Human Resources, as the name suggests, is all about the people. But just because that’s what it entails, does it mean we must keep this area away from technology? No, it’s the complete opposite.
It might even mean we’ll begin using robots to discover and hire new employees. Not likely in the very near future, but highly probable, with robots in recruitment already existing.
Technology is critical in attracting and retaining talents, with automation and AI being a small part of the latest tech innovations developed in HR. And because HR has its own trends, as with other departments and industries, it will help if you stay updated with them.
Let’s take a look at the HR tech trends you should be looking into this year.
The Top HR Tech Trends of 2022
What is the next big thing when it comes to HR tech? We’ve got soft skill management, artificial intelligence, payroll automation, and so much more.
Yes, there’s a lot, and it can get quite confusing. To make it easier to understand, we’re narrowing down all the relevant trends, with these trends being able to influence your company heavily if it hasn’t yet!
Check out these top HR tech trends you’ll start seeing more of in the near future, some of which you should probably adopt in your organization:
Remote Teams
Having a remote team is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, trends that are taking industries by storm recently. Studies are showing that remote work isn’t an exception and is making its way to becoming a norm worldwide.
There are even companies that focus more on hiring remote employees. Remote work has become a sought-after employee perk, though it’s also an administrative challenge, especially with employees in different time zones. Furthermore, employers need to know how to ensure all employees receive equal development and learning opportunities.
That said, remote work opportunities provide employers the chance to find and hire talents that we once considered inaccessible due to logistics. Furthermore, there are now new technologies that offer solutions to many remote work issues, with the goal of bringing teams together despite the distance.
For instance, there are collaborative project management tools and messenger suites like Trello or Slack. There are also cloud-based HR platforms, so no one has to worry about location and distance.
Technology helps make sure all teams remain connected and productive. Even big companies like Facebook are looking into the sever-growing remote work market, along with software companies taking advantage of such fields.
With many HR tech tools and remote work platforms that create virtual coworking spaces, organizations can beat procrastination and have their employees utilize their skills, making the overall remote work experience less lonely. Even VR conferencing tools replace the usual video calls, the current expected form of communication in remote teams.
Remote work has changed the game in recruiters and hiring managers, as there’s a wider pool to choose from. That’s why it’s best to utilize practical tools to discover and contact star applicants. You can find websites connecting employers with suitable job applicants and prospective employees, which is now becoming more popular for a more straightforward process.
Cloud-Based HR
When an organization has remote teams, the HR department is most likely remote as well. That’s where cloud-based HR platforms come in, which we consider the future of resource management and one of the biggest HR tech trends!
You can find numerous HR platforms ready to install and utilize, with many of them having all the features you need in one platform. Such tools can integrate the different core aspects of HR management such as time management, benefits, payroll, collaborative software, and onboarding.
Using these tools is now becoming the norm in many HR departments worldwide because of its scalability that benefits fast-growing organizations. HR professionals can work with real-time data, receiving all the information required to complete their jobs.
Plus, some tools help HR departments adopt an employee self-service model, so employees have more control of their benefits, tasks, and data. At the same time, the higher-ups can evaluate their employees’ productivity and engagement. That way, not only does HR benefit, but these tools can also support managers and employees.
Employee Wellness
Employee wellness has a massive impact on companies as a whole, especially in terms of job performance and team productivity. That’s why it comes to no surprise that many projects are focusing on employee wellness, particularly on mental health.
Managers are implementing measures to prevent burnout in employees, taking care of their physical and mental health. Because of this, organizations experience better employee retention rates.
That’s why HR departments will begin seeing much more personalized health and wellness platforms powered with employee data. Such platforms that use gamification and wearables will keep growing, but there’s a notable shift towards focusing on employees’ mental health.
With staggering high numbers of people who have a mental disorder, organizations are beginning to understand what poor mental health can do to one’s job performance. Online solutions address these concerns with tools that provide digital cognitive-behavioral therapy tools for users to learn how to manage their stress and anxiety.
Besides remote work opportunities, another significant factor influencing an employee’s well-being is improving his personal well-being and achieving an excellent work-life balance.
Employer Branding
For a long time, organizations have been utilizing social media to enhance the image and reputation of the present to current and future employees. Recruiters even agree that the organization’s brand and reputation significantly impact the recruitment process and bottom line, which reduces the cost-per-hire while bringing in more suitable job applicants.
This won’t be one of the short-term HR tech trends. HR departments need to focus on employer branding if it requires sprucing up.
HR tech can help here by using company review websites and job boards, along with career websites with HR tools and software for social media. You can also avail yourself of hyper-targeted social media advertisements with open job offers and real employee stories.
