‘Are we there yet?’ Australian HR professionals and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Although still in its early stages, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR), which involves a broad range of artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning technologies, will fundamentally change the way many of us work and relate to one another. Driven by technology, this transformation presents a range of challenges, as well as opportunities, where we might expect Human Resource (HR) professionals would lead the way. However, little is currently known in relation to how prepared HR professionals in Australia are to ready their organisations for this new era of work and associated resourcing. Consequently, this paper goes some way towards closing that gap. Specifically, the study reported here sets out to explore the levels of preparedness amongst Australian HRM professionals for the impact of the FIR on organisations, workplaces, jobs and skills, as well as on their own professional roles and competencies. The study utilised a sequential mixed methods research design with two phases, the first was qualitative focus groups (n = 5) followed by a quantitative online survey of selected senior HR practitioners (n = 150). The findings indicate that, while most believe that FIR technologies might be useful for their organisations and assist with improving job performance, increasing productivity and making jobs easier for employees, contrarily many did not intend to use them in the foreseeable future. Marginal support was also evident in relation to the potential contributions of FIR technologies to HR process enhancement and overall HR effectiveness. Most respondents were also not impressed with the lack of current Australian government FIR strategies and policies.

Artificial intelligence in human factors and ergonomics: an overview of the current state of research

“…In the area of interaction between different functions of organizations (executive efficiency) an increased productivity as well as effectiveness across the organization [36] is also assumed. In a survey conducted by Nankervis et al N = 250 company representatives indicated that they expected work performance to improve, productivity to increase, as well as employees to be well supported when using AI-applications, but that they were not yet planning to use this technology in the near future [37]. In the meta-analysis by Hirsch, it is emphasized that some applications of AI-technologies are perceived suspiciously to alarmingly on the part of employees.…”

Digitally-Powered Human Resource Management: Skills and Roles in the Digital Era

“…At the same time, HR analytics is the biggest weakness of the organizations surveyed. The study conducted by Nankervis et al (2019) states that big data (15%), cloud technology (10%) and mobile technologies (8%) are not so popular and not likely to be actively used by HR practitioners in their daily work in the future. In particular, it leads to the need to develop greater awareness of HR professionals about the potential of current technologies and increase their motivation for developing new competencies.…”

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“…When developing and setting goals, you can use the concept of MBO (Management by Objectives) -management by goals, founded by Peter Drucker. The peculiarity of the MBO concept is that the goals are not just "descending from top to bottom" -they are developed jointly by the boss and the subordinate [6]. During the discussions, personal goals are developed for each employee.…”

“…The style of online business communication tends to change from more formal to less formal, which leads to a reduction in psychological distance. And in the case of a remote form of control, the psychological distance is maximum [6]. To deformalize communication, one should partially add personal correspondence.…”