topic for another post.
SAP Roles are Ready to Take Off (click2tweet)
Each of these SAP roles benefit from the use of high technology – from data collection and processing to being able to observe, communicate, and collaborate across wide geographic swaths across all aspects of the business.
I think these SAP roles are going to get a lot more attention in the coming years. Especially as Gen Z’s begin to enter the workforce. See my questions below. I’d like to hear what you think.
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In fact, as I have noted on Facebook, one of my favorite executives at Microsoft has degree in Psychology. I submit that her degree has helped her at least as much as a technical degree would to accomplish what she has in her time at Microsoft. Which, by the way, is a lot. If you are wondering about who I am referring to it is Microsoft CVP and Channel Chief Gavriella Schuster.
Full Disclosure: My son, Alex Shuey, is a senior at the University of Washington and studying Sociology. He will graduate in Spring 2018 with a minor in Spanish. If you want to hire him please be aware that he was the O'Dea High School Class of 2014 Valedictorian (proud dad moment). You can drop a note here and I will pass it on. I would be very grateful and you will be very happy to get a Millennial that Gets Things Done on your team. (shameless plug)
What do you think?
- Is SAP a viable option for the future of People Operations?
- Can the traditional HR functions be fixed with a broader approach?
- What companies are you seeing applying an SAP or SAP-like model?
Share your thoughts here. And, if you are working for or leading one of the enlightened companies … good for you.
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Photo by Gerome Viavant on Unsplash
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