Ngozi Ekugo
Artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating change so rapidly that the relevance of skills, once measured in years, is now shrinking to mere months.
According to Lynda Gratton, a Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School and a global authority on the future of work, these AI disruptions are not just abstract trends.
They reshape workplace culture, redefine what employees expect, and force organisations to confront wellbeing, adaptability, and innovation in new ways.
For Human Resources (HR) professionals in Nigeria, the option is to remain bound to its traditional administrative role, or become a source of foresight, evidence, and influence.
Anything less of this, is at risk of being irrelevant in shaping the future of work.
Gratton outlined five critical shifts HR must make to stay ahead.
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From reaction to forecasting
HR can no longer afford to be reactive. Instead of responding to problems after they occur, the function must scan for demographic shifts, industry disruptions, and technological advancements, then translate them into tangible actions.
Gratton argues that CEOs increasingly need HR to provide a forward-looking perspective, guidance on what to anticipate and prepare for over the next two to three years.
In Nigeria, this might mean HR directors in large manufacturing firms working closely with Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to forecast the organisation’s workforce needs.
For example, rather than waiting for high staff turnover to appear in reports, HR could analyse which roles are most at risk of automation, which departments face looming retirements, and how these shifts will affect production.
This proactive approach would enable HR to present a reskilling strategy directly tied to the company’s financial planning.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs reports already confirm that skill gaps are one of the biggest barriers to business transformation.
For Nigerian companies, embedding forecasting into HR practice is no longer optional, it is a necessity.
From instinct to insight
Foresight alone is not enough without evidence. Gratton notes that one of HR’s persistent weaknesses is its reliance on instinct rather than data, leaving critical decisions open to bias and opinion.
Evidence provides the ‘how’. For example, in a Nigerian telecommunications company, HR could go beyond broad staff figures to demonstrate through analytics exactly which roles are vulnerable to automation, what new skills that will be required, and the costs of reskilling.
By grounding conversations in hard data, HR will become influential at the strategy table.
This shift, Gratton stresses, moves HR away from anecdotal conversations toward evidence-based decision-making, helping companies make smarter, future-proof choices.
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From cultural choreography to authentic narrative
Workplace culture is under strain everywhere, particularly in today’s hybrid and distributed work environments. Employees crave meaning, connection, and wellbeing, yet many organisations still rely on generic slogans and surface-level engagement campaigns.
Gratton argues that HR has missed an opportunity to shape a coherent organisational narrative that genuinely resonates. Narratives are not just a ‘nice to have’.
They are cultural anchors that help employees feel part of something larger than themselves.
In Nigeria, HR must take a lead role in co-creating and reinforcing a story that connects the boardroom to the factory floor. This requires listening to employees’ lived experiences and embedding their realities into the company’s values and communications.
If the approach is properly executed, loyalty and wellbeing will be built, otherwise, employees will be left in fragmented workplace cultures.
From systems runners to systems architects
Too often, HR is seen as the custodian of forms, policies, and processes.
Gratton calls this being a ‘systems runner’.
What is needed instead are ‘systems architects’, leaders who combine analytics with design thinking and the rare ability to step back and see how work truly flows.
In Nigeria, effective HR leaders are already playing this dual role. They zoom in on frontline interactions and daily challenges while zooming out to observe systemic bottlenecks that line managers often miss.
This matters because many HR systems simply do not deliver. A recent global survey of Fortune 500 HR leaders revealed that only 2 percent believed their performance management systems inspired employees to improve. Nigerian organisations face the same challenge: Systems may look functional but fail to generate value.
Gratton urges HR to treat every system as a prototype, constantly redesigning, testing, and adapting based on how employees actually experience it.
From AI bystanders to AI shapers
Perhaps the most pressing challenge is artificial intelligence.
As Gratton warns, generative AI is an ‘existential threat’ to HR because adoption is often led by technology teams, bypassing HR altogether.
The result is that employees are left anxious and uncertain about how AI will affect their roles.
This is where HR’s voice is essential. Beyond drafting compliance policies, HR must connect AI adoption to talent strategy. That means mapping tasks, anticipating skill requirements, and designing upskilling programmes that make AI a productivity and wellbeing tool rather than a source of fear.
In Nigeria, where industries from banking to media are already experimenting with AI, HR has the chance to shape not only how AI is introduced but also how employees are supported through the transition.
The cost of inaction
Gratton’s final warning is sobering. HR’s relevance will not vanish overnight but will erode piece by piece. The question Nigerian companies must ask is simple: What foresight, analytics, design, and AI capabilities do we have today? Where are the gaps, and how quickly can we close them?
“If you’re not in those conversations, someone else will be,” Gratton cautioned. “And they’ll decide the future for you.”
As the foundations of work continue to shift, Nigerian HR leaders face a choice: to shape what comes next or to remain sidelined, explaining decisions they did not make.
Ngozi Ekugo
Ngozi Ekugo is a Snr. Correspondent at Businessday, covering labour market, careers and mobility.
She is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM), has an MSc Management from the University Hertfordshire and is an alumna of University of Lagos and Queen’s college.
Source: Businessday.ng | Read the Full Story…
