The Human Resources department is crucial for an organization’s growth. The HR department dictates the work environment and manages the workforce. Additionally, it also engages in hiring talented professionals for the organization. They have to build a talent pipeline and keep an eye out for skilled professionals. Workforce management is no cakewalk either. HR has to constantly evaluate employee performance and manage their attendance and leaves.
Also, HR is supposed to train existing employees and upgrade their skills according to the changing standards. Therefore, HR cannot work in archaic ways. They have to tweak their methods to suit modern needs and demands. We must not forget the role of global digitization in molding new HR trends. Offices are now working remotely via digital medium. Hence, HR has to come up with new ways to manage the workforce and recruitment processes virtually. Keeping this in mind, let’s look at top HR trends in 2024.
Remote working is the future
2020 saw some drastic development in the corporate workforce. Companies had to come up with ways to continue their operations while following all the Covid norms. Hence, the idea of remote working through collaborative software was introduced.
People began working from home. And while there were a few hindrances initially, offices adapted to them quickly and resolved all the technical issues. This paved the way for efficient online working.
Organizations today are more than capable of managing their employees and projects online. Now, remote working means that businesses won’t have to pay hefty rents and electricity bills.
The resource preservation maximized profits, and most offices have decided to continue their operations online. Also, the world is still not completely out of the pandemic, so we can expect remote working to be the future of industries.
Investment in digital media
Work from home requires sophisticated digital tools and data protection policies. Businesses have realized the potential of a hybrid work atmosphere, and they are now willing to invest hefty amounts in collaborative tools and software. The challenge here is training. Even if businesses decide to introduce new tools and software in their ecosystem, they cannot expect their employees to get the hang of it immediately.
This is where HR steps in. One of the primary responsibilities of Core HR in 2024 has been to train its workforce according to the changing times. Improper use of technology would lead to blunders and project faults.
Additionally, organizations are ready to invest heavily in communication tools to promote a hybrid work atmosphere. Hybrid here means that employees that are not needed physically, such as developers, financial teams etc., can choose to stay at home.
On the other hand, employees who are needed in the field will come to the office. Here, strong communication between the employees is crucial. Therefore, investment in new applications and software that promote a hybrid work environment has been one of the top trends in 2024.
Employee experience redefined
Physical offices provided in-person input to the employees, which developed a strong connection with the leadership. Discussion of ideas and inputs was very easy, and employees could feel more involved.
However, the pandemic completely transformed the way we look at professional relationships. One of the major challenges has been a vacuum in productive dialogue. Also, staying at home doesn’t always mean good.
It puts a great deal of pressure on the mind and the will to work. Here, online assessment tools have been helpful for HR. Constant surveying and establishing strong connections with employees have led to increased productivity.
HRs are now given the task to design virtual programs and forms that could give an insight into an employee’s mind. Companies that have invested in employee communication have experienced growth in their resources. On the other hand, companies that did not pay attention to the dialogues are now experiencing backlash.
Mental health has been the top priority
Pandemic took some major toll on people’s health and not just physically. People got bored in their homes and felt the need to get out desperately. Not to forget — the persistent domestic issues.
Mental health issues severely affected the employees’ work efficiency. Hence, HR was given the task to organize virtual programs where they had to reassure their employees that their mental health was a top priority.
Collaborating with other institutions to design seminars and presentations regarding mental health has been the key. Bringing in virtual counselors for individual sessions has also been in trend.
Data is the new currency
Data has been at the forefront of affairs in digital globalization. Employee data management has been one of the primary tasks of the HR department. Organizing an online record management method via Lanteria.com is one of the primary tasks of HR.
Data helps in statistical analysis and report preparation. This gives the organization and insight into their workforce. Therefore, data is the new currency for HR in 2024.
Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity
Rest assured numerous queries searching on insights for workforce diversity has enhanced by nearly 74% in 2024. It has been relatively higher to what was in 2019. Several companies have recognized the effect of different teams on team morale, profitability, and business innovations. Numerous companies offering a higher diverse workforce reported approximately 19% increase in revenues compared to companies having significantly low diversity.
Find below a few HR trends associated with equity, inclusion, and diversity you should expect to observe in the year 2024.
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Redefining the hiring strategy
The initial step to ensure a relatively diverse workforce would be inclusive of blind hiring processes, diversity sourcing, and candidate screening powered by AI. These common techniques for recruiting a candidate would assist the HR executives in building different teams.
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Initiatives in education
Consider initiating anti-bias training for the employees, as done by Starbucks in Canada and the US. It assisted them in curbing biased attitude towards ethnicity and race.
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Accountability and analytics
Rest assured people analytics would be useful in setting SMART diversity goals, creating an inclusive workplace, and measuring the efforts of HR. Using the automated tools for diversity, the HR executives would determine the various diversity ratios in the company to come across various opportunities for improving the actionable data with you.
