The professional body for HR and people development (CIPD) and the University of Bath developed a report called “Landing transformational change: Closing the gap between theory and practice”, which points out that senior HR professionals have improved their knowledge and expertise in the design of change techniques. Furthermore, they have become a vital part of teams responsible for the design and implementation of techniques during transformational change periods.

The report explains four change management case studies from BBC Worldwide, HMRC, News UK and Zurich UK Life. These cases showed HR professionals have greater knowledge than they used to have regarding employee engagement. It also demonstrates that the HR function is more successful when it facilitates action and enables managers to make changes and adaptations in order to fit the needs of their departments.

The role of HR is expanding, as HR leaders are being increasingly valued for their expertise and their presence in change management programs is growing. According to the report, HR professionals play a strategic role assisting senior leaders and CEOs in transformational change processes. In order to do so, they are developing a new set of skills, including analytic and leadership skills.

Consequently, there are new career paths being developed for talented HR professionals. The experts claim that building up expert knowledge to create value is crucial for future HR professionals. The evidence presented in the report shows that HR professionals using their skills in change management provide strong validation of the vital and critical role of HR in organizational development.

The report states that HR and OD professionals will need to be able to manage certain key tools, such as ‘big data’, in the near future. Furthermore, HR and OD professionals must:

• Be willing to work with CEOs/business leaders and their executive team as the ‘hidden hand’ of change, highly relevant to its success yet not highly visible
• Identify and change entrenched systems that support the old culture and ways of doing things
• Facilitate translation of the new vision into tangible actions, filtering down through the organisation and disseminate through mass communication initiatives events to engage all levels
• Create change advocates through training to support the communication and translation of change
• Identify and remove obstacles and provide relevant tools as change progresses

These sets of skills and capabilities shall keep HR professionals integral in times of major changes.

Source: CIPD