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Top 9 Trends that will Reshape HR Industry in 2018

It’s about how technology as a way of life will play a prominent role in the workplace. One should note that trends come and go, but their impact is long-lasting.

If 2017 was about the new trends that surrounded the HR industry with culture and performance issues, then, 2018 is all about the role and importance of technology. It’s about how technology as a way of life will play a prominent role in the workplace. One should note that trends come and go, but their impact is long-lasting.

Here’s a look at some of the trends that are set to redefine the way the HR industry works.

1. Employees at the forefront

In any organization, employees are to be placed at the forefront. They act as the backbone of the organization and fulfill every objective to ensure that the productivity levels are always maintained. The HR department should bridge the gap between the top management and the employees to enable a smooth transition of communication.

HR departments should concentrate on achieving a strategic foothold to manage the roles and responsibilities at all levels so that equal contributions are made to foresee a positive outcome for the enterprise. The end goal of the HR department is to make sure that the employee’s needs, wishes, and requirements are constantly met. The core agenda of every organization should be to increase the rate of employee retention, and this can only be achieved when the HR departments levy maximum efforts.

2. Increased focus on productivity

In the past few years, the focus on generating productivity is gradually decreasing. One of the common reasons why productivity decreases is because; organizations lack the ability to tackle capacity problems. With productivity being the main objective, organizations try to hire too many employees, which in turn result in the unnecessary problem (reduce quality).

As the trends keep on changing in the day to day working culture, the best way to tackle productivity issues is by hiring employees with right potential to resolve these issues. Only when the employees have a clear focus on the goals and objectivities of the company can they perform well. Hence, the HR department has to re-focus on developing their recruitment skills for the betterment of the organization.

3. Optimizing HR teams

As most HR professionals work in HR services, the number of jobs in HR services will decrease due to automation. For example, the basic sourcing work many recruiters were doing is rapidly being taken over by intelligent machines. The importance of HR advisors/ assistants/ business partners will become less necessary or even redundant.

It is agreed that HR is certainly a profession and top HR professionals will be required to work in HR services. HR architects certainly play an important role in the transformation of organizations on a high-level. With this particular trend, HR services will play a vital role in the development of an organization.

4. Flexible work schedules on the rise

One of the common trends you can hear in the coming years is “Flexible work arrangements.” As millennial are making up the largest generational share of the workforce, work-life flexibility is becoming a priority for this demographic. According to a survey conducted by Society for Human Resource Management, more than half, i.e. (52%) of the HR professionals said that they are offering flexible work arrangements to at least some employees.

With the introduction of the concept – flexible work arrangements, organization have witnessed improvement in employee retention and have agreed to follow this method in the coming years. One other benefit of this policy is that it helps in boosting the morale of the employees and also makes the recruiting process easy. Of course, not all companies are in a position to offer flexible work schedules, but for companies managing aggressive recruiting and retention goals, it’s certainly food for thought.

5. A growing remote workforce

There is a reason why telecommuting has increased by 115% in the past decade. It’s because; nearly eighty to ninety percent of the workforce suggested working at least part-time remotely. The positive outcome of allowing employees to opt for working remotely is that it keeps the morale high among employees, lowers the rate of absenteeism and develops greater willingness to work overtime.

It’s also proven that working remotely demonstrate greater productivity while saving employers on office space. While many executives remain uncomfortable with the idea, and not all jobs or industries lend themselves to telecommuting, the demand isn’t likely to go away. If talent acquisition is key to the company’s growth strategy, offering a remotely working  option — even part-time — could be a smart move.

6. The high dependency on social recruiting

Today, nearly 85% of companies use social media as a recruiting vehicle. With LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook being the main sources for recruiting, it has become so pervasive that, recruiters have termed it as social recruiting. It would not be surprising to see companies start to leverage mobile recruiting platforms.

It has become a common sight that, almost all the millennia’s have started using their smartphones for job hunting and filling up job their applications through smartphones. The tides are shifting, and employers are turning to professional social networking sites to recruit experienced applicants and reach out to passive job candidates.

7. Merging HR program management with technology

With the introduction of time and attendance systems, HR technology is experiencing vast advances in recruiting and performance management programs. More than 50% of companies have purchased a cloud-based HR application. The HR industry is more focused on making things simpler and effective, and one such improvement is the adoption of performance management systems for managing year-round activities in an efficient manner.

Another noticeable change is the implementation of HR analytics to refine the HR process in a meaningful way. These advancements will redefine the HR processes in the years to come. It’s time enterprises start implementing these changes to their workforce for better and reliable productivity.

8. Future proofing employees

Across industries, artificial intelligence is replacing repeatable tasks while predictive analytics is replacing certain levels of management and decision making tasks. In the foreseeable future, companies have to look at their human resources and determine the best way to pivot them into future requirements.

Overall, the companies have to identify their resources, who are willing to embrace different aspects of jobs where the requirement for the human element is necessary, like – management, problem-solving, troubleshooting and other areas. By advance planning, this method (staff identification) will save the company of its capital, as it moves on to cheaper technology-driven labor, and maximizes the human potential already existing on the payroll.

9. Gamification – The Trend Setter!

The one trend that is a definite game changer is – Gamification. Gamification is a technique that has been making waves across various industries. Be it marketing, teaching or hiring, the idea of turning engagement into a competitive game format works for a range of purposes. In an organization, gamification can be used as a candidate screener, which helps in turning tests of critical skill sets and cognitive abilities into fun engagement.

With the advent of smartphone apps, user-based play recruitment games are becoming popular as ever. These games not only allow user/candidates to play games but will also enable the employers to track the candidate’s critical analytics. As a result, it benefits both candidates and employers: where candidates have fun trying to increase their scores, and on the other hand, hiring managers have an ocean of data that can help predict the strengths and weaknesses of candidates.

Conclusion

The above mentioned technological trends will have their impact on the HR industry sooner or later. Many of these trends are already being implemented to some extent and will only grow to their full potential due to industry-wide adoption. To get ahead of the game, it is best advised to take time and invest resources into the most happening and game-changing methodologies in the HR domain. Be it, having a watchful eye at the way AI is changing the workforce or the way social media is being used to recruiting potential candidates, every method has a learning curve, and it’s time to  pedal faster.

To stay ahead of the competition, its best advised that you have an industry expert as a common touch point, who can reflect on the latest happenings in the HR industry, and who can also guide you through the methodologies that help you in overcoming business loopholes. Invensis Learning is one such global expert in providing on-site training for enterprises in Time Management, Resource Management, and Gamification, who with its vast experience and widespread knowledge will keep you updated and enable you to master the skills required to tackle these obstacles.

Written By

Ryan Grant has over 10 years of experience as a project and program manager for system/software engineering and Information Technology (IT) development and management. He has been a Project Manager, Sr. PM, Program Manager, and Sr. Program Manager.rnrn Mr. Grant also is an author, trainer, consultant, coach/mentor, and public speaker. Mr. Grant attributes his successful career to the use of Best Practice Processes’ best and good practices, knowledge transfer and lessons learned.

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