Human Resource Development International

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rhrd20

Digital human resource development: where are

we? Where should we go and how do we go there?

Mohan Thite

To cite this article: Mohan Thite (2020): Digital human resource development: where are we?
Where should we go and how do we go there?, Human Resource Development International, DOI:
10.1080/13678868.2020.1842982

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1842982

Published online: 04 Nov 2020.

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HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL
https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2020.1842982

ARTICLE

Digital human resource development: where are we? Where

should we go and how do we go there?
Mohan Thite
Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The purpose of this paper is to trace the evolution of HR- Received 6 July 2020
Technology interface leading up to the incorporation of the digital Accepted 23 October 2020
world in Human Resource Development’s design thinking, strate­ KEYWORDS
gizing and execution. Drawing from related empirical studies, the Digital HRD; virtual HRD; HR
paper critically analyzes Digital HR in terms of where it is now Strategy; HR Technology
(degree of alignment between external demands and internal cap­
abilities), where it should be (future-focused HR technology strat­
egy), and how it can reach there (implementation road map). The
paper presents a comprehensive framework that encompasses
external demands, internal capabilities and key recommendations
for a fit-for-purpose, future-focused Digital HR Strategy. In the
process, the paper adopts a holistic perspective of virtual HRD
(VHRD) and draws implications for technology-led developments
in the HRD field.

Introduction
From master craftsmen of the nineteenth century to factory workers of the twentieth
century and now to the artificial intelligence-enabled digital workers and robots of the
twenty-first century, the world of work has come a long way. Coupled with globalization
and demographic changes, digital technologies have radically altered the way we live,
work, conduct business, and communicate. In the process, they are dissolving the
boundaries between in-house and external workers, work time and personal time,
work devices and personal devices, workplace and personal space, and between organiza­
tions, customers and suppliers. In the world of artificial intelligence and robotics,
machines not only do the work that humans do, they have also started doing the ‘thinking
work’ (Phan, Wright, and Lee 2017).
In response to external environmental changes and demands, the HR function has
slowly but steadily evolved from labour welfare to personnel administration to strategic
HR and now to digital or smart HR (Bondarouk, Ruel, and Parry 2017). Just as the
external business environment has evolved from being domestic-centred and stable to
being global and highly uncertain, the focus of the HR function has shifted from being
passive and reactive to being strategic and agile. As summarized by Cohen (2015), ‘HR’s
past is relatively long and humble. The present is both positive and challenging, and the

CONTACT Mohan Thite M.Thite@griffith.edu.au

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 M. THITE

future of HR presents the profession with opportunities and even more thought-
provoking challenges’.
As regards conceptual advances in Human Resource Development (HRD) are con­
cerned, traditionally the field revolved around three dimensions, namely, training and
development, career development, and organization development, which have now been
expanded with business strategy at the hub, underpinned by technology (Werner 2014).
According to McWhorter (2010), technology advances have moved the HRD field into
a new realm, and as a result, people are increasingly connecting to technology, connect­
ing through technology, and connecting within technology. Thus, technology is today
regarded as the fourth dimension of HRD (Bennett 2010). Digital revolution has ushered
in ‘workplace changes that range from mechanical to computerized, information based to
knowledge-based, individualized to team-based, and hands-on to minds-on’ (Benson,
Johnson, and Kuchinke 2002, 392).
Most of the technology-mediated research in HRD is covered under the term Virtual
HRD (VHRD). Bennett (2009) defines virtual HRD as a ‘media-rich and culturally
relevant web environment that strategically improves expertise, performance, innova­
tion, and community building through formal and informal learning’. Bennett (2010)
further adds that ‘VHRD does not unseat the traditional purposes of HRD but rather
shifts perspective on the paradigm in which HRD operates’. Further extending the vision
and scope of VHRD by incorporating the latest developments in the field, digital HRD
can be defined as below:
‘Digital HRD deals with the nature, role and contribution of technology in strategi­
cally managing talent in a digital world. It incorporates social, mobile, analytics, cloud
(SMAC) and other emerging technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence and
analytics, for efficient and effective delivery of on demand HR services. It is also
conscious of and addresses unintended negative consequences of technology, including
implications for ethics, information security, and privacy. When used smartly and
strategically, digital technologies and mindset can transform learning and develop­
ment; place individuals at the wheel in managing their work and careers; de-
bureaucratize organizational boundaries to facilitate free flow of knowledge and
ideas, and instil a sense of global community orientation in businesses while legiti­
mately pursuing profits’.
In order to systematically map the past, present, and the future of Digital HR, we need
to ask the Three Big Questions:

