KPMG Highlights Changing World of Work

Solomon Elusoji

Digital disruption, the rise of artificial intelligence and the entry of millennials and Gen-Z into the workplace are some of the trends shaping the practice of human resources management in 2019, according to KPMG’s Wale Abioye.

Abioye, Experience Design lead at KPMG Nigeria, made the comments while delivering a keynote address at the eight edition of the HR Directors Network Nigeria session held recently in Lagos. 

The Network is a group of senior HR leaders in Nigeria set up to facilitate knowledge sharing amongst its members.

“Instead of looking for a career, people join for an experience for a couple of years,” Abioye said. 

“So, to keep the best talents, employers have to design the best possible experience at the workplace; rather than fitting the employee into the workplace, it should be built around the worker. Today, “workers are behaving more like consumers,” he added.

Another game-changing practice in HR is the use of predictive people analytics, which can be used to massively improve hiring efficiency, according to Abioye. 

The Chief Operating Officer at KPMG Nigeria, Victor Onyenkpa, also emphasised the use of predictive analytics in making HR decisions at KPMG.

Other factors changing the world of work, according to Abioye, include: changing customer demands, the political landscape, the tendency for people to have multiple careers in a lifetime and demographic shifts.

 A recent KPMG of 1,200 global HR executives notes that HR leaders who are not adapting to these changes are “adopting a risky stance,” which could see could, “in a few short years, see today’s technology disrupt them out of existence, while the largely inactive face a much shorter timeline to extinction.

 “Those that ‘get it’ are acting decisively, viewing HR as a new value driver and turning to data, predictive insights and AI. The rest are either limiting themselves to changes that show some progress, perhaps through data and analytics initiatives, or simply clinging to a static approach that’s perilous,” 

Head of People and Change Centre of Excellence at KPMG UK, Robert Bolton, has said.

According to KPMG’s Global Head of People, Susan Ferrier, “HR leaders are in the unique position of being able to lead the business conversation on how the world of work is taking shape in the 21st century. But you cannot occupy that space with other business leaders without a deep comprehension of the technology involved.”

 The eight HR Directors Network session, hosted at the KPMG tower in Lagos, was attended by top HR executives from banks and multinationals. 

 The Chief Human Resources Officer at Fidelity Bank, Charles Nwachukwu, was one of the attendants. In a chat with THISDAY, he acknowledged the changing pace of human resources practice in Nigeria and contended that while artificial intelligence was set to take away jobs, it will also create employment, albeit for higher skilled personnel. 

Nwahcukwu, noted that platforms like the HR Directors Network session are important to keep pace with industry trends, prospects and challenges.

 The HR Directors Network session is renowned for providing learning and networking opportunities for HR directors towards enhancing their knowledge and building professional relationships that are mutually beneficial.