The general panic of the working public when hearing of an “industrial revolution” is fair. With AI and computing power being the forefront of business everywhere the future of the workplace is uncertain. The role of Human Resources should never come second to overall trends as these two topics are intersectional. (further reading https://sabpp.co.za/the-role-of-human-resource-professionals-in-navigating-the-new-world-of-work-by-desere-kokt/ )

Businesses that follow the trends and have analysts pulling data from every corner of the internet to help predict the future and make a move forward should use this data to not only see what trends they should invest in but how they can invest in their human capital differently.

Industrial Revolutions get their bad rap from the infamous first industrial revolution, but the world is a different place now. With the understanding that human capital is the most valuable assets and no matter what changes in technology brings there will always need a for a workforce on some level; times of major shifts should be met with shifting the investment in your human capital to ensure they are best prepared for the future and in turn your company.

Shifting Investment, How Human Resources can better your position in the Industry 4.0

Your Human Resource strategy should evolve with the times if your sector is in a reshaping then you should investigate how it is being reshaped and see what value you can add to your employees in order to keep up with the trends. If your marketing function is performing well but there is a shift towards digital marketing, then you should invest in training in order to keep them up to standard.

It is the goal of Human Resources to ensure your workforce performs at its best and training is the most important investment you can make during these periods of industry shifts.

The panic and uncertainty should be met with level-headedness guided by your Human Resources Strategy and investment in training should be your first call to action in times of shift to ensure your workforce is up to date.

Every year workplaces rely on their Human Resource department to perform the obligatory “Wellness Week” in which the company gives back to their employees with a focus on relaxation and produce healthy minds, as healthy minds lead to healthy work.

Whilst this is important, and much appreciated by the employees there is a slight fault in the thinking that one week will produce a healthy work force. The process of ensuring your employees are happy and healthy is an ongoing one that is supported by the creation of a strong corporate culture where employees feel valid and can communicate their feelings both positive and negative in a safe space that can accommodate both conflict and resolution of conflict.

Kgomotso Mopalami head of Knowledge at the South African Board of Peoples Practices writes that, “Good health can be a core enabler of employee engagement and therefore, employers have an obligation to safeguard employees’ well-being; this does not only benefit employees but organisations as well as the entire society”

With employee wellness being beneficial to the employee and the employer it is time to think about Human Resources can do to aid in this process of wellbeing.

• With a proactive approach where employees needs are met consistently the wellbeing of employees will be taken care of as the company runs rather than a reactive approach that can halt the progress of the company to deal with issues after they happen.

• An effective employee well-being strategy should be tailor made to the corporate culture of the company, and its content based on the organisation’s needs and characteristics, as well as those of its employees. There is no cookie-cutter strategy.

• Whilst one off wellness programmes are not the cure, they still do play an important part in a good wellbeing strategy.

• Promoting healthy decisions such as serving healthy food during meetings, having healthy food in the canteen, have smoke free zones.

• Ensure that health and well-being is not a series of standalone initiatives, but integrated into the organisation’s culture, leadership and people management practices

• Continually Evaluate and improve well-being initiatives to ensure the continuity of employee wellbeing.

Implementing a well-rounded well-being strategy benefits the employees but also strengthens the employer value proposition which will attract and retain the best talent.