Current and Innovative trends

Question 1

What is the difference between a HR specialist and a HR generalist.

Answer 1

A generalist knows a bit about everything to do with HR whereas a specialist specialises in e.g. people relations

Question 2

What things do HR Professionals have to be knowledgeable about?

Answer 2

1. People practice
2. Culture and behaviour
3. Business acumen- know how a business works
4. Change - understand changes in the job
5. Analytics and creating value- collecting and using data and explaining why they are relying on this data

Question 3

Give some behaviours HR professionals should themselves have.

Answer 3

1. Working inclusively
2. Passion for learning
3. Ethical practice
4. Situational decision making

Question 4

Is a HR practitioner a generalist or a specialist?

Answer 4

They can be either with knowledge on:
1. Employee experience
2. Employee relations
3. People analytics
etc.

Question 5

What did the Mckinsey global institute find?

Answer 5

-they predicted in 2020 that hybrid working would continue after the lift of the pandemic
- 2023 shows a tension between employers and employees as employees no longer want to go back into the workplace due to having moved out of the city during the pandemic for example.

Question 6

What were the main reasons people wanted to keep the hybrid working model instead of going back to full time on campus work?

Answer 6

Siemens found that the main reasons were:
1. Lack of social contract
2. It is harder to maintain or build a network
3. Lack of collaboration opportunities

Question 7

How will AI affect the future workforce?

Answer 7

• In 2018, the world economic forum predicted that by 2026 1.4 million people would lose their jobs which will be replaced by AI
• Employees will be expected to become adept at complex problem solving, creativity and permanent digital upskilling

Question 8

How is the amount of time we work a week changing?

Answer 8

Crowd working is increasing and the idea of a 4 day week is becoming more popular, without a loss of pay.

Question 9

What new methods of working are being introduced to show more awareness for employees life/work balance need.

Answer 9

1. Mental health days
2. Regular breaks
3. Encouraging managers to focus on output and not hours worked
4. Regularly reviewed workloads

Question 10

Why is ethics important?

Answer 10

Organisations are focused on having a positive working environment which can be ensured if employee trust is strong
- Good relations with customers/clients lead to sustained enhanced reputation
3. Research suggests long term ethical companies outperform their peers

Question 11

What is HR’s role in applying ethics in the workplace

Answer 11

They are responsible for making ethical decisions but it is often found that there can be a gap and tension between what the HR employees want to achieve and what the organisation wants to achieve ethically.

Question 12

What are some areas in which HR can implement ethical practices?

Answer 12

• Recruitment and selection
• Acclivity and diversity
• Employee development
• performance management