People are the glue that holds any company together. Not everyone is awakened to this truth, but many businesses are taking steps to improve workplace conditions, soak in employee feedback, analyze people data, and implement innovative HR processes.
Technology is the essence around which a new HR ecosystem is emerging. However, tech tools are there to serve people, not the other way around. Reaching success requires more effort than before, but some things never change: continued commitment and investment is the only way to rise to the challenges of modern business and harness the full power of human resources.
Experiencing a profound shift
On the broadest scale, we notice a shift from employee engagement to employee experience.
This trend reflects the rise of the millennial part of the workforce and echoes the principles of transparency that are gaining traction in the digital age. More and more employees are expecting to have a meaningful experience as an ultimate reward for their professional efforts, not just a steady paycheck at the end of the month. Engagement is now just one part of the overall strategy, and often second to culture and performance management.
As a result, business owners and managers are keeping track of employee journey maps and figuring out ways to optimize them. To stay on top of these tasks, they are also incorporating tech solutions such as employee wellness apps, pulse feedback tools, and modern communication platforms. They are downloading HR templates from online resource centers and striving to make the most of all the tools at their disposal. This brings us to the second prominent trend, the digitization of HR.
Data and analytics
Namely, the workplace itself has fully entered the digital age and it encompasses a slew of digital tools of the trade. However, being digital goes beyond just tooling up and downloading apps. Recruitment practices are changing under the influence of machine learning and artificial intelligence as well. Those who are prepared to go the extra mile develop in-house apps that serve as comprehensive resource centers.
In this cyber environment, employees can voice their concerns, make claims, and have their questions answered by chat-bots. Moreover, there is a set of features that enable users to monitor medical data, research lifestyle benefits, and follow internal job postings. All in all, people analytics are no longer a department that only data scientists can grasp and put to good business use.
The field has evolved and became a managerial discipline as well. Consequently, more and more organizations are successfully putting advanced analytics functions and strategies in place. The systems are under constant pressure to handle an ever-growing number of data requests and merge multiple data sources. Centralization of people analytics is taking place and business intelligence advances by leaps and bounds.
Embracing the winds of change
Ultimately, these developments lead to better communication framework. After all, technology holds great potential in terms of empowering us to bridge the gaps between employees, team leaders, and senior management, as well as gaps between different departments. Through it all, one cannot lose sight of governance and all the ways that the security and privacy of data can be preserved.
And at the end of the day, all these technological marvels and complex processes are supposed to produce something simple and tangible: actionable insights that support sound decision making. Flashy data visualization and reporting add true value only when they manage to achieve their goals. It must bring forth increased productivity and contribute to the long-term growth and success.
As for workers themselves, they are witnessing the betterment of workplace conditions and are faced with a greater learning curve attempting to get the hang of digital tools. Finally, it must be noted that the labor market itself is changing and gravitating towards freelance, on-demand, and short-contract work. Traditional career paths are disrupted and there is more competition than ever before. It is clear that one has to learn and adapt in order to be able to navigate this new labor world.
Power to the people
It seems that this year promises to leave a lasting mark on the HR landscape. Business leaders are under pressure to foster a swell employee experience in order to separate their companies from the competition. There is an ocean of people data to process and analyze and the race to digitize and elevate workspace is on.
As these innovations roll out an increasing number of businesses is trying to identify the most cost-effective strategy to step up the HR game. Indeed, it’s time to put people back into focus and let them be a driving force behind the stellar business success in 2018 and beyond.