By: Joshua Finley

Longtime industry analyst Josh Bersin recently highlighted the increasing importance of HR in the C-suite. “There is a major increase in the C-level importance of the CHRO.. CHRO pay has rapidly increased, and more and more companies tell us that HR is leading the company’s AI initiative, productivity program, and culture change.” Janice Robinson Burns, a Human Capital Strategic Advisor, has dedicated her career to helping companies and individuals do this very thing. With extensive experience in creating growth cultures within Fortune 500 companies, Janice works to enhance workplace productivity and engagement through upskilling and the adoption of new technologies. Her focus is on addressing the talent challenges CEOs and executives face in preparing their workforce for the new world of work.

Transforming Talent Practices for an AI-Driven World

As a Human Capital Strategist and Futurist, Janice Robinson Burns helps organizations develop innovative strategies to transform their talent practices and position themselves to create a sustainable workforce. With rapid AI and technological innovations, the importance of continuous upskilling and learning how to pivot cannot be overstated. For companies to keep up with the pace of change, they must equip their employees to be ready for anything. CEOs must transform HR to ensure that its talent practices and operational model match the needs of our new world of work. This can only happen when you enable your workforce to address not only today’s challenges but also unknown challenges in the future.

While the world rapidly embraces AI in the workplace, human skills are still highly desirable. “The fact that the majority of the skills in the top 10 list are human skills like problem-solving and communication highlights how important it is for us humans to work together to make the most of the AI age we’re in,” says Janice. “The workers who will succeed in 2024 and beyond are the people who can effectively partner with technology and other humans, while continuously upskilling.” Based on her extensive career in human resources helping organizations, teams, and individuals to achieve their strategic and career goals. She believes the key to driving individuals and organizations into the future is enablement. “The fundamental question is: How can you enable your talent and yourself to achieve career and business goals?”

Why Focus on Talent Enablement?

The fundamental question is: How can you enable your talent and yourself to achieve career and business goals?

1. You Can’t Manage Talent, Especially Adults: Managing talent, particularly adults, is a complex task. Organizations should focus on enabling, encouraging, and motivating talent to perform at their highest potential, supporting the organization’s mission, vision, and strategy. Additionally, helping employees discover their strengths and develop a plan to leverage those for career growth is essential.

2. Talent Enablement Is Bigger Than Learning & Development or Even HR: While Learning & Development (L&D) is crucial, it is not the complete solution. Talent Enablement encompasses providing the right environment, experiences, resources, and practices to enable employees to perform their jobs successfully, progress in their careers, and feel valued and heard. This concept involves offering “guided freedom,” allowing employees to design their careers while receiving guidance to optimize performance. This may overlap with HR responsibilities, but it extends beyond traditional HR roles.

For Talent Enablement to Succeed, Four Elements Must Be in Place:

• Work Environment: Employees need a safe, inclusive, fair, and equitable environment that fosters a sense of belonging and hope. It must prioritize financial, physical, emotional, and social well-being. A supportive work environment is fundamental in the realm of talent enablement.
• Employee Experiences: Working itself is an experience. Whether accidental or orchestrated, the daily work experience should be purposeful and unique. Employees should have opportunities to explore, practice, fail, and learn, engage with others, and find autonomous, quiet, self-directed experiences. Leaders and career coaches should help employees design their career journey, progressing them toward career goals and finding a sense of purpose.
• Access to Resources: Employees need access to equipment, technology, administrative supplies, and clear policies to perform their work. Beyond these, access to peers, mentors, coaches, and well-being professionals is vital. These resources extend beyond “human resources” and include everything that enables employees to excel in their jobs and grow in their careers.
• Equitable Practices and Policies: Policies are often seen as check-the-box exercises, but practices reveal their true intentions. These unspoken rules influence rewards, recognition, and career opportunities. Monitoring and aligning practices with policies and addressing discrepancies ensures a positive work environment that drives engagement, performance, productivity, and success.

The Future of Talent Enablement

While Talent Enablement is a comprehensive task that overlaps with various functions, it is critical for executives, people leaders, HR, Talent, and L&D professionals to focus on enabling talent, not just managing it. People are essential to business success, and it is imperative to do everything possible to enable their success. Anything less would be ineffective.

For HR to survive and thrive over the next decade, it must offload the administrative and operational elements and expand its focus on the strategic, analytical, and experiential elements, running the function like a consumer business versus an operational cost center. This type of change requires a radical transformation of HR, not mere tweaking of HR practices. Janice says, “For me, Talent Enablement is not just about enabling people; it’s about positioning people to enable the business to thrive.”

Learn more about Janice Robinson Burns and connect with her by visiting her LinkedIn.

Published By: Aize Perez