My first foray into the Automotive industry was more than 12 years ago as HR Lead for a Seats & Wiring Harness (Cables) plant for Ford’s Ranger and Focus models. Today my experience within the industry is a very different one – with technology evolving and advancing so rapidly, anything is possible within the Automotive Industry now. I currently curate an Advance Technology team working across the globe on Autonomous Driving - such an advanced vision of the industry was unfeasible back then - autonomous cars were the stuff from Hollywood’s sci-fi movies and AI was an exciting but distant vision, perhaps only resembling KITT, the Knight Rider’s car, then advanced technology. One wonders how the few engineers working on the first serious autonomous driving project would feel today, “Prometheus Project” was the first of its kind in the mid-80s supported by Daimler-Benz AG and a large number of partners from different European countries. A lot has changed since then.
Nowadays, you can own a Tesla, Volvo, Daimler or BMW with Adaptive cruise control, Collision avoidance system, Driver Monitoring System, Forward Collision Warning, Lane change assistance, Pedestrian protection system, traffic jam chauffeur, path control and autonomous parking; functions which contribute to an entirely more efficient and safer ride. A similarly impressive advancement is that of the Volvo Vera - absent of a driver cockpit - but widely accepted within the industry as the safest and most advanced autonomous truck.
Change becomes the norm and speed is the variable (faster and faster).
What do all these innovative products mean to your average HR team? How is technology changing the automotive industry’s needs? What is expected from the talent pool? The company's culture? How prepared is the industry to manage the millennials and centennials? All of this is dependent upon an abundance of variables.
HR was forced to evolve too, we now have a happy generational melange of baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Z (now referred to as the millennials and centennials), by 2020 almost 60% of the workforce will be millennial. Skilled engineers and technicians are among the hardest jobs for employers to fill but this incredible influx of new functions and features within the autonomous sector are alluring a completely new type of employee profile; highly skilled talents from top scientists, mathematicians, software developers and image processing specialists. This wealth of knowledge and varied experience assures the automotive industry is more buoyant than ever and we are seeing cultural changes that were inconceivable a decade ago. Implementing these new skills within the workforce is key, and HR should have a refined and in-depth knowledge of the business to understand where a shortage of skills lies, for example, it's expected that by 2030 Machine Learning jobs will reach 300.000, how are we going to cover those positions? How are we going to entice talent into the automotive industry over Software, Internet, Gaming or other more dynamic industries?
We know that organizations with an inclusive approach towards purpose are more successful both in business and in harnessing talent. To become an employee-centric organization implies listening to your employees and understanding and identifying behavioural frameworks and from there, implementing the correct practice. The automotive industry has a lot to learn about this concept and very few exceptions can be found in cases like Renault Nissan’s Innovation HUBs in Paris and Silicon Valley (to mention one), where a series of start-ups are generating proposals not only for the Automotive Industry but to create a Smart City. They’ve generated a similar creative and open environment to what you can expect in a top Tech company in California.
Forbes presented a very interesting and compelling work about Global Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce. They stated that Diversity and Innovation are the key to success. Diversity is a key driver of innovation and is a critical component of being successful on a global scale. A diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial for companies that want to attract and retain top talent and a key starting point to drive innovation, foster creativity, and guide business strategies. Multiple voices lead to new ideas, new services, and new products, and encourage out-of-the-box thinking.
Today's automotive companies must create a deep understanding of how to drive agile teams, how to empower employees, how to encourage innovative work environments and foster innovation. The competition is now so ambitious that organisations must vitally become employee-centric by giving their employees a “meaning” or “purpose”. HR must foster a culture that facilitates innovation, that promotes agility and proactivity. The classic one-size-fits-all HR practices are no longer adequate. Individual preferences and job flexibility with those in the ecosystem are powerful levers for talent management. HR must be a key contributor not only to gender but also to neurodiversity equality.
A successf
ul organization should be much more receptive to its employees. The new technologies should help companies to pursue neurodiversity equality and inclusion, helping to create jobs for people with disabilities within the Autism spectrum like Asperger syndrome. Functions like data annotation (for AI and/or CV) or even coding could be a good starting point.
HR must play an important role in helping to transition from the default Industrial mindset to a more software-driven environment and helping to accelerate this change is a deep responsibility for HR and the leadership and fundamental to succeed. An industry that grew up based on procedure standardization, cost control and systematic procedures now needs to become flexible in order to survive, and this is a major challenge. The HR department must aid in generating space for an entrepreneurial spirit inside their big structures and working environments, where engagement, motivation and commitment are common and natural values will be another winning factor.
The average employee age in the automotive industry is 10 years older than in the technology industry, this gives great scope for innovation and experience; employees with years of experience and newcomers with a refreshing, modern vision. The millennial influx has proven vital to the progression and innovation of the industry, which is why we can afford little time in waiting to recruit the centennials. The constant evolution of digital transformation presents the HR sector with a very different scope – employees working remotely in far-flung lands – a notion still rejected by traditional structures but an efficient and cost-effective way of employing the best talent in non-traditional areas and locations for the industry. The remote work soon will be an excellent talent attraction tool thanks to the latest technology developments. The application of HRIS, ERP, ATS and other tools or apps should enable a more simplified, standardized and transparent way of working for both the HR sector and its employees.
What is the foundation upon which a company’s success lies, though? The Million Dollar Question. Well, Talent Acquisition and Talent Management continue to be key, as does a close collaboration with the business to help improve the branding, and above all, a clear open leadership and well-defined social responsibility.
This is an incredibly exciting time for the industry and an outstanding opportunity for HR to stand up and lead the change and help the organization to take care of their talent, which we already know, is the key influencer of organizational performance. But as Irving Berlin said once "Talent is only the starting point".
Comments