Frequently asked questions

We have identified 4 major issues for HR in the future around which HR Path can offer support.

An increasingly outsourced function that is being refocused

The HR function is now increasingly outsourced, particularly as regards administrative management and payroll.

The HR department will therefore have more of a steering role with regard to the various HR service providers and could refocus on tasks with greater internal added value (definition of HR management policy, change management, succession plans, social relations, attracting and retaining talent, etc.).

Guarantor of the corporate culture and quality of life at work

In parallel with this outsourcing trend, the HR function is increasingly called upon to instil a genuine corporate culture, starting with the recruitment process for its employees, and then subsequently, during their integration and development within the company.

This role of guarantor of the corporate culture is becoming increasingly important, whether because of the geographical spread of company structures, which are becoming more and more internationalised, or because of the expectations of candidates and employees who, in saturated markets, have become “customers” and choose their company according to their own adherence to the culture they perceive.

In such a context, the quality of life at work takes on major importance, in order to attract talent and retain employees by creating and guaranteeing the conditions for employee fulfilment at work. The function will thus have to take into account the new expectations of employees, who are more attentive to working conditions and the balance between work and family life.

Soft skills at the heart of the company

Thus, “soft skills” or behavioural competencies will become increasingly important and the HR function will be increasingly called upon to evaluate and develop them because these competencies will in fact constitute a competitive advantage for companies in this context of automation.

According to the World Economic Forum, these “soft skills” are those that will be most in demand in the coming years, in particular analytical capacity, creativity and emotional intelligence. People will therefore be at the heart of the digital transformation.

The role of the HR function in this area is obvious: to hire talent trained in the new technologies, to train employees, to support employees in this transition, particularly in declining professions. Its role will therefore be more oriented towards contributing to the company’s global strategy, towards a role as a business partner and towards HR development linked to the attractiveness and retention of talent.

The challenge for the function will therefore be, increasingly, to build a work collective from individuals who are fragmented and see themselves as their own employer.

The HR function, pilot of the digital transformation

The HR function will also have to keep up with technological developments by going digital, developing HRIS and cloud solutions adapted to the new challenges and, more generally, by modernising its methods of communication, in order to improve its quality of service, whether internally with employees and management or with service providers and candidates.

It will have to take advantage of technological developments and the IT tools available to it in order to analyse the problems encountered as effectively as possible, to make proposals to management and to steer the implementation of new processes while ensuring that the employee has a place in them.

The HR function must also be able to justify its actions and added value to management, employees and the board. To do this, it must be able to evaluate its actions using tangible, rational and objective indicators. Using digital tools will allow it to have data and indicators that will enable it to evaluate its performance and thus establish its credibility and its strategic role.

The digital transformation that has been underway for several years, coupled with the global crisis we are currently experiencing, will increasingly lead to new ways of working (teleworking in particular). In some companies discovering this new organisational mode, the HR function will have to support employees so that this change is not experienced as a dehumanisation of work but, on the contrary, as an opportunity for employees to gain autonomy, responsibility and, as discussed above, quality of life (work-life balance).

Digitalisation will therefore not only transform the way we work in companies, but will also have an impact on the HR profession, as it is HR that will have to plan, organise, support and steer the digital transition of the various professions in the company.

The refocusing of the HR function will therefore also take the form of supporting the change and its implementation with employees. Here again, the role of HR will be to ensure that the changes are in line with the company culture and that the changes are understood and accepted by the employees and that they take ownership of them.