At no time in history has the human race been more 'digitally' connected. 

An at no time in history have companies and brands been so vulnerable to be exposed to it's prospects, customers, potential and existing employees via social media platforms.

The role of Human Resource is probably one of the most critical and pivotal in today's world than it's ever been, some might argue that in the what's being called 'the new normal' it's more important than ever?

"For any business to succeed it relies completely on the people power it has employed and charged with the delivery of the agreed success" 

HR as most people understand it is the internal echo chamber of the leadership teams agreed strategy, if they're lucky enough to have a seat (and vote) at the board table they are indeed a rare breed. 

These are the people whose primary role pre Covid was to handle the people recruitment, development, management, and performance assessments in conjunction with the relevant line management protocols - and it's all a very internalised role? 

But is this really a real reflection of the Covid devastated business world we live in today?

Covid 19 has without a doubt impacted the world and its population like never before. Each day we see tales of companies having to make people redundant in huge numbers. These are real people with families and communities who depend on them and it's extremely sad to see.

I've witnessed people turn their back on previous skills and go to work in Supermarkets, or volunteer in other front line related sectors just to keep themselves and their families going.

LinkedIn in awash with senior people who prior to this crisis rarely put their head above the digital social parapet yet alone engage and connect with others on the social business network known as LinkedIn. 

Yet today they kindly request for 'help' to share their plight and see if their network can help them find the next role. This is most likely a network made up of previous employees who themselves are struggling along with previous suppliers who are also struggling. 

I have great sympathy and empathy for all those impacted by this global crisis and it's always sad to see each days 'help' flag go up by thousands of people needing some support, and where I can I share to my network in anticipation their message has greater reach outside of their own network.

If you've ever been on the end of one of these 'cost cutting' exercises dressed up as a transformation project you will understand what comes first.

This transformation usually starts with HR being advised "we have to let some people go, so can you please go work with line management, draw up a short list and go through procedure so we don't get our asses sued by tribunals - Oh!, and we need to do this quickly before the cash runs out."

I've connected to lots of senior HR people via LinkedIn and during the course of my business career, and many of them will hopefully share similar views.

Connected 'Human Resource' has taken us to the Moon, Mars and beyond, they can build countries, cities, and businesses. 

The disconnected ones can also destroy them.

Most companies are made up of what I call 'enablers' and 'blockers', and they're found at every level of the organisation.

For real  'Change' to happen requires an intellectual acceptance of things - something most boardrooms will agree on.

For 'Change' not to happen is primarily a result of 'emotional' reluctance to adapt, it's easier doing what we have always done - and these traits can also be found in the boardroom.

People and process change companies - ask your competitor if they were worried about changing what you do?

Executives rank employee engagement as a priority at 8.3 on a scale of 10.  At the same time however, data from my research suggests that while executives value employee engagement, they aren’t doing a great job of actually engaging employees. 

On average, employees rated their own engagement at an abysmal 5.5 out of 10.

This reality is this crisis has already 'changed' your company. 

To truly transform an save your business requires for your HR team and employees to be involved from the very start of your discussions.

You need to consider the fact that for a business to deliver a successful transformation program (or any change for that matter) that the most powerful asset you have is your people operating with the right skills and aligned strategic processes.

The days of HR being a purely internalised piece of the transformation jigsaw is well and truly over, today's employee's, customers and prospects are far more technically competent and socially savvy than ever before, and it's your companies reputation they now all have greater influence on than ever before.

But when you've done with the resource cost savings strategy and there's no one left - "who fires the HR team"