In response to rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technology, an increasing number of large companies are restructuring their organisational frameworks by merging Human Resources (HR) and Information Technology (IT) departments under unified leadership. A recent survey shows that 64% of senior IT decision-makers at major firms anticipate this integration will occur within the next five years, reshaping how businesses manage people and technology alike.
Converging Roles in a Digital Era
Traditionally, HR departments focus on managing workforce planning, employee relations, and organisational culture, while IT divisions handle technological infrastructure and digital systems. However, the advent of AI tools like ChatGPT and workflow automation technologies is blurring these lines, driving companies to reconsider their functional silos.
Tracey Franklin, Chief People and Digital Technology Officer at biotech company Moderna, oversees both HR and IT functions for the organisationโs over 5,000 employees. โI am responsible not only for core IT functions but also for the digital technology required to support drug development, manufacturing, and commercialisation,โ Ms Franklin explains. โMy role is an architect of how work flows through the organisation, deciding where technology hardware, software, or AI complements human skills.โ
Moderna has partnered with OpenAI, training its entire workforce in AI tools to โrewrite how work gets done,โ according to Ms Franklin. โWe encourage employees to become masters of AI and to redesign their workflows accordingly,โ she says. Her approach reflects a shift from viewing HR purely as a โpeople functionโ to integrating it deeply with digital transformation efforts.
Real-World Applications and Leadership Challenges
At Covisian, a customer care provider with 27,000 call-centre employees, the IT and HR teams merged in April 2023 under Fabio Sattolo, Chief People and Technology Officer. Formerly the companyโs Chief Technology Officer, Mr Sattolo highlights the benefits of aligning people development with technology evolution.
โWeโre developing AI tools designed for human agents to use effectively,โ he says. For instance, AI assists call centre staff by handling routine problem-solving processes, allowing employees to focus on more complex customer interactions. โWe are preparing our people to adapt and evolve alongside the technology,โ Mr Sattolo adds.
He credits the combined structure with increasing efficiency, noting that โhaving one decision-maker avoids the traditional friction between HR requests and IT delivery.โ One notable success was the rapid development of an internal job posting tool that doubled employee applications for internal roles, illustrating how integrated teams can innovate faster.
However, Mr Sattolo acknowledges the cultural and communication challenges involved. โIT and HR speak very different languages while HR excels at listening, IT professionals are sometimes less effective communicators,โ he observes. To bridge gaps, he appointed neutral team leaders who facilitate collaboration and negotiation between disciplines.
Industry Perspectives and Cautionary Notes
The trend towards merging HR and IT functions has garnered mixed reactions among experts. David DโSouza, Director of Profession at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), stresses the importance of preserving specialist skills.
โHR and IT skillsets are complementary but distinct,โ DโSouza explains. โComplex people issues require deep organisational insight, which differs from the technical expertise IT provides.โ He warns that while collaboration is beneficial, fully merging departments risks diluting the nuanced competencies that organisations need to thrive.
Bianca Zwart, Chief Strategy Officer at Dutch online bank Bunq, supports closer coordination between these teams but stops short of complete merger. At Bunq, IT and HR reside within a larger unified division that supports business operations. Zwart points out that with over 700 employees, the bank is on track to automate 90% of its operations by the end of 2025 without resorting to layoffs.
โOur goal is to make employees self-sufficient in building AI automations for their own workflows,โ Zwart says. โAI will free people from repetitive tasks so they can tackle more complex challenges.โ She summarises the relationship as a โnatural mergerโ driven by technologyโs expanding role in workforce management.
Historical Context and Future Outlook
The separation of HR and IT departments has long been a fixture in corporate structures, reflecting the different expertise required to manage human capital and technology systems. But the rise of AI and automation tools โ which impact both workforce dynamics and digital workflows has exposed the limitations of this compartmentalisation.
According to a 2024 report by Nexthink, a Zurich-based workplace analytics company, nearly two-thirds of senior IT leaders at large enterprises expect significant overlap between HR and IT functions by 2030. Artificial intelligence is a major driver, transforming roles from recruitment and performance management to real-time employee productivity enhancement.
Industry analysts note that companies integrating HR and IT can accelerate digital transformation while improving employee experience. However, the success of these integrations depends heavily on leadership vision, communication, and maintaining expertise in both fields.
Dr. Laura Chen, a workplace technology researcher at MIT Sloan School of Management, points out: โMerging HR and IT leadership creates opportunities for end-to-end optimisation of workforce and technology. But organisations must safeguard against undermining HRโs people-centric knowledge and ITโs technical rigor.โ
Implications for Businesses and Employees
Merging HR and IT under a single leadership framework represents a strategic response to the labour market and technological shifts of the 2020s. Companies are striving to maximise agility, reduce internal friction, and leverage AI effectively while managing cultural and operational change.
Employees stand to benefit from improved access to digital tools, streamlined workflows, and opportunities for upskilling. Modernaโs approach, for example, empowers staff across departments to harness AI capabilities, reshaping job roles and expectations.
Conversely, risks include potential loss of specialised support and tensions around role definitions and responsibilities within multidisciplinary teams. Industry experts advocate for carefully designed governance structures and ongoing training to mitigate such issues.
Conclusion
The growing convergence of HR and IT departments signals a significant transformation in corporate organisational design, driven largely by AIโs expanding footprint. While the integration offers promising benefits in efficiency, innovation, and workforce enablement, it also requires balancing technical and people-oriented expertise.
As AI integration deepens across industries, companies that successfully meld HR and IT functions under visionary leadership may unlock new productivity levels and workforce satisfaction. Yet, as CIPDโs David DโSouza cautions, maintaining the depth of knowledge in both professions is essential to sustaining organisational health in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
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