Top 3 future trends for HR best practices

2019 experienced a drastic fall in the economy, which led to huge layoffs throughout the year. Organizations ranging from small to large, and native to multi-national faced the slap which led to downsizing and even shutdowns. The result of this is a huge amount of workforce either looking for new job opportunities or for switching the existing ones, leading to an increased burden on the HR.

According to The Economic Times, 7 lakh jobs may be generated in 2020 along with a significant rise in startups. Businesses are fast shifting their focus towards people, processes, and practices, for which an HR needs to stay adept of the upcoming trends in work culture, ethics, policies, engagement, and much more. The Human Resource division has been constantly finding ways to evolve the process for suitability to the next generation professionals. One way to do it is by gathering knowledge and findings on the upcoming HR trends. Based on Pacific’s experience in the human talent industry for over a decade, here are some of the future trends that may significantly change the HR landscape:

Technology is not anymore limited to being a good-to-have option. It is now treated as something that every process in an organization should have in order to ensure better efficiency and faster performance. New tools, systems, and infrastructures are rapidly being embedded in the HR process including RPA (Robotic Process Automation), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and VR (Virtual Reality).

One of the biggest causes of time wastage for HR processes is mandatory yet unnecessary paperwork. By implementing RPA in the HR process, such tasks can be taken care of fast, efficiently and without errors. This gives more time for HR professionals to focus on improvement, innovation and retention strategies. Many people think that automation might take away their jobs. But, automation in HR can grow only to the extent of assistance. The Human aspect of HR will always stay in place as much-needed support.

Being one of the most trending topics in the industry for the last few years, artificial intelligence has also lost its true definition. In literal definition; a true AI is an algorithm that takes data and performs tasks based on that data that go beyond the coded response. In simple terms, it can learn to do more in a task without human intervention.

While considering AI, it is important to understand that automation and analytics do not represent AI, but are part of its functioning. AI applications today are readily available for recruitment and hiring processes. But in the times to come, it can extend its arms to predictive suggestions for improving the HR process which can include understanding the hiring time for an organization, and even learning the reason for attrition (work timings, commute, working days, etc.) to ensure that the future candidates comply with them beforehand.

As much as it is mesmerizing in the entertainment aspect, it is useful in Human Resource functioning. With the culture of remote interviews and meetings growing rapidly, many organizations are switching to Virtual Reality as an efficient method of communication.

Showcasing the culture and environment to potential candidates, introducing remote employees to the office team, and even conducting meetings with management and clients becomes much easier with Virtual Reality in place. Educating and training existing employees through VR technology not only increase the quality but also accessibility and engagement.

It is crucial for an HR to keep a track of the employee behavior, let it be excellence, attrition, grievance or even policy breaches. But, this method has been redundantly used for years without any effective outcome. Bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical data is a much-needed practice for handling the next generation of professionals.

While the analytics data collected till now involves insights on what happens, combining it with why it happened is also becoming a growing trend. For example; if an organization is facing a high employee turnover rate, conducting analytical tests to identify why they are doing it will solve the issue much better. This approach involves conducting surveys regarding their experience in the company, asking what issues they are facing, and how the organization can improve will help identify the issues before they become harmful.

As useful it is to collect metrics from employees on various aspects, it is important to take a maturity test of the company as well. This analytics exercise involves managerial and CXO level individuals to track down on what they know and think about their teams. Doing this will help you confirm what the overall management team thinks about the organization’s behavior in whole as well as individually.

For instance; if the number of people leaving the company is higher during the appraisal period, then you can take a better look at the industry-best standards for appraisals to ensure that the best performers do not leave because of that aspect.

Converting your approach from the analytics of people to analytics for people will also increase your survey response rate on a positive note. This will ensure that your organization takes the best preventive steps before any organizational hazard related to the workforce happens.

2020 marks the shift of workforce majority from old to the new generation. Generation Z, also known as the millennial workforce will cover most of the beginner and medium level job roles globally. And, with the millennials increasing, the cultural shift is also swiftly taking place. According to a research conducted by Deloitte, 75% of surveyed millennials said that most businesses are focused on their own agendas while they could focus more on the greater good and societal impact.

To comply with the millennial culture, the teal organization philosophy is being introduced globally. In this, every professional takes on a leadership role irrespective of their hierarchy. The organization lends freedom as well as the responsibility of tasks to its employees at all levels while keeping a focus on the end result only.

In this concept, the hierarchy even if in place is functionally irrelevant empowering self-management, wholeness and evolutionary purpose in employees. ‘Teal Organization’ is an important term that is fast gaining popularity worldwide. In the coming years, this will surely be the most popular of all new trends.

Earlier, 9-5 jobs for 6 days a week were the most accepted job types. But now, the new generation is quite in denial of the organization-centric culture. It is more bent towards ensuring work-life balance, transparency in communication, and data-led performance metrics for their career growth.

An organization that ensures that its valued employees are kept at par with the best increments, rewards and other promotional awards, should now also ensure that the least performing employees are not ignored either. While the new generation is ready to accept mistakes, it is also willing to learn and grow with the organization’s guidance. All of the above indicate the type of work culture that the millennials prefer to be in.

With the transformation in the professional preference of the new generation, the Gig Economy is also rapidly growing. It involves taking gigs, also known as projects as short-term retainers or one-time payments. According to Gallup’s survey, more than 57 million workers in the U.S.A. are part of the Gig Economy covering one-third of the total working population.

According to them, gigs give a more comfortable lifestyle along with professional growth. The opportunity to be one’s own boss comes with this concept lending more freedom. HR from various organizations are welcoming this concept, and are blending their requirements accordingly. However, this trend has some time before it becomes a trend but shows great promise in transforming the future of the work environment.

As new trends in the workforce are coming in rapidly, the HR division of any organization needs to grab the opportunity quickly. While technology is a much-needed addition in the HR process, traditional human intervention cannot go away. These trends not only provide better performance support to organizations but also strengthen the Human Resources on both ends.