By Ian J. Cook, CHRP

Business moves in cycles and it is clear from the results of the 2011 HR Trends Report that the next cycle for HR will have strong similarities to the period before the recession. With a return to growth and steady projections of increased revenue and increased demand for staff, the underlying dynamics of the labour market will re-assert their importance.

In 2011 it was predicted that all increases in labour market participation would come from immigration to BC and Canada. This means that any organization looking to increase its staff group or plug holes left by retirements will either be in a highly-competitive battle for “made in Canada” talent or will have to start managing the adjustments in hiring practices and workforce dynamics that come with hiring new Canadians. The challenge of landing, keeping and optimizing the contribution of the people in the organization is set to become very demanding.

On a deeper level, the skills required by organizations and the complexities and opportunities that they are looking to handle have increased in sophistication. In BC we have seen a rapid and vast transition in our export market. Exports to China have roughly doubled since 2008¹. The economic positioning of BC as a gateway between Asian markets and North America also requires new skills and a broader business perspective.

The HR function will be front and centre in trying to resolve these issues and the organization will start to focus on the human component that creates value from existing physical infrastructure, finance, and strategies. The volatility of our current business environment and the need to be able to deliver quickly against new opportunities will increase the pressure on HR groups to innovate the ways in which they serve their organization. Although there is optimism that more resource is returning to the HR function, the level of investment appears to be lagging the scale of the challenge.

HR groups are responding by looking deeply at how they are structured and how they function within their organizations to achieve their goals. They are also looking to technology more often to automate or reduce the time spent on low-value process work.

Looking forward, the challenges and opportunities are of a positive nature and address the issues of finding, keeping and growing talent as opposed to divesting or tightly managing the contribution of existing staff. The need to re-shape HR while continuing to deliver results to the organization will keep HR groups on their toes for the next 12 months and beyond.

Throughout his career Ian J. Cook, MA, MBA, CHRP, has pursued his fascination with people and business. During his early career, Ian was both an entrepreneur and an operational manager. These experiences led him into consulting on organizational effectiveness, a path he followed for 10 years while serving some of the world’s leading organizations. Ian has established a reputation as a strategic business builder who is far-sighted and thought-provoking.