The desire to be “strategic” has engulfed many HR departments. Usually, what it means by this is the deployment of professional knowledge and skills, working with managers, to do things that will improve the organization in some way.
It is critical for the head of the HR department to be involved in the daily running of the management board in the organizational structure of a company, but it still does not guarantee that human resources and the subjects most closely related to it will be treated seriously in the company.
Your role as the head of Human Resources needs to be undertaken with the utmost care. Often pushed to the background, because it has little to do with strategy or financial results, is the staff. As Human Resource departments, we want to be taken seriously, we want to take an active part in key business processes, and we are still too rarely invited. In my opinion, the fault may be yours.
The Place of HR in Companies
Let’s start with the basics. What is the place of HR in companies? The role of the Human Resource department is to build bridges between the needs of employees and the company’s business needs. Unfortunately, many HR department employees forget either one or the other part of this mechanism. As much as being employed by HR requires several years of experience, it is forgotten that the core value of the company is people and that they must be specially taken care of.
In companies where the employee is not of primary concern, HR ceases to be of strategic business importance and becomes only a personnel service provider. A mature and experienced Human Resource manager is well prepared to reliably support an organization and build added value for the company. It is made up of people who are both business-conscious and psychologically committed to understanding the way workers coexist in a labor environment. Its focus is on people’s functionality (especially in terms of their commitment and motivation to work).
Where HR is not prepared for both of these areas, it is either relegated to the background, or the organizational culture becomes lame.
Equipping and Empowerment
HR to rise to today’s opportunity must invest more effort in making sure that employees are equipped and empowered to help their company achieve its objectives. As such, Human Resources departments have to come up not only with a solid Human Resource strategy but also with innovative HR initiatives to support this initiative.
Let’s have a look at a few HR initiative examples that inspire staff in their work.
Progression
The only way isn’t necessarily up. You need to develop a progression framework that’s based on the principle that the only path to progression isn’t just management. Employees can, therefore, be on different tracks:
- A technical track, designed for engineers
- A managerial track, meant for employees who aspire to become managers
Hybrid Workplace Design
Employees all over the world are returning to the office, often a lot less than before, and many of them are using the office space differently too.
Personalization
Personalizing on-the-go learning through technology. The goal behind this initiative is to deliver a more personalized, digital experience for associates through purposeful, bite-sized training that enables them to learn and grow in a fun and engaging way. The innovative element here lies in the personalized approach. While we’ve been talking about personalized experiences for some time already, much too often still, companies have a one-size-fits-all approach to learning which just doesn’t cut it in a changing environment.
Bridging the Gap
Human Resource Management needs to help bridge the gap between employees ‘performance and the organization’s strategic objectives. Moreover, an efficient HR management team can give firms an edge over their competition. One of the main roles of the HR team is to make the workplace optimal for employee productivity. A positive work environment gives employees the confidence to speak up about issues that are upsetting them.
Investing in Employee-Related Policies
Another important role of the HR office is framing employee-related policies. Human Resource policies do more than just help businesses comply with federal employment and labor laws. They also provide a framework for implementing employment-related processes, such as how to manage workplace harassment. The guidelines for forming these policies are set by law, upper management, and the HR team. For new employees, the Human Resource department is their first point of contact.
New hires are introduced to their team and assist with initial documentation and paperwork. HR also manages ad hoc employee requests, such as applying for a long leave of absence. Further, the HR department trains employees on company policies to make them aware of the benefits available to them and the type of behavior expected at the workplace.
Technology and Human Workforce in Coexistence
Human Resource departments today have a responsibility to plan for a future of technology and humans working together to accomplish business goals. People analytics is one of the key HR trends for the future and is surely going to stay for a long.
Analytics empowers the leadership to efficiently analyze workforce data and helps businesses optimize their productivity. Today, the majority of organizations are using analytics for making informed decisions in areas of managing employee retention risks, improving engagement, managing HR costs, and more.
The rise of HR technology and cloud HR solutions has made it possible to leverage people’s analytics. It has also helped in transforming HR practices. The future of human resources will include using data to make strategic decisions when it comes to workforce planning. HR analytics software is built to collect, process, and analyze data from all of the moving parts within your HR tech stack.
Integration of Culture
In the future, workplaces will have a mix of employees from 5 different generations, varying from traditionalists to Generation Z. Identifying the ways to manage a multi-generational workforce and minimizing their differences is going to be one of the prominent HR trends. The traditionalists are said to be less tech-savvy and place less emphasis on career advancement opportunities.
On the other hand, millennials and generation Z are more likely to prefer companies with better growth opportunities and digital work environments. Hence, in the coming year, managing the multigenerational workforce could be a challenge for organizations. Avoiding stereotypes, getting actively involved with people, and encouraging frequent interactions are thus a few ways to manage this workforce better.
Most importantly, HR professionals need to understand the behavior, mindset, and expectations of the multi-generational workforce, and provide suitable solutions accordingly!
Priorities are going to change! Hence, now is the right time for HR professionals to stay prepared and embrace the emerging future HR trends. Employers need to rethink their strategies in light of COVID-19 and follow global HR trends for the future. Through this post, BizBuzz encourages HR professionals and the leadership to follow the latest HR trends and adopt the best HR practices. The future HR trends will certainly help your organization transform into a better workplace. Get in touch with us today so that you can share your expertise on the latest trends in the HR management industry and more.
