Should HR and IT become one function?
Is there about to be a wave of consolidation between HR and IT functions?
A lot of IT leaders think so.
In a survey by Nexthink, a firm that makes workplace software, 64% of senior IT decision makers at large companies reckon there will be a consolidation of these functions within the next five years.
The rationale: AI is shifting thinking from previously separated tasks of workforce planning and systems enablement to simply how do we get work done.
Companies such as Moderna and online bank Bunq have already merged their IT and HR functions.
The key question being asked is how to optimise workflows between human capabilities and technology capabilities such as hardware, software and AI.
This will increasingly require integrated leadership because AI capabilities are absorbing routine tasks while demanding a similar level of guidance, training, and performance management as employees.
Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO observed the trend earlier this year saying, “We are the last generation of leaders to manage only humans.”
Key trends shaping new thinking for human-technology management:
Workforce planning will increasingly mean planning for humans AND AI agents and how to optimise collaboration between them.
Future results will depend on human AND technology stack performance.
Skills development will require both learning platforms AND AI training data.
Performance management will need to measure human-AI collaboration, not just individual output.
How fast these trends shape a structural response in each company will depend on the industry, company scale and need for competitive repositioning.
Key questions to ask to shape your response:
How quickly is AI absorbing routine tasks in our industry?
How interdependent will our workforce planning and technology decisions become over the next two years?
How important will AI-Human collaboration be to our near to medium term success?
If it’s a strong positive answer to all three, then at the very least it’s time to start aligning strategies and performance management of these functions more closely.
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