Strathmore University Business School this week hosted the Annual HR Summit virtually. The summit attracted more than 100 HR professionals and practitioners from the East African region. This HR Summit this year was hinged on three key pillars: the future of work, the future workforce, and the future workplace. Given that the event was virtual, the summit spread across three days. The summit began on a high note with Rita Kavashe, Managing Director, Isuzu East Africa leading the discussion on redefining the future of work. She highlighted the opportunities and challenges emerging with the future of work and emphasized the need for business leaders to adapt to the new normal and adopt the opportunities and maneuver the challenges. The first day of the summit closed with a panel session consisting of top HR leaders from East Africa as they shared lessons from the ground on handling HR during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the lessons that were common among all the panelists was the need for constant communication.
It is better to over-communicate than not to communicate at all. Day two of the summit focused on how HR leaders can leverage the workforce of one; work, the workplace, and job redesign. Dr. Joseph Onyango, faculty member, Strathmore University Business School opened the conversation on day two with in-depth insights on the topic. One take away from this session is the need to involve the employee of the future in job redesigning.
He highlighted some of the benefits of job redesigning as enhanced work quality, increased organizational productivity, increased employees on-job productivity, creates a right person-job fit, and brings a sense of belongingness to employees. Paul Kasimu, Chief Human Resources Officer, Safaricom PLC opened the third day of the summit with a discussion on how to become a digital HR leader. He noted that it was time that HR leaders eased their minds into the fact that the future of work is here, and it is here to stay. He further highlighted five characteristics of the future workplace:
- Cloud-based services
- Non-static workspaces
- Improved collaboration powered by unified communications and collaboration tools
- BYOD( Bring Your Device)
- Complex ecosystems powering Internet Of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 with increased vulnerability to security threats.
The future of work is here with us and is here to stay. The Covid-19 pandemic played a critical role in fast-tracking the future of work in many ways. HR business leaders must fast track their adoption of the new realities in work, the workforce, and the workplace. About the HR Summit The Annual HR Summit is an initiative of the SBS Executive Education Department to support HR business leaders navigate through, thrive, and optimize their human capital as businesses adopt new strategies during and post the Covid-19 pandemic.
Learn about our Executive Education Programmes here Article by Juliet Hinga Would you like to share an article?
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