The HR department is the backbone of a company that is responsible to deal with and manage the business’ biggest asset: employees. From recruiting new people, organising the onboarding process, arranging training and development programme, to setting up talents to take on challenging new roles, HR professionals play an important role in all these stages. That being said, they should be able to provide necessary skills and tools for people to succeed in their career.
Nowadays, the presence of technology has somewhat altered HR functions and put them in a strategic position in an organisation. However, the question remains: is HR department ready to face rampant tsunami of change in the nearer future? Below, Karen Cariss, CEO and Co-Founder of HR software company PageUp shares some of the major trends set to redefine talent management in 2018 and beyond:
See: Best 5 Recruiting Tools for HR Managers In 2018
Just like the other industry and professions, HR is not immune to the impact of advanced technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). 2018 will see a sharp increase in the uptake of AI-powered technology, especially chatbots to match candidates with jobs. Therefore, recruiters will have more time to spend in sourcing and selection process.
AI will also automate administrative processes such as indexing and filing candidate records, onboarding, measuring performance, as well as offering personalised learning content for employees. In turn, HR professionals can refocus their efforts on strategic workplace initiatives and contributing real business value. To stay ahead, business professionals need to start exploring AI-enabled applications and educating the business on its value.
Mobility, instead of stability, will be the new currency for the workforce. HR professionals are required to rethink the way they manage the growing number of workers who opt to shift to freelance and contractual employment. To maintain connections between managers and the teams, organisation will use unified talent management (UTM) strategy for their entire workforce –freelancers, contractors and employees.
This year, we could expect to see more businesses move away from traditional, structured programs, toward self-directed, social, informal learning platforms. As workers need to constantly increase and update their skills, HR must deliver learning tools that are continuous, consumable, relevant, and available on-demand.
One-size-fits-all approach will no longer work if businesses want to attract and retain top talent. So tailored and personalised learning opportunities for employees will become the norm. Rich data insights are will help organisations deliver more engaging content and meet growing consumer expectations. HR analytics will be useful in improving employee productivity and engagement, as well as boost overall employment experience.
Via employee surveys, machine learning algorithms will deliver data and employee patterns, providing HR professionals with an accurate reflection of employee sentiment, engagement and productivity. HR professionals will have the tools to be able to better make data-driven workforce decisions.
Traditional hierarchical organisation structures will soon be a thing of the past. New organisational designs with more fluid work stream are created to better facilitate teamwork, agility and collaboration. Matrix structures will replace linear hierarchies and employees will be measured on how they collaborate with internal and external networks. Managers are likely to be hired on a project basis.
There will also be a shift in performance management, as managers are expected to provide real-time feedback and coaching in place of fixed review cycles. Additionally, businesses need to be investing in mobile performance coaching applications to facilitate and track performance discussions.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will begin to find their way into the talent acquisition toolkits of tech-savvy recruiters. Interactive job advertisements, VR tour of future workplace in Australia while sitting in Singapore, and complete VR assessments during recruitment process will no longer be remote ideas. AR/VR will also be used to enhance the employee experience by providing simulations of tasks and work challenges, better preparing workers for real-world situations before they have to face them.
Read also: Top 5 Workplace Trends for 2018