● Where we are now: Refers to the degree of alignment between external environ­
mental demands and internal capabilities, such as McKinsey’s 7-S Framework of
hard elements (strategy, structure and systems) and soft elements (shared values,
skills, style, and staff).
● Where do we want to go: Refers to the future-focused organizational strategy, vision
and mission, keeping in mind emerging disruptive technologies, and best-practice
management trends.
● How will we get there: Refers to organization-specific and fit-for-purpose imple­
mentation strategies that are constantly monitored and fine-tuned, in line with
changing environmental characteristics, demands, and responses.
 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 3

Accordingly, the paper begins by mapping the current external environmental

demands and internal capability framework. It then identifies three key goals for future-
focused digital HR, namely, digital workforce, and competencies; HR’s digital avatar, and
addressing unintended negative consequences of technology adoption. Having explained
the what and why of digital HR, the paper proceeds to detail the ‘how’ by laying out
a holistic framework of digital HR strategy.

Where are we now?

Despite the hype about the digital world, there is no clear definition yet of what is
‘digital’. As stated by Andersson, Lanvin and Van der Heyden (2016, 52), ‘it is clear that
the term digital currently defies definition . . . The lack of a clear definition of the
meaning of the term suggests that issues concerning the required competences, cap­
abilities, talent, and resources (including human resources) are surrounded by a similar
veil of ambiguity’.
Despite the enormous potential of digital technologies in transforming HR and 72% of
companies believing digital HR is an important priority, ‘only 38% of companies are even
thinking about it and only 9 percent are fully ready’ (Stephen 2016, 99). This shows that
globally, the HR function is far from realizing the potential of digital technologies. To
best answer the question, where are we now, we need to conduct an environmental
analysis, including external demands and internal capabilities.

External demands
Globalization and information and communication technology (ICT) have united the
world like never before. This has led to ever-increasing global spread and movement of
production, services, capital, and talent. Accordingly, global economic competitiveness has
intensified with a direct influence on national and firm competitive advantages, built
primarily on innovation and creative capabilities. In the specific context of technology,
the breadth and depth of technology intensity and penetration are unevenly spread across
the globe. This has implications particularly for multinational firms as their technology
policies and practices must take cognizance of technological readiness and adoption in
the countries they operate. Similarly, firms in emerging economies need to be realistic
about their technology agenda and ambitions.
Another important external consideration is that technologies have serious implications
for national cultures, social and political freedom. For example, in many countries, govern­
ments restrict freedom of thought and expression, limiting the ability of people to freely
express themselves. Their national cultures also may restrain them from exercising their
rights. Further, most countries have strict laws governing information security and privacy.
The ageing population and lack of e-skills and digital fluency have contributed to
serious skill shortages in the labour market. While many firms may therefore want to
adopt global, rather than local or regional talent-sourcing policy to attract the digital
workforce, government restrictions, political pressures and local employee resentment
may restrict their ability to recruit foreign talent.
4 M. THITE

Internal capabilities
Organizations need to develop a ‘customized digital footprint’ that specifically addresses
the unique organizational demands, keeping in mind their strengths, weaknesses, oppor­
tunities, and threats (SWOT). Some of the internal factors that determine the role and
nature of a digital strategy are

● Organizational size: The bigger an organization, better is likely to be its ability to

deploy state-of-the-art technologies; however, historical baggage, legacy technolo­
gies, and bureaucracy may restrict its ability to successfully implement it.
● Organizational structure and complexity: More the complexity and bureaucracy in
the organization, more challenging is technology adoption.
● Organizational culture: Agile and adaptable organizations that constantly reinvent
themselves by allowing employees freedom to experiment and express themselves
are more likely to be digitally mature.
● Leadership: Digital world requires leaders at all levels of the organization to lead
from the front and be visionary, inspiring, competent, capable, and supportive of
digital initiatives, investments, and experiments.

