Managing a human-digital workforce in 2022 and beyond

Many organizations adopted automation technologies like robotic process automation (RPA) in the past year to drive productivity in newly remote and increasingly digital work environments. It’s becoming commonplace for people to work side-by-side with virtual software assistants—sharing work, handing it off, and taking it back many times a day—and these tools’ value is only increasing as new professional opportunities and challenges inevitably arise. For instance, with labor shortages expected to continue for the foreseeable future, automation can help organizations mitigate the impacts of the current worker shortage by helping them get more work done faster.

It’s clear automation can unlock human potential by streamlining tasks, giving workers more time back in their day to focus on more strategic work, but it poses the question to HR teams of how to manage a human-digital workforce. Here’s what Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) and their teams should be prioritizing in 2022 to successfully migrate their organizations into the future of work.

A successful human-digital workforce starts with change  management

Working alongside robot assistants may sound like science fiction to those who have yet to launch automation initiatives, but with the right change management plan, organizations can make transforming into a fully automated enterprise a reality.

Making the organizational decision to invest in automation technologies is only a first step into the future of work. Businesses also need their employees to embrace these new tools for the investment to be worthwhile, and that depends on individuals truly understanding automation’s value.

In addition to touting how automation can make employees more productive (by taking on highly manual and tedious operational activities like data entry and rules-based processes), it’s critical HR teams stress that software robots do not replace employees. Some employees may find it intimidating that RPA can take over certain tasks start to finish, but with a “human in the loop,” they maintain oversight and approval. Having the technology execute these responsibilities allows them to advance into higher-skill roles—effectively furthering them in their careers instead of stopping them short.

Once employees are on board with automation adoption, the next natural step is for HR teams to enroll employees in training sessions on how to use automation so that they’re comfortable leveraging it in their day-to-day work.

Fortunately, today’s workforce is already very receptive towards the opportunity to train on automation, with 63% of global office workers viewing automation skills as critical in their development. Following the initial trainings, HR teams should routinely check in with employees on their experience using automation tools as well as provide new upskilling opportunities to help workers keep pace as the automation initiative advances and the technologies themselves evolve.

Training employees on how to even develop their own automations—in addition to teaching them how to use ones handed to them by leadership—positions employees to take an active role in the initiative. This fosters a sense of autonomy over their workloads; when workers know how to tailor automation software to support the specific requirements of their jobs, they can establish a way of work that’s entirely their own, thereby boosting productivity and satisfaction and helping employers manage through staffing trains created by the Great Resignation.

To manage the automation initiative over time, CHROs can participate in a center of excellence (CoE), which is the way to embed RPA deeply and effectively into the organization and to redistribute accumulated knowledge and resources across future deployments. Members of the CoE such as RPA champions will be the individual workers’ go-to when they need automation assistance on the job, or get help deploying an automation they have created. Designating a go-to team for employees to consult offers individuals continuous reassurance and guidance on an innovation that may be unfamiliar to them, which avoids them abandoning the technology in favor of old ways of work.

Offering training beyond technical skills

With robots assuming an organization’s more repetitive tasks, organizations can define higher-skilled roles within their teams. Forward-thinking HR teams are mapping which jobs are likely to change or go away in response to market demands, and which new jobs will emerge—and developing plans to upskill, reskill, and redeploy workers into these new positions.

To move current employees into these higher-value roles, HR departments need to embark on a wide-scale training effort. Business leaders expect they will have to retrain a third of their workforce over the next few years as a result of the implementation of new automation technologies. HR teams will need to broaden their training offerings to accommodate employees who may not want to become citizen developers capable of designing their own automations. Expect these end-user programs to focus on things like encouraging workers to change their workday patterns, adopt new processes, and learn to use their robotic assistants most effectively.

Training opportunities must also include soft skills like leadership, critical thinking, and adaptability in addition to technical skills. A McKinsey & Company study found that to prepare their workforces for a post-COVID-19 world, organizations are emphasizing training in human-centered skills like leadership and managing others (51+%); critical thinking and decision-making (50%); project management (50%), and adaptability and continuous learning (40%).

Adding this training effort to their workload may sound overwhelming to CHROs, who are steeped in pandemic-related responsibilities like managing a remote workforce and mitigating higher-than-usual turnover rates, but automation can support them as well. HR teams can leverage automation technology for their own data entry needs, such as onboarding a new employee or registering workers for a training session. Software robots can fulfill the more time-consuming tasks on CHROs’ to-do lists so that they’re able to spend more time with the humans of their organizations, ensuring everyone adjusts to their increasingly digital workplace smoothly.

The reality of today’s business environment is that HR teams must evolve to manage a human-digital workforce. As automation tools become commonplace in today’s offices, CHROs must prioritize training employees on how to effectively leverage these technologies, as well as help them adjust to how their roles will change—for the better—in automation’s wake. With careful planning and continued oversight, HR departments can get ahead of workplace shifts and position their organizations to thrive in the future of work.

Param Kahlon is chief product officer at UiPath.