Back in 2013, Govenour-General Sir Patrick Allen created the human resource professional day to recognize and celebrate human resource professionals. Six years later, Marketing and HR specialist Britt de Roode looks back on the growing importance of human resource management and the changes throughout the years.

Where does your passion for HR come from?

I don't have a background in HR. I have a marketing background which relates to the recruitment part of HR. Through my last employer, I came in contact with the implementation of a HR package with recruitment software. I immediately fell in love with HR which resulted in increased interest. I wanted to know all about the options and the importance of HR for organizations. The combination of marketing and HR is what really fascinates me.

What do you like about HR?

HR is not only about employee registration and days off. It's much more. HR is a subject that changes. Back in the days it just used to be about hiring, firing and requests from employees. Nowadays, HR has become on of the, if not the most important subject within an organization. Next to attracting new people, it is important to keep your employees. Keep them motivated and provide a career path in order to keep your talent within your organization.

Do you see developments in HR?

"Innovation wise, I see a lot of developments. Forecasting gives you valuable insights of your organization. Workforce planning lets you predict your workforce needs in the future. As soon as a junior joins your organization, you set up a career path. The software then predicts a route and plans your workforce needs for the future. We call this 'Predictive HR' and it's getting bigger and bigger. Another development worth mentioning is succession planning. This software looks at your employees skills and the required skills for his or her profession. Based on this the software will give you advice on how to get the most out of your employees' talent. You can say that HR is changing fast!"