Think again if you believe COVID-19 and remote working have had no impact on HR. This pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical and mental health of the workforce and redefining workplace technology. Every firm noticed a significant shift in how teams functioned, which resulted in even more drastic alterations in HR trends. The sector had to sweep the traditional style of working out of actual office buildings during the lockdown. HR software experts were critical in keeping employees motivated, productive, and engaged when working from home.
In the year 2020, a lot has changed. The COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on how businesses operate, ranging from commuting limits to staying home in isolation. It is expected to continue for some time. As a result, new HR trends and strategies will be heavily impacted and adaptive to the new normal, allowing organizations to rebuild, reinvent, and be resilient in the workplace.
Thanks to technology and the rise of remote work, job seekers now have access to a wider range of opportunities beyond their immediate geographic area, making it easier to find by typing jobs hiring near me now and working from the comfort of their own places.
- Blind hiring creates diversity
To battle concerns about a lack of diversity among employees, some HR professionals employ hiring tools to eliminate bias based on gender, age, and other factors. This is often referred to as blind hiring. The purpose of blind hiring is to hire candidates solely based on their qualifications for the job.
How does a corporation go about implementing blind hiring? It might begin with modest steps such as requiring candidates to remove their names from resumes and job applications before submitting them. Managers are unable to recognize their gender or ethnicity in this manner, which leads to unconscious bias.
Another approach is to have all candidates for an available post complete a test or assessment that assesses their ability in one or more job-related areas. Hiring managers can use these results to pick the best candidate based on performance.
- More learning via the internet
Any time a company can identify new methods to create value by providing new knowledge or skills to its staff, it should take advantage of the chance.
It has become easier to teach personnel and sustain their development within your firm as e-learning platforms, and online learning modules have advanced. The modules can be assigned to individuals, and evaluations may be evaluated automatically, learning becomes more efficient, reducing the need for long group training sessions led by a member of your HR department.
- Overcoming the Obstacles of a More Mobile Workforce
COVID-19 has undoubtedly created much economic uncertainty, leading many people to lose their employment and businesses to rethink their hiring and personnel management strategies.
Employers who hire contract or freelance workers have more freedom in hiring and managing their employees. More companies are raising the number of contract workers they recruit, with 32% replacing full-time staff with contract workers to cut expenses.
The strategic elevation of HR and employee relations will continue
The pandemic of 2020 put HR and employee relations professionals into the spotlight, requiring them to manage remote workers, cope with new health policies, and handle significant workplace transformation.
They will also be in charge of the post-pandemic recovery, deciding who returns to work and devising ways to preserve employees' mental and physical health.
- Employee Participation
The current standard's main difficulty is to achieve inclusivity and harmony. New types of cooperation and processes are handled when personnel goes to a different position. In a remote job setting, in particular, a primary human resources goal would be to establish networked settings that redefine employee experience to instill confidence and emotional intelligence. On a virtual basis, HR must reimagine the trip and analyze the experience of its employees. Small and medium-sized businesses need HR software because HR software is very helpful to every organization.
- New Automation Tools and AI/ML
The pandemic changed the way executives and employees thought about their jobs. HR leaders must also play a part in establishing a stable, secure remote work culture that encompasses all aspects of the recruitment process. This would give applicants additional opportunities for their next or first employment and increased access to talent markets.
Beyond the automation of day-to-day transactions, workforce management is fast evolving. Leaders seek tools that can offer them greater insights and, if possible, make those decisions for them. Artificial intelligence can ensure that the most critical activities are at the front of an employee's self-service dashboard, send out alerts before compliance concerns develop, and automatically fill open shifts based on union rules and staffing requirements. implementing a VDI solution can also help HR leaders provide a seamless, remote work experience for employees and maintain the security of their sensitive data and applications.
- Inclusion and Transparency
Recruiting and onboarding are two examples of activities that have altered dramatically. Both methods have emphasized face-to-face meetings, as well as success tracking and even firing choices. HR must rethink existing activities to solve such situations in a modern setting successfully.
Individual management is transforming as well. Managers find it more difficult to keep an eye on workers who work from home. For HR, holistic workforce management will necessitate complete transparency from all parties. To stay current with transparency, we may need to focus more on technology.
- Employee Observation
Organizations are always looking for strategies to ensure that their staff is as productive as possible. Virtual timekeepers, computer usage trackers, and other tools have been used by businesses to check employee schedule adherence. Employee productivity is tracked using some of these technologies. They use tools to understand employee experience or measure employee involvement in other circumstances.
Data collection will be on the rise in 2021, with the added duty of monitoring remote personnel. HR departments will also collect employee health and safety data. To safeguard employee information and confidentiality, they must adhere to best practices and business policies.
- Customization as standard
This trend, however, will not end when the pandemic ends because, while Covid is the issue of the moment, the challenge next year could be altogether different, necessitating a customized strategy.
In order to adapt to the evolving challenges, businesses must be prepared with a flexible approach that encompasses various aspects, including a well-functioning call off system, allowing them to efficiently manage staffing changes and ensure smooth operations in any future scenarios.
So, how does customized HR technology aid in this situation? a customized solution is an open-technology system, whereas a one-size-fits-all solution is closed. In many circumstances, HR departments are left with duplicated processes that can't be updated and don't involve employees in any meaningful way.
The opposite is true with an open, configurable HR platform. Organizations that embrace this rising trend will be better prepared to react and adapt to changing conditions.
- The bottom line
The HR department has a significant influence on how a company operates and how successful it is. To embrace 2021 and its challenges, HR professionals will need to adopt a completely new viewpoint. It is vital to have an agile and flexible HR system department to assist organizations adapt and grow in any circumstances.
