Trends in HR to look out for

New HR trends seek to tackle new issues and complexities faced by your HR team, as well as helping them to improve areas that have long needed an update. In each section, we’ll explore some of the big changes coming to HR and what they mean for your business.

HR technology and the rise of automation

One of the biggest shifts to date has been the rise of automation, which affects many of the HR technology trends that we’ll be mentioning in this article. Automation is useful to HR for various reasons. Firstly, it means that your HR teams will be able to automate processes around employee data such as payroll management, leading to fewer instances of human error. You can also free up time for your HR teams by automating repetitive tasks, meaning that they have more time to deal with more important issues, such as employee questions or concerns.

ChatGPT and generative AI

Another new tool available to HR is generative AI such as ChatGPT. While you may be familiar already with ChatGPT as a tool for generating written content, it can also be helpful to your HR team in a few different ways. Your HR team can use ChatGPT to write personalised emails for employees, therefore cutting down on time needed to send out emails to many different employees across your business. You can also use generative AI to create chatbots, which can help answer common employee questions that they may have about their role, the software they’re using, or questions about the company (such as company policy).

HR’s role in sustainable business growth

Many new trends in HR are helping businesses to grow more sustainably and inclusively, meaning that they not only help to increase your team’s productivity, but can also have business-wide influence which can change the way that candidates and customers alike see your brand. Maintaining employee satisfaction through the supporting of their personal and professional values can have a great impact on your business, such as via reducing employee turnover and improving retention.

A sustainable work culture is one that prioritises ethical practices and a commitment to the environment. Let’s look at some ways that your HR team can help build your business sustainably.

Reskilling and education with a greater focus on equity

Many organisations explore ways to expand access to learning and development so employees can grow their skills and contribute to emerging talent needs.

HR teams may be involved in sharing information about available development routes and supporting conversations around skills growth, depending on how an organisation structures these efforts.

Collaborating with departments on environmental principles

HR teams are responsible for communicating your values and principles to your employees. In terms of helping to make your company more sustainable, your HR teams can work in collaboration with other departments in your business to provide sustainability training opportunities for your staff, including best practices at work and home.

Communicating cultural shifts

Some organisations look to HR to help share updates about broader cultural themes, such as sustainability or ethical practices, and to encourage dialogue about what these shifts might mean in the workplace.

In some companies, groups or forums focused on culture, values, or inclusion collaborate with HR to support these conversations, though the approach varies widely depending on organisational goals and structures.

Solving the ‘productivity paradox’

You might also be aware of the ‘productivity paradox’, where despite employee engagement, employee experience , and wellbeing interventions being higher than ever, businesses are still struggling to increase their employee productivity. Thanks to some of the new developments in HR, you might be able to finally address this issue.

Using data analytics can help you to spot skills gaps in your business which may be leading to bottlenecks, for example. That way, you can work to design talent pools which prioritise the hiring of candidates with these skills, as well as developing these skills through upskilling programmes with your current employees.

Spotting productivity weak points using data analytics

One of the key areas that HR teams will be looking at in order to address the productivity paradox in the coming year is by reducing bottlenecks, and using data analysis in order to spot the reasons behind why employees are not as productive as they could be. After all, productivity is not simply a case of working hard – it is about finding the most efficient solutions.

Streamlining workflows with the help of automation

That’s where automated technology can also be useful – by making sure that repetitive tasks are completed by computer programmes, freeing up valuable time that your staff can spend on tasks which require a more human approach, such as certain customer services, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.

Developing a successful global strategy

As more teams work remotely or communicate with each other on a global scale, developing a successful global strategy is becoming a top priority of your HR team. Why does your global strategy matter to your HR team? With the help of human resources technology, you can store all of your employee data in one secure place, meaning that you can access it at all times regardless of where they are in the world, while also making sure that their data is safe from cybercriminals.

Furthermore, by automating your employee payrolls and benefits management systems, it means that both you and your employees can easily access this information wherever they are based in the world. By encouraging your HR team to take a paperless approach, therefore, it becomes much easier to manage your globalised workforce.

With these top HR trends in mind, we hope that you’ll enter 2024 confident about solving some of the HR issues that you had in 2023, such as productivity bottlenecks, questions around diversity and inclusion, identifying opportunities to bridge skills gaps, and more. Embracing new HR technology can also lead to you streamlining processes and reducing human error with the help of automation and generative AI.