Enhanced Recruiting Experiences
Technology continues to transform the recruitment lifecycle, with everything going digital. You’ve got resumes sent via email, interviews conducted through video conferencing, and hiring managers using online tools for shaping the ultimate candidate experience.
HR departments are focusing more on the experience of employees and candidates. One crucial development we see in HR is the candidate experience platform. These tools provide employees and outside talent the chance to connect and converse.
Creating a seamless candidate experience can help solve recruitment issues, a massive problem among many businesses. Organizations may find trouble looking for qualified candidates to fill open job positions, which benefits employees more than employers. Moreover, it’s getting harder to retain exemplary employees since other companies are wooing them with many other benefits!
And this is where, again, technology comes in to save the day for HR. HE teams can tap new solutions and resources, improving global reach and catering to specific employee needs.
For instance, you can use platforms that reverse the traditional recruitment flow. This time, candidates will browse through the different offers, applying for the ones they find most attractive. From here, employers can take the initiative and contact any registered specialists with the best offer catered for them.
These types of platforms can prevent wasting time while giving both parties the desired results more accessible and faster. As a result, candidates have a much better experience!
One of the other promising HR tech trends teams are looking into is the chatbot. Obviously, the entire hiring process won’t be led by bots (yet?), but skilled hiring managers can make the pace of candidate screening processes more efficient through Artificial Intelligence. Chatbots reduce the time hiring managers would spend replying to candidate applications, thus creating more positive experiences.
Chatbots can either work with or take over augmented analytics and automation platforms during the later stages. Chatbots can help manage communications, set meetings or calls, ask the proper questions, and help move candidates further up in the process. Surprisingly, things are more personalized with chatbots, as hiring managers don’t leave candidates waiting for replies.
Learning and Development
Remote work opportunities are one of the most significant HR tech trends, which is why employee training is shifting to the digital world. This shift allows training programs to benefit from the latest innovations that utilize AI, AR/VR/ and gamification.
Employee training is vital in every organization, and when conducted online, HR departments can use platforms offering personalized and self-paced courses to fit all employees’ individual learning preferences.
Technology provides numerous opportunities for career pathing, creating various career path scenarios depending on the individual employee’s potential. It also identifies any skills and reviews job competencies.
Analytics with Artificial Intelligence
Today, everything is about data, and data management in HR is more important than ever, especially when teams of organizations begin growing.
HR professionals can now take advantage of new tools and technologies, from simple employee feedback platforms down to complex analytics tools. One can find platforms that measure and improve employee engagement, helping HR professionals understand the data and identify what can drive and engage their employees.
Augmented analytics is another notable trend: a data-driven approach, automating insights through natural language generation and machine learning. Experts view augmented analytics tools as user-friendly to view and analyze employee data to produce accurate and deeper insights.
Such tools and platforms combine Artificial Intelligence to analyze large data sets and track crucial metrics or identify any trends. Afterward, with the help of natural language processing technology, such tools will give users the results and findings in a conversational and understandable form that HR professionals can easily digest.
Better Data Security
Not many people receive payroll in actual paper payslips anymore. Those times are almost completely gone with HR tech trends!
Not only should we think of environmental benefits from saving paper, but it also means that going online signals the need to secure sensitive and confidential employee data for the long term.
Because organizations are keeping data in their cloud, starting to use more employee HR self-service platforms, and going through changes in the data protection legislation, it’s become a growing concern for software creators and HR.
It’s the reason why tech vendors must discover and adopt features that all data clients entrust them with are intact and secure. Furthermore, companies must put procedures and systems in place to ensure that all data is processed correctly and managed.
Data security is a definite dominant trend in today’s entire tech industry because HR solutions require reworking to provide people better control over their data.
One technology that experts want to see reshaping this area is blockchain. Organizations can apply blockchain transactions towards virtually anything or everything. Blockchain can keep data safe and secure from personal data and financial details to work history.
We find it interesting to see how much of an impact blockchain and other technologies will have on cybersecurity.
Wrapping It Up
Understandably, some people think HR tech trends and innovations would remove the human element; they would actually do the opposite! Once you look deeper into the excellent capabilities such tools offer organizations in terms of recruitment and personalization; you’ll see how HR tech can help make things even more human throughout the process. How?
It lets HR focus on actual human contact and strategic areas rather than spending time on repetitive tasks that HR tech can handle seamlessly. HR tech isn’t here to replace people, but it helps us create meaningful connections as coworkers and professionals, making jobs more satisfying.
Just make sure that, like with all trends in any industry, you do not follow them blindly. Conduct research and attend HR tech conferences to see how these trends actually benefit you and if it’s really worth the investment based on your organization’s specific needs.
Let us know if you’ve tried any of these HR tech trends and how they have changed HR in your organization! Comment below and share your take on these trends or add more you see fit. Good luck!
