Digital Workplace Transformation Triggers a Shift in the HR Function: From Resource Manager to Growth Catalyst

Digital workplace technologies and changing demands of the workforce drive digital workplace transformation(DWT). In response to DWT, the human resources (HR) function implements people analytics (PA),which can either enable traditional HR reporting or facilitate novel personalizedemployee experiences.This either/or in leveraging PA induces a shift in the HR function’sidentity. Building upon paradox theoryand using the concept of identity, we investigate the occurring tensions in firms due to the implementation of digital workplace technologies. We use a two-staged qualitative research approach, consisting of an ethnographyat a company undergoing DWT, extended toinsights from 18 expert interviews from the field of PAfor theoretical generalization. We make two contributions. First, our findings suggest two HR identity archetypes: HR as resource managers vs. HR as growth catalyst. Second, we extend the paradoxical tension between these two archetypes to DWT literature questioning the pertinent view of identity metamorphosis.