The Future of HR Report: Lessons From the Pathfinders | KPMG

This 26-page report shares the lessons and stories from people leaders deemed Pathfinders: a group of 18 HR leaders (about 10 percent of the global sample) who are considered value drivers within their organizations. This cohort share characteristics such as experimenting with new ways of working and emerging technologies. I like this report because it includes practical examples of how firms apply new ways of thinking to execute talent practices with tangible results. One example is Albertsons Companies (p.9), the second-largest supermarket chain in the US. The firm achieved 60,000 hires in 6 weeks by giving the recruiting teams the freedom to reinvent the hiring process and increase recruiting velocity. They reached this result by partnering with hotels, airlines, and other hospitality companies facing mass layoffs and offering to employ those employees temporarily. These firms advertised open Albertsons jobs on their internal platforms, and applicants were fast-tracked through interviews. Other company examples, such as Dropbox and Salesforce, are provided on talent practices ranging from hybrid work to internal talent marketplace. As noted in the report, the traditional playbook is gone, and it’s time for HR leaders to chart the new way forward. And in case you missed it, check out Lars Schmidt’s article, Why Modern HR Requires Rethinking the Old-school Employee Handbook. Lars also wrote the book, Redefining HR: Transforming People Teams to Drive Business Performance.