cleviston haynes : strategic human resource management in the age of technology remarks by mr cleviston haynes, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the xxii annual conference of hr managers of central banks in the caribbean region, bridgetown, 26 september 2019. * * * good morning. on behalf of the management and staff of the central bank of barbados, i welcome you to barbados, and to the xxii annual conference of human resources managers of central banks in the caribbean region, which is being held under the theme, “ hr 4. 0 : a perfect vision – 2020 and beyond. ” your theme is forward looking, encapsulating the technological thrust that envelops the operations of the modern - day financial services industry. this is truly appropriate because we live in an era of technological disruption, what many are calling the 4th industrial revolution. concepts that in our youth were unthought of, or at best relegated to the realm of science fiction, now not only exist, but are also commonplace. terms such as artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain are now a part of our vernacular. we in the central banking community cannot ignore the emergence of these new technologies. central banks in the region, including the central bank of barbados, are adapting to the changed environment by examining our processes for the delivery of our services and assessing the adequacy of our resources to cope with the transformation that new technology can engender. those of you who are somewhat cynical will point out that we are no strangers to technological advances. we ’ ve had to deal with changes in technology for decades and we have adapted. i recall that when i first joined the central bank of barbados, we used large charts that had to be updated manually by staff adding pieces of tape to update the monthly changes. it was a painstaking exercise, assigned to an officer blessed with patience and the skill of attention to detail. now, i can sit at my desk and have excel create a chart for me in a matter of seconds. developments such as this contribute to the digital transformation that we face across our economies. the pace at which technology is evolving is much faster than what we have seen before, but we cannot treat this digital transformation as if it is simply the latest buzzword. if we limit ourselves to thinking of digital transformation as simply adopting the latest technology, to digitising or automating processes, we ignore a central tenet of the transformation, i. e.

thrive in the modern era. much of it reiterates what the literature has been telling us. we need to re - engineer our organisations, so that decisions are made and actioned more quickly, and so that innovative ideas are not lost as they make their way up the chain of command. we need to focus on collaboration, so that we can draw on expertise from wherever it is available, and so that projects are approached from the perspective of what is best for the organisation and not just the department or unit. building alliances through cross departmental project teams is an effective tool for increased productivity and efficiency. i recently shared with my staff some of our key achievements for the year, and in almost each case the result was based on cross - departmental 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches collaboration. we need to become transparent so staff have a clear sense of our direction. and we need to be more flexible, so that we can keep apace with a dynamic world. such a radical shift will not come easy for those who are comfortable with how the organisations has functioned traditionally, so hr will need to carefully manage the change process so that change is accepted, embraced and implemented by all within the organisations. it is necessary, for, as the report notes, “ the central bank of the future is designed for speed, agility and adaptability. ” all that i have mentioned thus far is only part of hr ’ s role in this era of transformation. even as central banks work to create a conducive culture and to equip employees with the skills to make it successful, hr must also focus on the future. that means attracting talent that fits the new culture and has the right skillset. central banks will need to re - evaluate the nature and scope of the tasks our staff will be asked to undertake, and then as we recruit new employees, we will need to cast our nets to find people who have not just the right qualifications, but also the right competencies. the world economic forum identifies creativity as one of the top three competencies workers will need in 2020. we will need to determine how heavily to weigh this and other softer skills the forum identifies – collaboration, judgment and decision - making, cognitive flexibility – against the credentials we have traditionally sought. then we need to find a way to evaluate these attributes in applicants. finding the right mix in prospective employees may require us to work with educational institutions to make sure that curricula reflect our current and future needs. beyond this,