The digital era and digitalization in general bring new challenges to human resource management. A
frequently asked question in the past decade is, will digitalization replace people? Will it replace
everything that is an integral part of human resource management? Will we even be needed as
employees?
The use of modern technologies affects the basic social human dimension, but it is not lost through
digitalization. Digitalization is managed by humans and directs the ways in which it is put into business
function. The basic expectation from digitalization is not the absence of employees with all their skills,
knowledge, and contribution. It means efficiency in carrying out work, better control and time
management, and freeing up time for reflection and creativity, all of which a machine will not be able to
do without direct human influence.
Changes in the field of digital technologies are developing very quickly, so it is necessary to adapt just as
quickly. Therefore, human resources management becomes one of the key functions in recognizing and
properly directing the development of human resources in a company. Precisely because of everything
mentioned, employees become and remain the most important bearers of work and work processes.
New technologies bring new ways and techniques of work, new jobs, greater availability of information,
saving time, originality and innovation in work. Human resource management with a focus on
knowledge, which, more than in any other economic era, is becoming the most important capital, faces
numerous challenges that, if not answered in a timely manner, can bring irreparable setbacks.
Some of the challenges faced by human resources are:
• Moving towards a knowledge economy
• An increase in the number of jobs that require higher levels of education
• Tendency to perform multiple parallel jobs
• Increased labor mobility
• Flexibility of working hours
• Changing the career concept
• The concept of employment is replaced by the concept of employability
• Reduction in the number of permanent employees, with an increase in those employed through more
flexible forms of employment
Digitalization will not affect hard workers, but it will significantly affect those who are not. It will insist
on knowledge and skills, creativity and innovation, while it will significantly reduce the loss of time in
accompanying and supporting tasks. It will require new ways of critical, logical and creative thinking and
will create new leaders. Therefore, "closing own eyes" to imminent changes and avoiding adaptation,
not only by those who participate in business processes but above all by those who manage human
resources, will more strongly than ever separate the unsuccessful from the successful, the non-profit
from the profitable, those whose shelf life is short or final from those that will create new values and
legacies for future generations.