The human resources function as we know it will hit a wall—if it hasn't already. The Future of Enterprise, Workforce and How Work Gets Done have rapidly shaped a new Future of HR. A digital mind-set, relentless focus on the customer, advanced enabling technologies and simplified, nimble ways of working are musts to achieve positive business outcomes.

HR operating models have evolved over decades with a trajectory of increasing business impact marked by changing brands from "personnel department" to "human resources" to "people function" and "employee experience." The function has advanced from necessary administrator to a supporting function with a seat at the table, to business partner and—in some cases—to trusted advisor.

HR's evolution has generally progressed at the pace of business and largely met the needs of enterprises along the way—or has been close enough for organisations across industries to thrive. Yet, the future demands something different from enterprises—and their HR teams—with tremendous urgency.

Today, enterprises are swimming through nearly constant change. Disruption is simultaneously affecting the enterprise and its workforce with increasing demands from customers, constant productivity pressure from competitors, and threats from unexpected entrants to their markets. Digitisation and personalisation of our daily lives coupled with the introduction of enabling technologies in the workplace at an unprecedented pace and scale create wholesale changes in the landscape of business.

Top takeaways:

• Revolutionary change is a must for HR to drive tangible work outcomes
• Reimagining the work of HR is paramount and demands dynamic and digital ways of working, HR super jobs and new capabilities
• Traditional HR operating models are inadequate for the future
• Exponential HR professionals and the enterprises they are part of will be adaptable, agile, architecting and augmented

Our research and pragmatic experience with the world's leading enterprises create a window to the rapidly unfolding imperatives that every HR team should explore as part of navigating the route to the Future of HR and we share those key insights here.

10 key skills for HR business partners to drive organisational imperatives

Elevating Business HR to Exponential HR

Business leaders are turning to HR business partners to address the present-day work challenges that are affecting organisations. Explore the 10 key attributes that separate HR business partners that are successfully and exponentially impacting their organisations.

Lean. Strategic planning. Design thinking. Agile. What does it all mean in becoming Exponential HR?

It is an exciting time to be part of HR. Right before our eyes, HR is transforming into ways of working never seen before. The 1990s are well behind us and it’s fair to say that at most enterprises HR now has a strategic role in leading the business. This is a blessing, a challenge and the biggest opportunity to create value that HR has ever experienced. As HR has moved into the boardroom and solidified its role in the C-suite, visibility to business imperatives is much clearer for HR and the opportunity to shape those imperatives from a workforce angle is greater than ever. In return, leaders are expecting that workforce programmes evolve more rapidly and drive greater, measurable value.

Imagining HR for today's worker

Introducing the People Product Operating Model

To match pace with the lightning speed of change and disruption, HR organisations must manage their services like products that are able to evolve constantly. This is not new—in fact, many organisations have attempted to tweak their current operating model to deliver in an agile fashion for many years, with varying levels of success. Those that have tried and failed are learning that revolutionary change requires bold action. Small, or even more substantial changes to an old operating model will not deliver consumer-grade products with curated, personalised experiences. To achieve that, HR organisations must radically shift to an entirely new approach.

Driving Business Imperatives Through Exponential HR Impact

A five-step approach in the HR business transformation

There has never been a better time to be a human resource (HR) professional. Companies now are asking HR to lead from the front. With the changing business expectations for HR, we discuss how HR can pivot to meet those challenges and apply a five-step approach to effectively drive business imperatives through HR impact with meaningful investments in the right HR products, solutions and services.

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