According to a new report by Grand View Research Inc. the global HR industry is projected to reach US $30 Billion by 2025. The HR industry is witnessing lot of development, including the development due to the increased adoption of technology in the hiring process. This can also be attributed to the smart use of people analytics in the hiring process and the software systems that assist in making the HR team’s life easier.

Increased cloud deployment across all industries is expected to increase the demand for HRM solutions in the coming months. Organizations will be using cloud technology for fulfilling modern HR functions at reasonable prices without the headache of maintaining on-premise technology infrastructure.

But the growth in the industry will not be without its fair share of challenges. One such challenge is managing the rise of virtual/remote workforce. We will try to find out an answer to that in the form of statistics.

In this infographic we discuss the above and all other trends that are sweeping the HR industry, so that you have a better idea of where the industry is headed.

Let’s dive in!

1. Changing demographics of the workforce

With the emergence of Millennials in the workforce and the baby boomers already staying on the job longer there are four different generations that are working in the workplace: Silents, baby boomers, Generation X and Generation Y (Millennials). This makes it very important for HR managers to balance their needs from hiring and training to retirement and benefit packages.

2. Continuous performance reviews will become a norm

There is a growing debate amongst HR personnels about the effectiveness of an annual performance review. Generally, it has been observed that there has been a dip in the employees’ performance once the review is done and dusted. This makes the case for organizations to move towards continuous performance reviews. It enables the managers to conduct meetings with the staff on a regular basis (bi-weekly basis) rather than evaluating the performance of the employee on a yearly basis. This can have huge benefits when Millennials are working in your organization.

3. Freedom for employees to work from home

Employees in this current competitive recruitment field are finding strict schedules to follow and requiring to work in the office a major restriction that hampers their productivity. Expect HR personnels to allow flexible schedules and work from home options to employees in the coming months. With the advantage of technology, it is possible for the employees to remain in contact through emails and innovative tools which assist sharing and collaborating. So, there is no need to make employees stay at work place when the ultimate objective is high quality output. Flexibility can also assist in providing proper work-life balance to the employees.

4. The emergence of blended workforce

On top of already increasing number of employees opting to work remotely, there is a growth of freelancers or contracted employees. This has lead to the emergence of a blended workforce combining on-site and remote employees working in conjunction with these so called gig workers. The major challenge for the HR personnel would be to find ways to assist this blended workforce to communicate effectively with each other so that the values of the corporate culture can be passed on to those who are not in the office for a long period of time.

5. Sexual harassment policies coming under the scanner

During the past year, there have been several corporate scandals that have sent shockwaves throughout the business world. This has led for HR managers to increase their scrutiny towards sexual harassment policies. It is the responsibility of the HR to ensure that every employee who joins the organization irrespective of their gender, race and belief should be treated fairly and respectfully in the workplace. Create safe and ethical working environment by ensuring that the policy is being followed at all the levels of the organizational hierarchy.

6. Health savings account (HSA) will become more prevalent

During the current year, expect organizations to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage to their employees by opening a health savings account. This type of plan has lots of benefits for employees. It can become a tax-free retirement saving resource for the employee. HR professionals need to promote their employees to take maximum advantage of this health insurance coverage.

7. Wellness benefits for employees will get a boost

In 2018, organizations are going to invest in health insurance and other types of employee benefits. The one category that will experience an uplift is wellness. Wellness here represent more than eating healthy and being in shape. It is also about the mental and financial wellbeing of the employees.

8. Conducting pre-employment background checks that is driven to enrich the candidate experience

During the current year, you can expect HR professionals to avail of background screening services wisely by taking into consideration their accreditations, compliance standards and turnaround time. Remember, the key is to ensure that you do not lose out on great talent and provide valuable feedback to the candidate at the quickest possible time, which will aid in enriching the candidate experience during the hiring process.

9. Mobile will be the key to success for the HR

With the emergence of Millennials coupled with the increase in the smartphone ownership and connected devices, more and more organizations are going to use mobile optimized tools to communicate with their workforce. This makes it highly imperative for the HR to get acquainted with the mobile technology. It will help them to get invaluable information pertaining to the employees. They can hear the queries from the employees and try to increase their engagement with the organization. It also assists HR to attract potential candidates anytime, anywhere.

10. Gradual shift towards cloud-based applications

HR professionals will gradually shift towards user-friendly, cloud-based solutions that assist them to manage the different tasks from recruitment to talent management easily. With the help of cloud-based solutions, HR will be able to store large volume of data with the advantage of security and accessibility. These applications being very low maintenance will assist recruiters in delivering a much higher net ROI.

