The impacts of the 21st century on the business world | Renato Bernhöft

There is no doubt that human resources professionals will need to broaden their strategic vision in order to be able to contribute effectively to the dynamics of companies in their relationships with markets, both national and global.

In this article I intend to highlight two aspects which are already present in the current context. I am referring to the significant increase in rates of longevity and progress in the field of technologyincluding the impactful effects of artificial intelligence.

It should be noted that both themes have taken on a global character. In other words, there is no continent, no country or no culture that is not impacted by these new requirements.

Increasing longevity rates, accompanied by reducing birth rates, in itself generates some challenges already obvious, namely:

• Review retirement policies and practices at all hierarchical levels;
• Develop integration programs for different generations, including possible changes in hierarchical structures and in the dynamics of command, leadership and job description systems;
• Create programs to prepare professionals for a productive retirement that involves having a “life plan” for this new stage of life;
• Analyze in depth social security programs and their possible effects on the loss of income of older people who retire;
• Encourage long-term employees in the company to train younger ones and also guide their succession;
• Prepare the contingent in their forties to age in good health, both personally and professionally;
• Review career plans based on new indicators that emerge every day and keeping in mind that many careers are already disappearing and new ones are emerging;
• Be attentive to the prejudices that are beginning to emerge against older people, referred to as ageism;
• Review integration, career, benefits and compensation programs, because the new generation of professionals does not have the same desire as previous generations to stay in the same company for a long time.

This list does not exhaust the subject, but acts as a provocation so that the subject is included in the agenda of professional human resources associations as well as in company policies, with the effective contribution of professionals in the sector.

Additionally, when we talk about technology, it is possible to highlight the progressive loss of privacy that occurs in all the roles we play, whether professional, marital, family, individual, social, educational or spiritual.

It should be emphasized some aspects on the prudent use of technological resources:

• Given the increasing loss of privacy, it is important that every individual takes the utmost care with confidential information, both on a personal and corporate level;
• The human resources field, as well as other fields such as finance, strategy, marketing and technology, must develop criteria for using the equipment and information to which they have access;
• Personal, ethical and gender-specific approaches should be considered with great caution;
• Balance in work systems, both virtual and in-person, must be based on policies and practices consciously agreed to by company members.

It should also be noted here that this article aims only to alert and, even more, to encourage every human resources professional to become aware of the issues and to adopt a proactive attitude in the face of all the challenges that the new century brings us.