What if HR could better anticipate shifts in trends? Strategic foresight can create that capability.
John Austin, the dean of the College of Business at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, will lead participants through strategic foresight techniques during a session on June 24 at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24) in Chicago and virtually.
Austin works with organizations around the world to improve the foresight skills of their leaders and future-proof strategies and initiatives.
The session is available to registered in-person and remote attendees and will be repeated on June 25.
Austin briefly discussed his upcoming session with SHRM Online.
SHRM Online: What are strategic foresight skills, and how can they be used in HR?
Austin: Strategic foresight is not about predicting the future, but about preparing for a range of potential futures. It involves a systematic examination of possible future trends and scenarios to inform decision making in the present. This practice goes beyond traditional forecasting, which often relies on quantitative data to predict likely outcomes. Instead, strategic foresight adopts a qualitative and creative approach to envision various plausible futures and develop strategic responses accordingly. HR leaders can be better strategic partners within their organizations by developing this ability to “see around the corner.” Beyond just developing this skill in the organization’s leaders, HR leaders can use foresight techniques to create more engaging and flexible strategic planning processes.
SHRM Online: How can HR leaders align strategic planning with major real-world shifts?
Austin: By defining the future space at the start of a strategic planning process, organizations can ensure their plans are built to be robust across multiple futures. This makes the plans more fluid and flexible. Strategic foresight creates a strategic planning process that flexes with the shifts in your industry, community, and organization. Short-term initiatives can be stress-tested against multiple possible futures. With the dynamic foresight process, organizations can also create a systems map of how uncertainties interact with each other. With this map, leaders can continuously adjust how strategic goals are prioritized and set plans on how to monitor environmental shifts. The strategic plan becomes more of a strategic playbook designed to respond to unexpected industry shifts.
SHRM Online: What will attendees take away from your session?
Austin: I hope participants leave with an understanding of what I mean when I say, “We cannot predict the future, but by asking the right questions, we can ‘see’ the future.” Participants in this session will leave with the tools they need to introduce strategic foresight to their organization and even facilitate some small workshops. They will also understand the other more extensive ways foresight can be introduced into current strategic planning and leadership development programs.
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