“Welcome to the Jungle” – Companies Under Scrutiny
The environment for companies is becoming increasingly chaotic: the decline of Germany as a business location is a serious concern. The urgency of the Russian threat in particular is exacerbating the risk situation for Europe; more generally, the political discourse is shaped by the question of power versus morality and their logical interconnection. The disruptive power of artificial intelligence is fundamentally challenging existing organizational forms. Last but not least, these societal developments are perceived as throwing the lives of individuals into disarray.

As a result, many companies are currently in crisis mode or at least in a phase of consolidation. The intensity of transformation is high in many places; initiatives no longer affect only individual areas and functions, but are fundamentally oriented and cross-functional in nature.

Against the backdrop of this new reality and the associated geopolitical, corporate, personnel-related and individual risks and challenges, perspectives on the fields of activity of the HR function are changing. New answers are being sought regarding the positioning and value contribution of HR.

Based on our studies, our collaboration with decision-makers at board / executive management level and with HR leaders, as well as on external market research and data analyses, we have identified ten current HR trends that will influence HR professionals in setting their priorities for the new year.

Dimension “Business”: HR Becomes a “Business Accelerator”

The HR function is increasingly and actively driving company-wide transformation. It strengthens corporate performance and competitiveness through:

  • facilitating digital corporate transformation with a focus on ethical issues related to the introduction of AI, analytics solutions, AI-supported organizational development, and new job profiles and upskilling requirements.
  • the targeted flexibilization of the organization in order to successfully combine efficiency-oriented core processes with agile innovation initiatives.
  • proactive management of strategic workforce and skills planning to address future workforce and competency needs at an early stage.
  • promoting a performance-oriented corporate culture that safeguards the competitiveness of the workforce and supports entrepreneurial capability and cost objectives.

Key initiatives

  • Establishing an HR business area “Transformation Management” with a focus on strategic workforce planning and business change enablement
  • Strengthening the change/transformation component (mindset, skills, toolbox) within the established strategic business partner role
  • Allocating 10–20 percent of capacity to flexible project resources
  • Participation in divisional/regional strategy processes
  • Mandate to design and steer change, transformation and cultural development processes

Dimension “People”: HR Becomes a People / Talent Partner

HR increasingly identifies and manages people-related risks, thereby contributing more strongly to the resilience and stability of business development. The focus is on:

  • the sustainable attraction and retention of talent, taking into account changing expectations of target group profiles.
  • designing a positive employee experience and fostering employee engagement to strengthen cultural attractiveness.
  • developing an entrepreneurship-oriented leadership framework and targeted leadership capability development as a decisive influencing factor on EBIT variance.
  • building a trust-based corporate culture grounded in the principles of people sustainability and offering individuals perspective amid perceived chaos.

Key initiatives

  • Establishing an HR business area “Workforce Management” with a focus on people supply chain, retention and engagement, development and health, employee representation, and personnel costs
  • Assessing the establishment of an HR business area “Executive Management” with a focus on appointment and succession management, coaching and development, compensation and performance management, as well as profiles and leadership structures of the top two management levels
  • Integration into corporate resilience and risk management

Dimension “HR”: HR Transforms Its Own Operating Model

Through the digitalization of processes and the expansion of classic role models, HR continues to evolve—and in doing so, unlocks the potential of the other two dimensions in the first place. The most important aspects are:

  • the consistent digital transformation of the HR function, in particular through the introduction of an agent-based operating model with a significant impact on HR headcount as well as on technology-driven skills and roles.
  • contributing value to the company-wide digital transformation—not only through reactive qualification concepts, but through a deep understanding of changing business processes and a leading role in holistic change management.

Key initiatives

  • Establishing an HR business area “Services Business” with a focus on standardized administrative processes, increasing digital maturity, fostering internal customer and case centricity, and identifying streamlining and automation potential
  • Forecasting the effects of AI on the HR operating model with regard to ethical issues, value contribution, technological feasibility, business benefits, workforce and skill requirements within HR itself, as well as sizing implications
  • An honest discussion about the fundamentally envisioned scenario for digital (HR) transformation (ranging from stable to innovative to disruptive) and the resulting measures for the workforce, the HR function, and the company as a whole

“Future HR” – Just Go for It!?

The recurring questions surrounding the positioning and value contribution of the HR function call for new answers under the influence of digital drivers of change.

Yet, despite all the challenges shaping the pulse of the new year, it is not only about precise analysis, but also about acting with that blend of courage and pragmatism that makes progress possible in the first place. Concrete implementation initiatives—immediately applicable use cases, “line-of-sight” solutions, content-related and methodological preparation, strategic projects and roadmaps, agile implementation and the involvement of employee representatives—are, alongside strategy and target operating model development, equally important phases on the path into the new reality.

In this context, HR has the opportunity to be the author of its own change story—and to bring about its own fulfillment.

Prof. Dr. Walter Jochmann
Managing Director, Partner

Frank Stein
Senior Manager

Kienbaum