As posited by resource-based view (RBV), irrespective of how complex, dynamic, and

challenging the external environment is, it is an organization’s internal resources and
capabilities, especially those that are rare, costly to imitate and non-substitutable, that act
as primary determinant of strategic success (Barney, Ketchen & Wright, 2011; Nyberg
et al. 2014).

Where should we go?

For too long, HR has been stuck in the industrial economy mentality and is yet to
strategically align its role in the knowledge economy in a way that addresses the changing
world of work and the needs and expectations of knowledge workers, both inside and
outside organizational boundaries. With the ever-increasing innovation in and adoption
of digital technologies and tools, digital HR is waking up to the possibility of creative
design thinking in HR services. However, HR needs to go ‘beyond digitizing HR plat­
forms to developing digital workplaces and digital workforces, and to deploying technol­
ogy that changes how people work and the way they relate to each other at work’
(Deloitte 2017, 7).
Thus, the focus of digital HR should be on a digital workforce (that is agile and
innovation-minded), a digital workplace (an environment characterized by learning
organization mindset), and an inclusive culture (that is future-focused, global, culturally
sensitive, ethical, and sustainable).

Digital workforce & competencies

Traditionally, people expected to do the same work for the same employer as a full-
time employee for most of their career. Loyalty and tenure were key determinants of
career progression. Managers dictated what work was done, where, when, and how.
 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 5

Career management, and training and development were directed by the employer
and employees were passive participants. Today, in the gig economy that is char­
acterized by a labour market consisting of freelance workers, more than a quarter of
workers in Western countries are free agents without the constraints of where,
when, and how to work (Lanvin, Evans, and Rodriguez-Montemayor 2016, 11).
Organizations are increasingly relying on the contingent workforce of knowledge
workers to be innovative, agile, and flexible to address business uncertainty and
unpredictability.
As the global economy becomes more technology-intensive with innovation and
creativity being key sources of competitive advantage, the demand for skilled talent,
especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has increased
tremendously but the supply is yet to catch up (Ashton, Brown, and Lauder 2010). As we
get thrown into the whirlpool of the digital world, today’s knowledge workers, whether
employees or gig economy contractors, need to possess and continually fine-tune a new
set of skills and competencies. According to the World Economic Forum, the top 10 skills
required to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution are complex problem solving,
critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional
intelligence, judgement, and decision making, service orientation, negotiation, and
cognitive flexibility (Gray 2016).
With an ageing population that is living longer, people are expected to work well
beyond 60 years. Rapid technological obsolescence means people need to continually
upgrade their skills. ‘Digital fluency’ is one such new skill that enables digital workers to
convert data into information and information to actionable knowledge (Briggs and
Makice 2012). In the era of big data, Scholtz (2019) points out that big data literacy is of
utmost importance, including computational, statistical, and most importantly, sceptical
(or critical) thinking.
However, in the age of dualities, there is a ‘talent paradox’ (Evans and Rodriguez-
Montemayor 2016, 70) in that employers today demand specific technical skills as well as
generic soft skills because an innovation economy demands collaboration and co-
creation of knowledge (Lanvin, Evans, and Rodriguez-Montemayor 2016, 12).
Andersson et al. (2016, 52) call them ‘e-skills’, a combination of advanced technical skills
and high-level softer skills. Colbert, Yee and George (2016, 732) also highlight the
importance of ‘digital fluency’ in the digital workforce which refers to a level of profi­
ciency that allows employees to ‘manipulate information, construct ideas, and use
technology to achieve strategic goals’.
Research studies in HRD have made a significant contribution in enhancing our
understanding of the future workforce. For instance, several studies have identified the
changing nature of careers in the light of changes in workforce demographics, ways to
develop the workforce skills needed to keep pace with advances in technology, and to
balance the need for individual employment security and the organization’s desire for
flexibility (Torraco and Lundgren 2020). In this context, Bennett (2009) points out that
‘good communication skills are necessary to promote effective learning and performance.
Employees are active learners with different needs, learning styles, and methods of
motivation. The role of trust is critical in a virtual environment and negative learning
occurs when trust is violated’.
6 M. THITE

