The pace at which technology at the workplace has been evolving over the decades has genuinely been startling. However, the forces that are emerging are entirely causing new pressures on the companies, irrelevant to their field or domain. Especially with the arrival of the pandemic, instant decisions were made, and the employees were asked to work from home, leading the companies to adapt to new technologies.
According to reports by Gartner, about 68% of C-level executives expressed their acceptance in adapting to the new changes and digital transformation of the workplace since the beginning of the pandemic. With the whole situation, the human resource department was worried about how to handle the employees and seeing to it that the productivity isn’t disturbed. However, the technological tools came in handy and ensured smooth functioning and coordination among the teams.
Moreover, a significant lesson that every department realized was to be agile and prepared for the future. And in expecting the unexpected is becoming too common. In this piece of article, let us discuss a few expectations concerning the human resource department for the future.
The Increasing Importance Of Gig Economy
It has been a while that the gig economy has been around. However, there will be a spike witnessed with the increase in the change of attitude towards work and people wanting to work on their own terms and conditions. It is now that most employers are beginning to realize the need for adapting to a mix of freelancers, contractors, either full-time or part-time workers, etc., would be the best way to achieve the results faster.
It is observed that about 30% of the total workers are gig economy workers, and the human resource executive’s role is to make sure that these diverse workers are brought on a common platform. Along with this, HR also has to see to their management, recruitment, compensation, performance, etc., with the help of the customized tools.
Thus, in the future, the growth of the gig economy is sure to influence the work schedules as well as the benefit schemes at a more considered pace. And because of the increased autonomy of work, employees prefer flexible work arrangements. There is also a prediction of the rise of freelance communities and independent contractors. Therefore, there is a need for the HR executives to understand the shift to maintaining an agile work practice from long-term employment.
The Continuing Impact Of Artificial Intelligence
Initially, it was just a suspicion that Artificial Intelligence will bring about the fourth industrial revolution. But with each passing day and the growing importance of AI, there is no doubt that the above statement is true. According to a report, 22% of companies with high-performing HR departments have already implemented the chatbot processes. And it’s sure to increase in the coming years.
And thus, HR would proceed to deploy technologies with incorporated AI and Machine learning as all those techniques progress and pass more real-world evaluations. However, there is a vast difference in opinions of experts on the growth pace and the way AI will grow beyond its uses in HR currently.
In the growing competition among businesses, data is almost everything, and its importance when it comes to growth is unquestionable. Augmentation of analytics is seen as a user-friendly approach by the experts to produce more profound insights or understandings and to analyze the employee’s data. And in order to identify the trends, track the important metrics, and analyze the employee data, they combine artificial intelligence capabilities.
Thus, we can witness the wide usage of AI to target the talent as well as to answer the raising queries related to HR management. And it’s sure to increase and go through even more remarkable advancements in the coming years. Sooner or later, adopting technology is inevitable. Therefore, it’s advisable to collaborate with the variations in HR digitalization than to compete with it and raise the pressure on the workforce.
The Preference Towards Remote Working
It is clearly witnessed that the pandemic really led to a significant encounter of remote working. As much as it was unexpected, it was well embraced by the common people. However, a few researchers mention that the ultimate reason was that there was no other option left, but still, the statement isn’t wholly reliable.
Although, remote working is a major trend that has come about influencing companies in recent times. In fact, remote working is the majorly sought work prerequisite of the workers. A study named International Working Group resulted in remote working is no more an exception. Instead, it is on the verge of becoming the new norm across different countries.
Thanks to the various tools of technology such as Slack, etc., that is portraying a major part. It does so by making it possible to connect and bring together the scattered teams, which has proved that distance is no more a matter of concern. As much as the businesses are tapping into the market of remote work and increasing productivity, many software and IT companies are focusing on creating paths, inroads, and virtual co-working spaces for these developing fields.
Thus, there is an extensive range of possibilities to fight against postponement and enable the employees to make use of their skills in order to make work from home more like a social experience. With so many aspects that were considered impossible years back made possible now, it is all left to the companies on how well they get accustomed and embrace the changes in the workplace structure that the future brings.
Focus On eLearning And Development
The rapid development and advancements in AI are changing the nature of work, and this cannot be denied. Kai-Fu Lee, one who is considered as an AI Guru, predicted that about 50% of most of the jobs are sure to be automated by artificial intelligence by the end of 15 years. However, this prediction cannot be wrongly understood as though there wouldn’t be any jobs in the future. Instead, it just means that the work’s nature would face drastic changes.
The training of the workforce is increasingly moving towards the digital dimension, and the reason is the remote working trend. This has led to a scenario where an online training of the employee is a must. It includes the area concerning personalized development, courses related to self-pace, technical skill development, etc., that fits the employee’s individual style of learning.
Technical learning presents many possibilities related to career paths for individuals, identifying the gap that exists in skills, and developing the career path depending on the individual’s potential, etc.
As mentioned earlier, the nature of work will definitely change, and the only way of retaining the employees and gaining their loyalty is by preparing them for this change. This is where the opportunity for the HR solution that personalizes employee’s learning and development finds its significant presence. While all of us agree with the significance of the upskilling, building and developing oneself with competitive skills is also equally important.
In the current situation where much software is developed to perform repetitive tasks, coming up with software that indulges in soft skill development like communication, employee management, creating team spirit, etc., is essential. And the future is sure to find its way in coming up with software to enhance the training and development of an individual.
Upsurge From Man To Machine
You might wonder what is new in this since already a vast number of tasks are automated. If that was the thought, you definitely aren’t wrong. However, the reason to specify it now is to make it clear that there are many more to come and the emergence for HR to be prepared for the same. And the pace of transformation is sure to be even faster.
Who would have imagined the use of software instead of paper and pen a few years ago? And who would have thought of storing information on the cloud and accessing it from anywhere and anytime? Had you ever thought of the possibility of either tracking or monitoring your employee despite him not being present in the office? If all these are possible, then there is much more to ease the life o0f man.
But then, it is also crucial for HR to keep in mind the fact that the new technologies aren’t to replace men. Very often, it is observed that there is a wrong notion among people that technology is posing a threat to their jobs. Therefore, it is also the duty of the HR manager to educate the workers about the pros of adopting the latest technology and be prepared to face and embrace the changes that occur.
Conclusion
We all are very familiar with the most common phrase – “change is one thing that never changes.” And as proof of the same, the world has witnessed rapid changes in the last few years. Although this may seem to be temporary, it is certain to spark the behaviors that will transform the workplace future in endless ways, and there’s no doubt about it.
In scenarios such as this, the human resource department is bound to adapt to the changes accordingly to survive and remain in the current trend. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the HR manager to understand the need to adjust and adapt to the new changes as well as to ensure that the human aspect is not neglected. Instead, they are to discern according to the situations and develop the agility to experience success in their venture.
Human resources and CRM -DepositPhotos
