Technically HR: We’ve now entered the post-industrial era

Some of the best things are post: post-impressionism, post-punk, the Post Office. Enter the next big post: the post-industrial economy.

According to human capital advisory firm the Josh Bersin Company, the old ways of navigating labor-management—managers directing what employees do, a surplus of labor to fill vacancies—are over. What’s shaping our economy now is a persistently tighter labor market, more productive work from skills-based jobs, and the rapid expansion of technology such as AI.

These new features have big implications for HR. According to Josh Bersin, industry analyst and founder and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company, what defines the top companies in the post-industrial economy is their people practices.

“We’re reaching the point where companies with great people practices and great skills and great cultures outperform much bigger companies that don’t have that,” he said.

Companies are doing more with less. Customer service, innovation, and the ability to be agile are directly connected to people policies and company culture.

“Ten years ago, HR wanted a seat at the table,” he said. “Now HR is at the table, expected to drive—not just influence—these mergers, acquisitions, cultural issues, growth issues, development issues, skills issues.”

Zoom out. Bersin worries many companies aren’t prepared for the post-industrial era we’ve entered. HR pros can help: Take time to upskill now and learn about emerging technologies, such as AI, and the best practices that will define people management in the post-industrial era.

“If you’re a little bit behind and you’re still in a bureaucratic stage of HR…[executives are] not going to be inspired by you to let you advise them on what to do next,” Bersin said. “We’re being asked to take on a much bigger role than a lot of HR people did 10 years ago.”

It’s on people pros to convince executives and senior management to abandon the labor-management model of the industrial era, he said.

“The other really big thing that’s changed in HR is you can’t just copy what somebody else did,” Bersin said. “You have to do what’s right for your company, in your industry, at the particular cycle you’re in, and your growth, and that’s part of the craft of HR also. So there’s lots of new opportunities for HR people, but they have to step up to the plate.”