HR’s digital avatar

In line with digital trends, organizations need to overhaul the key HR functions,
including recruitment and selection, performance and reward management, career
management, and learning and development. For instance, underscoring how web-
based technologies have revolutionized the learning and development function, Li
(2013) points out that they ‘offer a wide range of tools (to) individual learners to
personalize their learning space’, transformed learning content and delivery,
enriched learning strategies, and enabled just-in-time learning as well as spacial
divergence. As a result, technology literacy has emerged as a foundational compe­
tency in knowledge and technology-intensive organizations. It’s not just about re-
skilling but creating a genuine transformational change to people management
architecture and eco-system, resulting in what Dehaze (2016) calls ‘Human
Resources 4.0ʹ.
In this new avatar, ‘burdensome top-down HR processes are giving way to
bottom-up digitally assisted systems to help people help themselves, shifting the
onus for managing development from the company to the individual’ (Evans and
Rodriguez-Montemayor 2016, 70). Despite the claims made by HR technology
vendors, the evidence so far suggests that the adoption of technology in HR has
not really led to strategic outcomes (Marler and Fisher 2013). Further, strategic HR
is primarily most focused on transformational HR activities, such as culture change
and leadership development and here, technology has somewhat fallen short of
expectations (Thite 2013; Bondarouk, Parry, and Furtmueller 2017). It may be partly
because, as Edwards (2019) points out, ‘HR as a function does not have the
quantitative capabilities and that HR lacks the skills, knowledge or insights required
to fulfil its potential’.
Quoting several studies, Torraco and Lundgren (2020) identify several developments
in HRD, particularly in the discipline of learning and development, that have the
potential to transform the workplace of the twenty-first century. They include

● learning technologies, such as learning apps for mobile use, content archiving, and
program and video distribution to users anytime, anyplace,
● application of the entertainment and games movement to computer-based
training,
● value of social media to enhance employee collaboration and knowledge
sharing,
● 360-degree performance assessment and feedback using customized apps,
● the role of technology and virtual HRD in 24/7 work environments,
● using cost-effective three-dimensional (3D) virtual training environments, and
● computer-generated employee profiles to recommend training and future jobs for
employees.

Bennett (2009, 372) adds that ‘future of VHRD will be a balance between chaos and
control of organizational knowledge. VHRD requires willingness to take risks and push
new boundaries with technology to develop community, improve performance, and
foster innovation at all organizational levels’.
 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 7

