In Italy, the economic scenario is-as is well known-composed for the most part of small and medium-sized companies; only 0.4 % in fact, as indicated in the ISTAT note of the 2023 enterprises report, have more than 500 employees and are therefore in that micro slice of large companies. It goes without saying that companies with a small or medium-sized workforce do not by definition have sophisticated organizational charts and structured departments, and that in order to reason about evolutions in the area of people management we will have to unconditionally turn to those companies with a larger number of employees and related departments.
But what is meant by people management?
Traditionally HR management has always referred to that corporate function of administering and coordinating the so-called "life cycle" of the employee in the company, i.e., all those practices and policies that affect the person's working life within the workplace: from hiring and signing the contract, to organizing vacation plans, leaves and leaves of absence, to managing disputes and exits, whether voluntary or not. For this reason the HR function has always been considered indispensable for the proper business administration of a key resource, namely the human resource; nevertheless always lateral to the business-and in fact in the traditional subdivision of the business organization it is referred to as the Staff Line (vs. Business Line).
New priorities in people management: DEI and organizational well-being
We are, however, going through a cultural change-in Italy accelerated from 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic-that has already seen Multinationals involved in the forefront of the redefinition of the meaning of HR Management, that is, its evolution towards a more value-rich concept: the People Strategy. This change has become indispensable and all the more of a priority thanks first and foremost to the emergence of two factors whose integration into the organizational world has become key: the enhancement of diversity and inclusion strategies - hence the creation in the most advanced companies of ad hoc roles and functions such as DEI - and the focus on the organizational well-being of the people who populate the company. These two elements therefore oblige organizations to outline Vision and Mission related to People Strategy necessarily more long-term than mere human resource management.
Toward a People Strategy culture: what is meant and what are the differences from HRM
Why is HR management alone no longer sufficient? HR management is, if conceived in its own right, now obsolete in the contemporary conception of business administration because it refers to people as one of the many resources available to the company for its production cycle, on a par therefore with non-human resources, i.e., tangible and intangible. In essence, this conception does not make the human an added value but merely a meaning that distinguishes the nature of the resource, which as such should be managed on a par with the others without therefore taking any central position. Instead, an increasingly dense and competitive market has made the human one a true critical factor in an organization's success and has driven and will continue to drive all companies toward the need to have to timely define their idea of people and projects aimed at implementing it.
How do people make a difference within your organization? How do you define your People Culture? What is your People Strategy 3 years from now? These are now the must-ask questions that a candidate with a good understanding of what he or she is looking for addresses to the companies with which he or she interfaces during a selection process and which make a difference in his or her motivational and decision-making processes.
Human centered approach and AI, two worlds only seemingly opposed: how positive technology integrates with People Culture
As if this did not in itself represent a huge wave of change with which to interface, the great challenge of Artificial Intelligence is also coming to the HR world. Like any transformation, the advent of AI is accompanied by opposing sentiments, but the lowest common denominator will be its unavoidability. "Smart" technology capable of processing information and suggesting "smart" solutions very quickly is a tool that can make life easier for all those engaged in managing lengthy and often time-consuming processes; like any tool, however, the AI revolution is such only if it is used by knowledgeable hands capable of guiding it toward the right goals and only if, indeed, it is part of a strategic framework in which leadership is always and only human. Hence the great value of having a clear and defined Human Factor Culture and Strategy as the primary factor driving every process and critical to a company's success. Organizations that are solid from a People Culture & Strategy point of view will be the most effective in dealing with, embracing and integrating major technological change and knowing how to exploit it as a real opportunity.