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Top 4 Career Roles for HR Leaders in Digital Transformation

The digital transformation started way before the pandemic hit the world, but COVID-19 forced people to stay home. This enforced digitalization even in fields that were not keen on it, such as HR. And to ensure a smooth transition, HR leaders played a crucial role. Let us understand what are the career roles for HR leaders in this digital era. 

What exactly is HR digital transformation? 

Digital transformation in HR means transforming processes into digital domains previously handled completely by humans. In this context, digital tools are used to enhance the employee experience, and operations are data-driven and automated. 

Companies that have successfully undergone digital transformation started with leadership and paved their way throughout the organization. Therefore, the role of HR leaders in digital transformation is all the more important. 

What are the different roles for HR leaders in digital transformation?

If you want to make changes in an organization, the best way is often to start from the top. The digital transformation of HR is something that impacts the whole organization, and the role of HR leaders is not to be underestimated. There are a few roles that HR leaders play in supporting digital transformation. First and foremost, it is important to understand that organizational transformation is not just about technical changes but rather rests on people and cultures. Leaders play a key role in setting the culture of any organization. When there is a culture of acceptance of change, it is easier to gain employees’ support to ensure a smooth transformation. Secondly, the role of HR leaders is to drive strategic discussions. This is mainly to decide how to optimize processes through digital technologies. Remember that the success of any transformation is more than just thinking through the technology, but rather how it impacts the growth of the organization. Lastly, an HR leader should focus on how the transformation helps to get closer to your clients or customers. 

What are the top 4 career roles for HR leaders?

To drive digital transformation, the role of HR leadership is quite crucial. Take a look at the different career roles for HR leaders and their responsibilities

1) HR Manager:

The position of an HR manager is a generalist position who supervises and gives inputs on everything that goes on in the HR department. The HR manager role involves supervising recruiting, overseeing training and onboarding, deciding employee benefits and compensation, and checking workplace issues. The HR manager also oversees all aspects of hiring new employees in the absence of a recruiting manager. This position would help with digital transformation as they are the ones who work with the team directly including the entry-level employees who could be taught about the changes in the onboarding process. According to Indeed.com, the average salary of an HR manager is $77,961 per year.

2) HR Director:

The HR director is responsible for managing employee relations, personnel budgets, staffing, payroll, benefits, and everything related to the employee side of HR. Often there are different directors for different regions of the company. As HR directors are concerned with relationship building and creating a work environment ideal for the company they can set the tone for digital transformation. The average salary for Director is $95,069 per year according to Indeed.com.

3) Vice President of HR or Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO):

The title can differ based on the company, but the role is more or less the same. The main function of a CHRO or VP of HR is to execute an HR strategy that is in line with the company’s goals and objectives. The person in this position directs talent management, and performance management oversees training and development, initiates employee retention, etc. Their role is heavily focused on the future growth and development of the department and hence they would be the ones initiating a transformation. An average salary of a CHRO or a VP of HR is $256,603 according to Salary.com

4) HR Transformation Consultant:

This position is one of the newer positions to incorporate the latest changes in HR services, technology, practices, and general understanding. This position revolves completely around digital transformation including supervising digitizing data and information, automation of processes, and digitizing communications and interactions. The average salary of an HR transformation consultant is $63,521 per year according to Indeed.com.

What qualifications are needed for these positions?  

For an HR leadership position, a person should at least have a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, business administration, or behavioral science. With enough experience, someone can climb the corporate ladder and become an HR leader even with just a bachelor’s degree. But many organizations prefer a master’s degree such as an MBA with a specialization in HR or something specific such as the Global HR Leaders Program (HRLP) a 6-month program offered by the National University of Singapore Business School. The program is an immersive experience that focuses on leading-edge human resources transformation. It helps to identify, implement, and maximize your organization’s competitive advantage through HR strategy, change management, and talent and organizational performance.

Remember these leadership positions are important in driving digital transformation successfully. Something that has been seen by many companies that have gone through digital transformation. 

FAQs

  1. Which factors are necessary for HR leaders to have a successful digital transformation? 
    • HR leaders should have one eye on the future while also focusing on what’s best for the company is something that’s essential in an HR leader. All the other necessary skills can be learned.
  2. How to get started with HR digital transformation?
    • Moving organizations forward into the technological era has to be supported by HR. HR leaders can support and drive transformation at every level of transformation. Here are a few steps for a successful start of digital transformation:
      • Establish a clear goal
      • Get everyone on board
      • Don’t overcomplicate thing
      • Prioritize ideas
      • Assess performance
      • Culture is important
  3. What are the four major functions of human resource management?
    • Human resource management has four basic functions: staffing, training and development, motivation, and maintenance.
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