Addressing unintended negative consequences

In the ‘brave new world’ of digital HRM, technology is often offered as a panacea to
address all the issues and challenges associated with managing people. In order to do
more with less and egged on by tall promises made by technology vendors, firms tend to
invest heavily in SMAC technologies, often at the cost of human assets by taking a ‘hard
approach’ to talent management. While this may lead to more efficient services in the
short term, the ‘effectiveness’ of HR may get diluted from systems and long-term
perspectives. Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) may also lead to jobless growth
and wage freeze.
It may, therefore, be argued that misplaced confidence and over reliance on technol­
ogy in HR may lead to unintended consequences, such as lack of human touch, digital
divide, and short-term solutions turning into long-term problems. In the process, HR
service delivery becomes more impersonal where employees and customers are often
forced to rely on self- and shared service options. Further, HR often struggles with
identify crisis in trying to become a strategic business partner and at the same time be
an employee champion.
It should be recognized that the ubiquitous presence of technology in day-to-day
life can have detrimental effects on personal identity development and interpersonal
relations (Colbert, Yee, and George 2016, 733). These ill-effects include lack of self-
awareness and self-reflection, desire to present an aspirational image rather than an
authentic self on social media, and declining levels of empathy. While digital tech­
nologies can aid and augment the way work is structured and carried out, they also
pose serious challenges, such as the concerns and statutory restrictions pertaining to
information security and privacy, and the ill-effects of 24/7 digital connectedness,
including analysis paralysis due to information overload, increasing employee stress
levels, and social isolation.
With technology blurring work and nonwork domains, employees are increasingly
using technology at work for personal use which can pose serious security risks (Stanko
and Beckman 2015). Similarly, responding to work emails and phone calls in private time
robs employees of the opportunity to relax and have quality family time (Butts, Becker,
and Boswell 2015). Research has also shown how excessive use of email can contribute to
increased stress levels and work overload (Barley, Meyerson, and Grodal 2011).
There is the promise of big data to be more objective and more precise; however, they
are equally subjective and highly contextualized. Big data will not automatically lead to
a new dawn of empiricism or rationalism. Still, the aura of objectivity and the trust in
numbers could lead to an often misguided data driven HR.
The increasing use of algorithms in managerial decision making is another area where
unintended negative consequences can occur. For instance, where organizations use
hiring algorithms to shortlist job applicants without managerial insights, it may lead to
employment discrimination, as algorithms may prefer one ethnic group, perceived to be
performing better, over others (Sholtz 2019, 80). They may also exclude statistical outliers
and reinforce and foster historical biases. Perhaps the biggest unintended negative
consequence of the proliferation of digital technologies is the constant and growing
threat to information security and privacy. As von Ogden (2016, 1) reports, a very large
proportion of data breaches involve an insider, that is, a disgruntled employee.
8 M. THITE

Bennett (2009) cautions that ‘there are inherent ethical issues related to privacy, use of
data, and employee relations that must be addressed. For VHRD to be strategic, it must
develop within the sociocultural context. Because culture is dynamic and learned, there is
always a danger of unintended consequences’.

How do we go there?
The very purpose of a digital strategy is to proactively respond to external environmental
demands that are constantly and sometimes radically changing, by adopting an ‘outside-
in perspective’ as well as ‘inside-out perspective’ in optimally reconfiguring its internal
capabilities and resources (Nyberg et al. 2014). Over the last 20 years, work has become
more distributed and driven by collaboration. This has resulted in ‘the importance of
connectedness, an emphasis on modularity, less reliance on authority, and an accelerat­
ing shift from input control to output control’ (Evans and Rodriguez-Montemayor 2016,
68). In the context of HR, this requires organizations to ensure that there is a horizontal
and vertical strategic alignment or fit between the business strategy, HR or Talent
Management (TM) strategy, and digital HR strategy with the external and internal
environments.
Based on available research evidence (such as, Andersson, Lanvin and Van der
Heydon, 2016; Deloitte 2017; Lanvin and Evans 2016; Kane et al. 2017; Gothelf and
Seiden 2017), this paper proposes a framework of digital HR strategy (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Let us briefly explore the key principles behind the digital HR strategy.

Figure 1. Framework of digital HR strategy. Source: adopted fromThite (2019)

 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 9

Focus on optimum leverage of people, process & technology

Research studies show that technology is not the primary determinant of technical
project management success. Instead, success is dependent upon organizational and
social factors and actors, such as systems thinking, agility, user involvement and accep­
tance, managerial competency, communication, governance, and stakeholder collabora­
tion (Thite and Sandhu 2014). Technology is only a tool and cannot fix broken processes
and substitute managerial competence (Tabrizi et al. 2019). Due to a poor understanding
of these non-technological success factors, only 29% of technology project implementa­
tions are considered successful in terms time, cost, and functionality (Thite and Bhatta
2019, 42).

