Planning checklist for HR professionals: Shifting your HR strategy to ‘Digital First’ 

The pandemic accelerated businesses adoption and reliance on technology, data and digital workforce solutions, and changes in new technology and the influx of younger generations caused a shift in the normal ways of working. Employees now expect an increasing level of digital delivery within their workplace experiences. This has resulted in organizations evaluating their HR strategy to ensure they have the right skills and tools in place to meet both business needs and the expectations of future workforces, while attracting and retaining the right talent today.

HR professionals who want to harness the opportunities of a ‘digital first’ mindset and cultivate the right skills and talent required to stay competitive and relevant for the future, will need to enhance and evolve the way they manage, care for, and support their people by understanding and planning for changes in technology, society, and processes.

• Using generative AI to automate repetitive tasks within your recruitment process, internal communication, and administrative tasks can improve overall operational efficiencies and enhance your ways of working.
• Understand the skills and behaviors needed in a digital workplace and assess your current skills pool for any gaps. Develop a job and skills framework to outline any upskilling and reskilling needed and put processes in place on how to reward the attainment of these skills.
• Consider how to enhance your total rewards package so that it appeals to a diverse workforce and allows for customization of benefits, rewards, and workplace experiences. Using technology to enhance HR processes can help organizations evolve and remain more competitive and agile.
• A comprehensive and compelling employee value proposition can position an organization as an employer of choice and attract much-needed skills while also retaining top talent. From benefits, and health and well-being, to learning and career development, using digital platforms to diversify and personalize your total rewards package will create an elevated and custom employee experience.
• Create an internal communication plan for your organization when introducing digital tools and technology to outline their use in the workplace as well as the impact this may have on employees. Clear and regular communication will improve adoption of digital tools and technology and help reduce any misconceptions or concerns within your workforces.
• Assess the platforms you are using when communicating and engaging with your employees to ensure your workforce uses them (consider data and insights on engagement), and that the information provided to the end user is valued, informative, personable and relevant. 
• Use digital communication platforms to engage your employees around their rewards and benefits, and to communicate your value proposition. Telling your employees how they contribute towards building and enhancing your organizational culture will make them feel valued. Employees that believe their work is contributing to their organization in a meaningful way will be more productive and are less likely to leave.
• Use data to help you make informed decisions about investments in technology and digital tools, and consider how digitization can enhance your HR strategy and enable you to improve efficiencies within your organization.
• Develop a robust remote and hybrid work strategy to allow for flexibility and for employees to have a level of personalization over their workplace experience. Understanding what your employees value and what is important to them is crucial to creating a compelling and competitive employee value proposition.

The changing nature of work means that employees are driving a workplace culture where experience needs to align with employee expectations. Organizations that embrace the future of work and bolster their value proposition to be an employer of choice will enhance their HR strategy, create elevated employee experiences, improve efficiencies within their operations, contain costs, create a sustainable long-term HR framework, and unlock opportunities for growth, new skills and increased productivity within their workforces.