Marina Bay Sands, Singapore — Attended by HR leaders and innovators focused on the Asia Pacific region, the TechHR 2025 conference in Singapore is a monumental event where stakeholders in the HR space explore the evolving role of HR in facilitating the transformation of the future of work. Further, the demand for HR to lead the growing complexity of workplace structures has been emphasized during the event through the keynote addresses as well as in panel discussions.
A key message that resonated during the panel sessions was the transforming role of HR from support functions, into actual business partners. In the panel discussion by Narelle Burke of APAC Insights & Global Consulting, Larissa Murmann of Unilever International, Sergio Salvador of EY, and Fong Tuan Chen of Maybank, the discourse revolved on reimagining employee roles, as the current job market demands that employees should be agile and flexible, as well as organizations must be willing to be adaptive to the fast-paced trends in the job market and economy at large.
Similar to the call to change in perspective and mindset is a discussion by Kevin Chua of United World College – SEA, and Lynn Dang of Snapchat, wherein they emphasize the need to reexamine the way HR professionals look at management and leadership issues, and encourage HR professionals to be strategic thinkers, placing the proper decision-making at the forefront of situations that might tilt to the pitfalls of personal and professional biases.
To expand further, a panel discussion by Yvonne Tan of Dentsu, Jennifer Pei-Ling Tan of OCBC Bank, Prakas Santhanam of Bernas, and Joydeep Bose of Olam International emphasized the role of culture in terms of workplace pivoting and culture building. Further, as their discussion centered on culture, they also noted how culture is still the best driver of change and innovation As stated by Jeniffer Pei-Ling Tan – “Culture eats technology for breakfast” when asked how productivity and efficiency can be optimized given the introduction of technologies such as AI that is meant to change workspaces. She states that the effectiveness of technology is in proportion to how mature the culture of an organization is in handling change.
In terms of organizational Learning & Development, another discourse that emerged is the shift towards a skills-first talent model wherein rather than focusing on traditional rigid job titles, organizations must focus on prioritizing the skills development and career mobility of employees. Further, programs as such should not just be launched as traditional HR L&D programs but must be embedded in daily work. Further, the aid of AI in facilitating L&D has also been emphasized, and AI’s value is seen as a facilitator in terms of fulfilling task requirements and effective feedback partners.
Last but not least, the keynote discussion by renowned author and professor at the University of Michigan, Dave Ulrich noted that the key to thrive in HR given the complexity of the workplace nowadays is the shift of Human Resources from its conventional functions into having a value-centric HR mindset. To put it simply, HR’s internal purpose should be redefined – from managing internal processes to delivering stakeholder value while the focus is to maximize not only talent and efforts but if possible, the whole human potential. This perspective introduces the strategic function of HR in the organization as a whole whereas HR should also extend its awareness and attention beyond employees, but also for customers, investors, communities, and linkages.
In conclusion, the discussions on TechHR 2025 Singapore, although heavy on the implications of AI and technology are still on point – workplace culture and employee and organizational behavior are still the drivers and facilitators of technology. While technology is a great tool to aid workplace tasks in becoming more efficient and effective, healthy and adaptive workplace cultures ensure that human capital in organizations will not get consumed by changes, and the realization of human capability within organizations and beyond the sphere of business activities can be achieved.