Anticipating another round of discussions on 2024 HR trends and predictions? Let’s divert the attention from fleeting annual trends and predictions. But rather, delve into the consistent effort and strategic foresight required for the construction and reinforcement of Workplace Resilience. This article takes a proactive approach centered around six fundamental anchors. It is essential to make yearly progress on these pillars to nurture a resilient workplace. This blog explores the specific highlights demanding to achieve organizational robustness: Employee Autonomy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Change Management, Management Development, Internal Mobility, and Business Acumen. These priorities act as guiding principles for Human Resources Operations leaders, steering them toward sustainable success and workplace resilience.
Employee Autonomy
In the modern workplace, optimizing productivity relies on three essential pillars of employee autonomy: knowledge, engagement, and communication. The journey begins with a well-crafted onboarding (6) process led by HR professionals, establishing a positive relationship between employees and the organization. Employers must empower new hires from day one, providing the tools and knowledge for autonomous role navigation, instilling confidence in their contributions and faith in the company’s success. This strategic investment pays dividends as onboarding extends beyond the initial experience, encompassing re-boarding moments like mergers, acquisitions, promotions, staff reductions, and mobility transitions.
The emergence of people operations, a strategic function reporting into the CHRO, plays a pivotal role in fostering transparency and engagement. HR bears the responsibility of keeping employees informed (6) and engaged, crucial in the changing landscape of remote and hybrid work. By connecting policies, procedures, FAQs, and employee interactions, HR operations create a compliant, consistent, and accurate support experience.
Transparent communication is paramount, as its absence risks breeding dissatisfaction, confusion, and disengagement. Thus, HR and management must collaboratively share updates and provide avenues for employee feedback to maintain a cohesive and informed work culture.
As organizations grow, so does communication complexity. In larger organizations, human resource management and internal communications teams align efforts across facets like onboarding, retention, communications, engagement, experience, safety culture, crisis management, and training (6). A harmonized approach is vital for a comprehensive internal communications strategy that goes beyond information dissemination. Leaders must recognize HR Operations’ central role in designing, measuring, and evaluating proactive workplace policies, fostering a culture of engagement crucial for organizational growth and sustainability.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for HR Operations
The integration of AI (1) (4) and technology emerges as a pivotal force in shaping the future HR / People Operations. Most acutely aware of the transformative potential that AI holds, and in the coming year, their priorities will center around experimentation and adopting AI responsibly. As technology becomes deeply ingrained in HR practices, a focus on governance, ethics, and transparency will be paramount.
Addressing concerns related to data privacy, algorithmic bias, and employee trust is crucial to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI in HR — and employee adoption of these innovative technologies.
As 2024 progresses, attention will increasingly turn towards robotic process automation (RPA) in HR (7). The incorporation of RPA is reducing the burden of routine tasks, providing HR teams with the bandwidth to focus on strategic initiatives. With an anticipated 10%-15% increase in productivity, the refined integration of AI and RPA presents a powerful tool for optimizing workforce management and elevating the employee experience to new heights.
In the realm of decision-making, AI is empowering HR Operations with people analytics, driving data-driven insights across talent acquisition, performance management, and employee engagement. The synergy between HR Operations and business intelligence groups is strengthening, ensuring that selected solutions possess robust reporting and analytics capabilities. The collective challenge lies in balancing the potential benefits with ethical considerations, recognizing the pivotal role of HR in shaping a resilient and adaptive workplace for the future.
Change Management
The rapid pace of technological advancements, shifting market dynamics, and evolving employee expectations require effective change management strategies to drive successful transformations. The volume and pace of change can overwhelm employees, leading to change fatigue and potential negative impacts on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. HR professionals will be focused on planning for change fatigue risks and building fatigue management into their change management strategies. By proactively addressing the challenges associated with continuous change, HR professionals can help employees navigate transitions more effectively and maintain a positive employee experience. Trust is a crucial element in change management. Gartner’s survey shows that about 50% of employees (3) trust their organizations. HR professionals need to communicate clearly, involve employees in decision-making, and provide resources to help employees adapt to new ways of working to achieve trust.
Management Development and Effectiveness
Managers are grappling with increasing workloads and responsibilities, leading to burnout and reduced effectiveness. A survey conducted by Gartner reveals that 76% of HR leaders (3) recognize the overwhelming nature of managers’ job responsibilities. Heavy workload hampers personal well-being and change leadership, noted by 73% of HR leaders. To address this challenge, HR professionals are rethinking traditional manager training programs. Shift focus from more training to redefining manager expectations, fostering a supportive environment for thriving. HR will rebuild the manager pipeline, prioritizing those interested in roles and eliminating process roadblocks.
Internal Mobility
According to Mercer’s 2022/2023 Workforce Movement survey, 77% (5) of employers report difficulty finding needed talent. This highlights the importance of effective talent management strategies to attract, develop, and keep top talent. HR professionals are focusing on internal mobility to tap into the existing talent pool within the organization. Organizations can keep talented employees by offering opportunities to grow and advance. This creates a culture of continuous learning and development. Skills development is a critical component of talent management and internal mobility. The World Economic Forum‘s (2) report urges learning new skills as others become obsolete. HR professionals will prioritize skills development initiatives so employees have the necessary capabilities to thrive in the future workplace.
HR shapes adaptive careers aligning with business and employees’ goals, interests, and skills through skill-focused strategies.
Business Acumen Alignment With HR Operations
HR is evolving toward an outcome-focused approach, recognizing the need for business acumen. Aligning strategies with broader business goals is crucial, shifting the focus from activities to desired outcomes. HR professionals must define goals, align initiatives, and use data for informed decision-making. This demonstrates HR’s value through contributions to revenue growth, cost savings, and employee productivity. Data embrace strengthens HR, revealing workforce trends, driving improvements, and proving initiative impact, amplifying strategic HR value.
In the coming year, seize chances to advance the 6 HR/People Ops priorities for Workplace Resilience. Keep your ears to the ground around the macro economic, innovation and business-centric forces shaping 2024. Forge an HR/People Ops that’s future-focused, data-driven, agile, and experimental for immediate action.
ABOUT CO-AUTHORS
Bennett Sung
Working in HR / Work / and Recruiting Tech for 17+ years, Bennett collaborates with leading solution providers (including ADP/VirtualEdge, Bullhorn/Jobscience, Koru/Cappfinity, AllyO/HireVue, Humanly, and now MeBeBot) on their brand strategy, branding activation and demand generations.
Mindy Honcoop
Mindy Honcoop is an experienced People Leader and HR advisor for Care.com, Spiceworks Ziff Davis, HomeAway.com, Blackbaud, and Expedia.
SOURCES:
(1) https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-talent-management/articles/hr-trends-2024
(2) https://www.weforum.org/press/2023/04/future-of-jobs-report-2023-up-to-a-quarter-of-jobs-expected-to-change-in-next-five-years/
(3) https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/where-hr-will-focus-in-2024
(4) https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2023/11/21/the-top-5-hr-trends-for-2024/
(5) https://www.mercer.com/en-au/insights/talent-and-transformation/attracting-and-retaining-talent/5-hr-trends-for-2024-what-can-you-do-to-stay-ahead/
(6) https://www.selectsoftwarereviews.com/blog/hr-functions
(7) https://hrexecutive.com/3-hr-transformation-trends-from-2023-and-1-bold-prediction-for-next-year/