The HR Industry’s Evolution from an Administrative Function to a Strategic Function w/ Josh Bersin
Feb 23, 2021
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Josh Bersin, founder of the Josh Bersin Academy, discusses the HR industry's shift from an administrative to a strategic function. Topics include balancing empathy and results, creating economic opportunity, and ensuring security within companies.
Organizational health requires a balance of empathy and results.
HR's evolution involves prioritizing human issues and team potential for success.
Deep dives
Josh Berson's Career Journey
Josh Berson shares his unconventional career journey, starting as an engineer, transitioning to tech and sales at IBM, and later venturing into product management and marketing at Cybase. During a layoff in 2001, he recognized a demand for online training research, which led him to become an industry analyst. Berson's diverse background highlights the importance of adaptive career paths and seizing unexpected opportunities.
Evolution of HR from Administrative to Strategic
Josh Berson discusses the evolution of HR from a compliance-focused, administrative function to a strategic role driving organizational success. He emphasizes the shift towards prioritizing human issues, psychological safety, and unlocking team potential. Berson highlights the complex nature of HR, balancing psychology, empathy, accountability, and business innovation in a rapidly changing work environment.
Redefining Economic Measures and Corporate Citizenship
Berson challenges traditional economic measures like GDP and unemployment rates, advocating for a more holistic approach that includes individual well-being and societal health. He emphasizes the impact of economic issues on employees and the role of companies in addressing societal challenges. Berson underscores the importance of corporate citizenship, urging companies to prioritize care for employees, communities, the environment, and social responsibility for long-term success.
In today’s cultural climate, leaders need to consider the enormous complexity we’re all facing in the middle of a pandemic and how they can care for their employees as human beings.
A lot of companies tend to move to one end of the empathy/results spectrum. But if focusing about both results and empathy in equal parts is critical to organizational health, what does a good balance look like?
To find the answer, we talked with Josh Bersin, founder of the Josh Bersin Academy, the world's professional development academy for HR, about corporate citizenship.
What we talked about:
-Josh’s background in HR and business leadership and how he became THE Josh Bersin.
-The HR industry’s move from an administrative compliance function to a strategic function.
-How leaders can participate in creating more economic opportunity.
-What leaders can do to create security within their own companies.
For the entire interview, subscribe to HR Superstars on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Stitcher. Or, tune in on our website.
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