There are fads and lasting trends. The pandemic years witnessed both. Now we are in 2023, the time’s ripe to take stock of the HR tech trends that are making headlines. In all probability, many or all of the below are here to stay!
Remote & Hybrid Work Solutions
The pandemic made remote and hybrid work the normal ways of working. Although these concepts are not new, some companies might still find employee management, communication, and engagement challenging in these models.
Ensuring the right mix of tools is an ideal way to help HR teams stay seamlessly connected with the workforce. The choice of tools depends on the IT budget, company size, spread, tech savviness, and more.
Therefore, it would make business sense to go for a platform with all or most options. If that’s not possible, it’s prudent to look for tools that can be integrated into the existing system. The idea here is to reduce the number of tools and maximize the RoI.
Automation & Robotics
HR operations have a lot of repetitive tasks. Many of them are still performed manually or with the aid of spreadsheets. This results in a lot of time and resource wastage besides delays and errors. There are smarter ways to expedite HR Tech tools and processes without compromising the quality of employee experience and productivity.
When processes are streamlined with automation tools, these issues are weeded out. Human intervention is also minimized so that HR can focus on other value-added tasks. Chatbots are taking over repetitive tasks. AI is making them a lot more human so that the conversations don’t appear robotic. All of this, HR Tech is expected to enhance the employee experience and speed of issue resolution.
Digital Learning & Development
Traditional classroom-based learning was known for its effective procedures and emotional engagements thanks to the high degree of discipline enforced by the trainers. Everything changed when remote work suddenly became a compulsion. Some companies adapted seamlessly, while others still needed to catch up.
Cloud-based learning management systems have made learning more convenient for employees. Self-learning has become a trend with anytime, anywhere access to courses, even on mobile phones. Instructor-led classes have become more efficient with modern communication tools for video conferencing and webinars. In short, L&D technologies will continue to witness a sea change in 2023.
AI & People Analytics
It’s not easy for every HR person to gauge the sentiments of all their employees all the time. But the failure to do so can affect the productivity and loyalty of employees across the organization. Unless HR has the right data, they can’t make informed decisions for the benefit of their employees and management.
AI&ML-powered data analytics has come of age. HR can now dig into employee data and draw the right insights for making decisions, launching policies, and influencing leaders. Whether it is for workforce planning, identifying employees who are likely to leave, or knowing the reasons for performance drops, more insightful dashboards, and reports are here to assist.
Employee Self Service (ESS)
Today’s HR is always tasked with answering simple and repetitive queries. These tasks drain a lot of their time and energy. On the other hand, employees can get frustrated with delayed responses and errors in documentation.
Nowadays, cloud-based HRMS platforms feature an employee self-service (ESS) facility. An ESS enables employees to access information from anywhere, perform HR tasks and reach out for support. When employees are empowered, HR can heave a sigh of relief!
Cloud-based HR Software
HR, payroll and compliance-related tasks were performed manually or with on-premise software. While the former slows down processes, the latter has limitations in terms of scalability, safety and affordability.
A modern cloud-based HRMS can add simplicity, speed and efficiency to all these tasks by streamlining and automating them. Besides the benefit of anywhere access and easy scalability, such a platform helps HR manage information, activities and communication from one place.
Final Thoughts
HR has evolved a lot in recent years. More so during the Covid disruption. They did all the heavy lifting. But it would have been a real ordeal without the aid of technology. Now that HR is expected to think beyond operations, they need to hand over mundane tasks to fast machines.
HR and their leaders also need to keep abreast of emerging trends in order to retain their edge in 2023 and beyond. In the coming days, HR transformation will go hand in hand with technological innovation.