Adopt an agile approach

In an uncertain, fast-changing and hyper competitive business environment, agility,
characterized by innovative and self-managing teams, learning organization environ­
ment and customer-driven process is the key (Bhatta and Thite 2019, 61). In fact, one of
the four key principles of an agile manifesto is the emphasis on ‘individuals and inter­
actions over process and tools’, which means that promotion of employee empowerment
and social interactions are key (see www.agilemanifesto.org).

Benchmark & adopt best practices

Ulrich (2018) suggests five criteria for knowing which of the technology innovations
deserve more attention:

● Focus outside-in (by connecting with external customers and investors)

● Build on previous practice and research (by relying on sound, time-tested principles
and practices)
● Offer an integrated solution (that impacts and integrates many HR practice areas)
● Deliver on strategy and goals (by focusing on existing strategic agendas)
● Fit with values and culture (by not just buying a new app but forming a relationship
with the creator of the app who will be a thought partner for future success).

Customizing digital footprint

According to Andersson, Lanvin, and Van der Heyden (2016, 52), ‘each organization’s
digital journey is individual, with no clear destination in sight. There is no one-size-fits-
all way to “do” digital, nor indeed any “right way” to do digital’.

Develop digitally competent & committed global workforce

In the digital economy, digital natives (millennial generation) and digital immigrants
(adults who readily embrace technology) will form the core of the digital workforce.
A defining feature of knowledge workers is their tendency for out-of-the-box thinking.
They dream the impossible and while the world may think of some of them as crazy, they
do indeed push the creative envelope. Keeping this diversity in human mind, Loiacono
and Ren (2018) recommend that a globally diverse digital workforce should also encom­
pass neurodiversity, that includes people with disability and impairment, such as autism,
10 M. THITE

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder), and dyslexia. Similarly, Taylor and Joshi
(2018) highlight the benefits of digital crowdsourcing workers who bid for IT development
projects of short duration posted by clients on IT crowdsourcing platforms.
Virtual teams are also an integral part of the digital workforce. Eckhardt et al. (2019),
recommend that to build a virtual workforce, the focus should be on ensuring mental
readiness, technology readiness, and relationship readiness to move to a virtual work
environment. Eden et al. (2019) argue that digital transformation and workforce trans­
formation are intertwined. Thus, as pointed by Black & Warhurst (2019, 25), HRD needs
to better understand the transitions and the learnings associated with increasing inter-
organizational career moves in the contemporary world of globalized flexible
employment.

Develop a digital workplace as a glue for employee connectedness

Based on empirical research, Dery, Sabastian and van der Meullen (2017) conclude that
the digital workplace is key to digital innovation. They highlight the critical importance
of two dimensions in this regard – employee connectedness (‘extent to which employees
can engage with each other, with stakeholders and customers, with information and
knowledge, and with ideas’), and responsive leadership (‘extent to which management
prioritizes the activities that focus on the development and continuous improvement of
employee experience’). This requires a change in management mindset that offers clearly
articulated vision, open to employee initiatives, encourages employee experimentation
with new technologies, new ways of working, and provides continuous learning
opportunities.
Kaarst-Brown et al. (2018) offer four integrated, strategic imperatives – embrace and
leverage societal drivers of the evolving digital workplace; organizational culture, IT
culture, and digital culture are inseparable; create and foster initiatives towards increas­
ing inclusiveness and diversity, and rethink and reimagine workforce practices that are
adaptable and evidence-based. In an increasingly globalizing marketplace, leaders at all
levels of society have a rare opportunity to leverage globalization to transform the
workplaces and indeed nation states. Torraco and Lundgren (2020) identify several
opportunities, including, to support the United Nation’s 2030 sustainable development
goals; to create sustainable connections around the globe between the environment and
society; effective teamwork and collaboration across borders and time zones, and to
create virtual communities of practice, virtual teams and team learning.