11. Use of blockchain technology to carry out essential HR functions

Blockchain is one of the emerging technologies in the business domain which will be used to carry out essential HR functions in the coming months. With the help of this technology, human resource professionals will be able to decentralize documentation, aid legal documentation, speed up data processing and manage employee payment effortlessly. The most exciting part is that it can be used as a part of the compensation for international employees making it less expensive and quicker to operate.

12. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will make the task of HR professionals easier

With the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning in HR, all the activities conducted by the HR will yield swifter, smarter and more responsive results. Many people would be of the opinion that involving machines in the human resources department will reduce the human element and personalization factor. But, on the contrary, it will assist HR professionals to take a more humane approach and personalize their tasks starting from recruitment to employee engagement and education. Artificial Intelligence tools will be the worthy companion and will assist humans and make the HR process more efficient.

Five Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in HR

Mya systems have developed a recruiter chatbot, named, Mya. The bot uses artificial intelligence to communicate and interact with job seekers.
Relink is a Copenhagen based startup that sells APIs for screening and matching candidates. These APIs use machine learning to identify different patterns in CVs and accordingly match them to a particular job.
Hiringsolved has developed an AI powered advanced “talent matching and search” technology called Talentfeed. Talentfeed analyzes billions of data points across the social web to come up with a pool of talent along with data of their skills, experience and more.
Powered by machine learning and Natural Language Processing, Textio smartly analyzes millions of job postings and recruiting outcomes to recognize the patterns that result in some posts getting greater success than others in terms of applies.
The Hirevue Video Intelligence platform aims to speed up the recruitment process by reducing reliance on CV and combining video interviews with predictive, reliable I-O science and artificial intelligence.

13. Virtual and augmented reality will streamline HR functions

Virtual and augmented reality will smoothen the HR functions by giving a new dimension to the recruitment process. It will assist HR professionals to evaluate the candidates’ reactions under specific circumstances. The onboarding process of the new employees will also get an impetus by providing a virtual tour of the organization or imparting training to them from virtual colleagues.

Practical application of virtual reality in HR

1. Simtars in Australia has made their induction training in safety more interactive with virtual reality technology.
2. The British Army has created a series of virtual reality experiences for new recruits, including a mission in a Challenger 2 tank. It uses reality technology in recruitment to actually access candidates in the virtual reality work situations.
3. Boeing is employing virtual reality for training of pilots giving them a real feel of what the cockpit is like by sitting in an office cubicle.

14. Big data will come to the rescue of HR professionals

Big data is all about collection of huge chunks of information about how, when and where people work at their best and their worst. The HR department then needs to make sense of the data and derive valuable insights. Through big data, HR professionals will be able to strategize and assist employees to cope up with the workload, get the most out of their work and provide life and work satisfaction.

 

15. Gamification in HR is on the rise

Gamification is still at an infancy stage when it comes to its adoption in the HR industry. But it has the potential of being used by HR professionals to drive engagement and improve the retention of learning material. This trend is likely to grow as more and more HR professionals give more importance to employee experience.

16. Growing challenges in managing remote teams

Remote working or working from home will be one of the biggest transformations in the workplace which most HR professionals have to deal with. There are lot of collaborative software launches or new technologies for video conferencing coming up which assist employees to work from remote locations. According to some estimates there will be more than a billion people who will start working virtually in the next couple of years.

But there are certain questions in the minds of HR leaders when it comes to supporting these so called virtual teams.

1. How would we deal with the implementation of training across cultures, languages and oceans?
2. How can we prepare the managers to lead and manage a team that are located remotely?
3. What is the best way to deal with the issues concerning accountability, mentorship, succession planning, conflict resolution and mentorship?

 

Data Sources

CNBC: Here’s How Millennials Feel About the Next Generation Entering the Workforce

Executive Summary Preparing for an Aging Workforce

The Real Impact of Removing Performance Ratings on Employee Performance

Performance Reviews Drive One in Four Millennials to Search for a New Job or Call in Sick

Gig Work, Online Selling, and Home Sharing

10 human resources trends to watch in 2018

REMAINING COMPETITIVE IN A CHALLENGING TALENT MARKETPLACE

Nearly 2 in 5 Employers Have Lost a Job Candidate Because of a Poor Experience with Their Background Check Process

9 in 10 Job Seekers to Search for Jobs via Mobile; Glassdoor State of Mobile Job Search Survey

What’s now and what’s next in human resources technology

Damned Statistics: The relationship between HR analytics, ROI and how HR can get a seat at the table

10 Workplace Trends You’ll See In 2017