Under the patronage of HE Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Protection, Chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), the 3Rd Forum of HR Club 2017 was held recently, in the presence of HE Dr. Abdulrahman Al Awar, Director General of the Authority, and dozens of HR Club members and associates.
The forum, which was organised by FAHR under the sponsorship of Dubai Knowledge Park and Islamic Emirates, hosted International Speaker Claudia Olsen, who is specialized in providing strategic advice, analysis and professional development related to the digital transformation and globalization.
Claudia highlighted digital transformation impacting a variety of industries simultaneously, and how there is a need for a new approach to leadership and human resources. She said that the expectations of the co-worker of the digital era, as well as the extended skill set they offer will have significant impact on the job markets, shedding light on the best practices that digital leaders have adopted to provide strategic guidance in leveraging new technologies for greater impact.
The speaker lauded the great strides made the UAE at various levels, especially in adopting and harnessing modern technology to improve the quality of services provided by government and private sector institutions, to be accessed at any time and from anywhere in the world, thanks to the directives of the wise leadership to shift towards smart services.
57% of jobs are likely to be automated in the coming years
Claudia said “The most salient feature of the future job market is its significant reliance on technology, with 57% of jobs to be completely automated over the next few years, and 35% of the skills we believe to be important today will be eliminated in five years' time. The labor market will be open only to qualified and talented people, and many organizations may abandon central decision-making”.
According to the internal speaker, many employees prefer to work in a digital environment, as they offer many advantages that are difficult to enjoy in traditional work environments, such as flexitime, diversified of income sources by working for more than one organization at the same time, and ability to choose between available projects, etc. She indicated that human resources departments play an important role in the process of digital transformation in their organizations.
Top Leadership skills in 2020
Claudia explained that new leaders are well aware of the importance of technology in enhancing the work environment, developing services, and raising employee satisfaction levels. The most important skills leaders must have by 2020, she noted, include how to solve complex problems, critical thinking, creativity, people management, dealing with others, emotional intelligence, decision making, the art of negotiation, flexibility, and ability to make accurate judgments.
She referred to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory proposed by the American scientist Abraham Maslow in the middle of the last century, explaining human needs in a hierarchical way. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire the secondary or higher-level needs. Maslow also coined the term "metamotivation" to describe the motivation of people who go beyond the scope of the basic needs and strive for constant betterment.
HR Club
The Human Resources Club, is one of these major initiatives, launched in 2010, with the objective of developing and empowering human capital, and to provide a platform that brings together human resource professionals and practitioners in the public and private sectors under one umbrella, to exchange knowledge, ideas, experiences and solutions that would enhance the employee competencies and promote the role of human resource departments in order to bring about the desired change.
The Club aims to create an intellectual and cognitive communication between human resources professionals and public administration officials in the UAE, and to exchange views and discuss the challenges and solutions relating to issues of public administration and institutional services at various work sites. In addition, it seeks to transfer experiences and best practices among managers, specialists, experts, researchers and those interested in the development of human capital, locally, regionally and internationally.
The HR Club offers its membership, which has grown to over 10 thousand, an ideal opportunity to learn about the best practices, experiences and success stories of many individuals and institutions, as well as meeting with specialists and practitioners in the field of institutional work.