Develop a digitally competent and confident HR team

As Ulrich (2019) says, ‘HR is not about HR, but about delivering value to employees,
organizations, customers, investors, and communities. By understanding technology, HR
professional may help shape both a business and HR digital agenda’. One of the
transformative roles of HR in the digitalized learning organization is to instil and
institutionalize digitally minded and agile organizational cultures, structures, and work­
force practices, such as cross-functional collaboration and risk tolerance. It should
develop tomorrow’s leaders who are digitally literate and mature.
 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 11

Digital thinking and practice demand appropriate digital skills and competencies in
HR professionals and these skills need to be developed both in-house as well as sourced
from outside in an optimum combination. Angrave et al. (2016) caution that HR
professionals are currently not capable of handling big data and unless they develop
big data literacy, they may be excluded from strategic decision making.
The talent management strategy should serve as a talent magnet and be capable to
attract, deploy, develop, and retain top talent by addressing the unique characteristics
and requirements of knowledge workers referred to before. At the same time, HR needs
to consider the legal implications of whether to consider gig economy workers as
employees or as independent contractors. As Sullivan (2013) argues, ‘making the transi­
tion to an innovative firm is problematic because almost every current HR function
operates under 20th century principles of past practices, efficiency, risk avoidance, legal
compliance, and hunch-based people management decisions’.
HR is often accused of being slow and sloppy in understanding and embracing
evidence-based management that harnesses the potential of digital technologies, includ­
ing big data, analytics, and social media. To be true strategic business partners, HR
leaders should first become what they expect the rest of the organization to be – agile,
future-focused, innovation-driven, systems thinkers, cross-functional collaborators, and
curators of knowledge. In terms of conceptual shift, HRD has moved away from process
to impact on people, organizations, community, and nation (Hanandi and Grimaldi
2010). As noted by Bennett (2010, 737),
‘VHRD is shifting the roles and related skills of HRD practitioners, particularly as
they become architects of virtual environments. Practitioners must be ambassadors
that encourage the wise use of technology, know the limitations of technology, and
foster the persistence employees must have to find lasting solutions rather than surface
fixes that are available on the Internet . . . HRD as a field will need to acquire a shared
vocabulary with computer science professionals as both fields delve into VHRD’.

Secure information security & privacy

In the digital world, employees are encouraged to work anywhere, anytime, using any
device in a 24/7 virtual environment. Further, services offshoring, social media, cloud
technologies, and proliferation of app-based products with weak security features have all
combined to pose the biggest ever threat to information security and privacy. However,
majority of the organizations are ill prepared to effectively address these challenges
(Graham 2017).
As pointed out by Subramaniyan, Thite, and Sampathkumar (2019), building
awareness of these challenges is the starting point for a stronger information
security culture. Since human error, negligence, and sabotage are principal causes
of security and privacy breaches, the HR department should take proactive mea­
sures, including pre-employment background verification, confidentiality agree­
ments, ongoing security awareness training, and incorporating multiple checks and
balances in decision making. Similarly, HR department should ensure that there is
a well-articulated and circulated privacy policy. It should take the lead by handling
sensitive employee data strictly as per privacy policy and procedures. It should also
12 M. THITE

make sure that the workplace is free of intrusion into seclusion (e.g. electronic
surveillance), and public disclosure of sensitive private information of employees.

Don’t overdo technology

Strategically aligned technology can augment employee performance but sometimes,
short-term technology-mediated patchwork solutions can turn into long-term structural
problems. Most importantly, we need to be mindful of the dangers of excessive and
misdirected use of technology in managing people, at the cost of long-term focus and
investment in people, based on trust and transparency (Thite 2004, 50–67), and ignoring
the importance of well-defined and aligned processes, managerial competency, intuition,
and insights. In other words, ‘high-tech. does not replace high-touch’.
It is worth remembering that as highlighted by research studies, ‘employees prefer
more interactive, interpersonal, information-rich approaches to all the areas of HR
management (Stone et al. 2015, 227). As noted by Torraco and Lundgren (2020),
‘opportunity, diversity, and inclusiveness are also important factors driving change in
the workplace and shaping the future of HRD’. Highlighting the potential and pitfalls of
technology, Bennett (2010, 730) writes that
‘Technology offers greater speed, efficiency, and connection across space and time;
however, it does not replace the organic nature of organizations . . . we also must pay
attention to the impact of virtual work on people, and the intangible assets, to understand
successful development of VHRD. Most importantly, we must ensure that creativity is
not managed out of technology by heavy-handed management tactics that provide
disincentives for knowledge sharing. Rather, HRD professionals must seek to understand
what makes virtual work satisfying, engaging, and supportive of creative processes’.

