Editor’s Note

Organizations today must grapple with unprecedented levels of change and uncertainty. While economic recovery is spurring optimism in many sectors, workforce related issues can impede growth.
 
To build an effective workforce today, companies need to strategically align workforce planning and core business strategies. Only then will it be possible to achieve performance and productivity goals—while controlling labor costs. To find out the 4 pillars supporting the evolving workforce, read Scott Morgan’s article, Workforce Planning Elevates To A Strategic Issue, Demanding C-Suite Priority.
 

 
Digital transformation is all around us, affecting not only how work gets done but the nature of work itself. As it sweeps across organizations around the world, leaders have the daunting task of determining how best to respond and, better yet, take advantage of such transformation. This is where Human Resources (HR) can be a powerful agent of change. HR’s mission should be to build an organizational culture that enables such transformation. HR.com partnered with SumTotal to investigate how today’s HR professionals view and facilitate digital transformation in their organization. Read the complete whitepaper, The Role of Learning in Digital Transformation, in this issue.
 
When HR both advocates for and models agility, they ensure that strategies, organizations, and individuals anticipate and adapt to dynamic change as fast as the change occurs, says Dave Ulrich in his article, Agility: The New Response To Dynamic Change.
 
Hiring a brilliant jerk is a mistake that can be especially destructive. It can translate into a big setback for the business. A brilliant jerk, while often looking brilliant themselves, can impact performance levels, slow a business down, negatively affect quality, snuff out enthusiasm, and erode the morale of the team. As their name suggests, brilliant jerks are often articulate, intelligent, charismatic, and deliver in the short-term. But at what cost? Read Bretton Putter’s article, HR’s Secret Weapon Against Brilliant Jerks: Values-Based Hiring, for more insights.
 
The future of Human Resources will greatly depend on its ability to smoothly integrate four core elements: putting people first, aligning its operation with the business purpose and goals, becoming more agile and leveraging on technology. Each of those four core elements are not new, but HR hasn't been too effective in each of them individually, least so in their integration. How does this integration and the future of HR look like? Enrique Rubio’s article, The Future Of HR, provides more insights.
 
We also have a bunch of other interesting articles on workforce planning that can help create a better experience for your workforce, in this issue. We hope you enjoy reading all articles and look forward to hearing from you!