Implications for HRD research & practice

Technology has always played a key role throughout human history. What is different
now in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world is the speed and
intensity of change brought about by technological advancements and globalization.
With the global business landscape undergoing paradigm shifts, management mindset,
techniques, tools and practices require proportionate transformation. Keeping this in
mind, the key implications of the emerging digital HRD to managerial research and
practice are:

● Emergence of technology as the fourth dimension of HRD (Werner 2014), with key
HRD drivers connecting to, through and within technology (Bennett 2010).
● With boundaries between tasks, jobs, departments, product and service lines,
organizations and geographies getting blurred and integrated, there is a seamless
connectivity between the inside-out and outside-in. This means that managers are
no longer the sole architects of organizational strategy and must increasingly
incorporate employee, customer, and community perspectives in decision making.
● Agility, adaptability, learning to learn, and digital fluency are some of the essential
prerequisites for survival and prosperity, be it in career management, organizational
development, and national HRD (Li 2013).
 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL 13

● The traditional notion of employee is giving way to the modern notion of gig
economy player and knowledge worker who are global in attitude and profile, seek
autonomy and immediate rewards, comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity,
and value social connectedness and collaboration in any type of employment or
gig relationship. As such, any HRD intervention at any level needs to be designed
to promote innovation, creativity, risk taking, and out of the box thinking
(Bennett 2009).
In the light of the above and building on research directions already outlined elsewhere (see
Scully-Russ and Torraco 2020), future research on digital HRD needs to focus on
● Implications of technology on socio-cultural context, ethics, privacy and informa­
tion security
● Incorporating multiple aspects of digital diversity, including national and organiza­
tional culture, individual and team thinking, traditional and modern means of
employment, and digital divide, into research design.
● Exploring the dynamic interplay between people, process and technology in order to
harness their synergy.
● Seeking cross-disciplinary linkages by collaborating with diverse disciplines, such as
knowledge management, information systems, and data sciences.

Conclusion
As noted by Hanandi & Grimaldi (2010, 12), ‘HRD is a major constituent of any
civilization, and the more advanced it is the more thriving and prosperous a nation is’.
The future of HRD hinges on how the discipline harnesses the strategic use and intent of
technology while at the same time satisfying the high-touch need for human connection
(Swanson and Holton 2001). In the light of the chaos and uncertainty unleashed by the
COVID-19 pandemic, Bierema (2020) and Mitsakis (2020) note that the time is ripe for
HRD to create a new normal by setting new standards for global workplace justice,
inclusion, and health and provide intellectual leadership and scholarly practice to
organizations.
The technology-intensive business and work environment have the potential to
bring paradigm shift to the mission and role of HRD professionals to ‘support learning
at work, enhance job performance, and facilitate organizational development and
change’ (Benson, Johnson, and Kuchinke 2002, 392). Accordingly, Li (2013, 250)
believes that ‘HRD is at a tipping point for a much-needed paradigm shift’. However,
with lack of clarity on what is digital, what to do and how to do digital, ‘most companies
are still in a “digital fog” (and) most approaches are still in an exploratory phase’
(Andersson, Lanvin, and Van der Heyden 2016, 56). Harnessing the full potential of the
digital world is a long-term game and is always a work-in-progress, focusing on
continuous experimentation, business process reengineering and improvement. As
summarized by Thite (2019, 278), HR is ‘first and foremost about being “people-
centric” before it becomes “business-centric and technology-centric”, and as such,
needs to place people over process, mindset over metrics, and dignity (privacy) over
(intrusive) data’.
14 M. THITE

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID
Mohan Thite http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0075-6409

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