In the recent issue of the SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) HR magazine they had a great cover story on the nine predictions where HR will redefine the workplace in 2015. The prediction hit on all of the key strategic areas impacting organizations today: talent management, analytics, retention, diversity and technology.
Here are the nine predictions for how the Human Resources department will redefine the workplace in 2015. We have a summary of the predictions in the blog. Here they are:
- Culture, diversity, engagement and retention will be front burner issues
Diversity will continue to grow in importance as organizations seek new ways to broaden and deepen their employee ranks with a wider range of diverse opinions and outlooks. Consider that less than 5% of the Fortune 500 CEO’s are women or that the vast majority of Silicon Valley technical professionals are white males. Culture will also be important because the key to finding the high performers is to find those candidates who will best match and complement the corporate culture.
- Performance management will continue to be redesigned
The traditional management review process where the manager is the person with sole responsibility for the performance review is changing. More companies are creatively managing their workflows and now see that team leaders or even peer to peer reviews are vital to the development of a robust performance management system.
- More companies will deal with overwhelmed employees
The workforce reductions of the past six years led to productivity gains generated by increasing the individual workloads for the remaining employees. Smart organizations are now recognizing that they have to seek out ways to allow for a better work/life balance. This is key to employee retention and burnout avoidance.
- Corporate learning will be transformed and will take on more importance
There are many workforce disruptions – technology, outsourcing – that will require a nimble and adaptable workforce. Training will take on greater importance as organizations proactively address these changes. While classroom/face to face training will still be prevalent the move will be to more online training.
- Companies will redesign talent acquisition, leveraging network recruiting, brand reach and new technologies
Hiring the best people is always essential. Much like people in transition companies now must be active networkers always looking to connect with talent. They need to engage everyone on their team to be active ambassadors with executive leadership skills who will be able to market the benefits of working for their company.
- Talent mobility and career management strategies will become necessary to compete
Talented people always have options on whether to advance their career internally or externally. More emphasis will again be placed on career management within companies, such as executive leadership programs, so that they provide attractive options for their best people to invest by staying with them
- Leaders will invest in talent analytics and work force planning
Big data is much discussed in the workplace. HR needs to address analytics and build systems and tools so they can effectively make key decisions based on metrics. This goes well beyond simple Excel charts and moves into a more holistic view of all of the key drivers.
- Companies will take advantage of new HR technology tools
The average human resource management system (HRMS) is over five years old. Many companies are going to revisit their aging systems and consider new more cloud based systems
- HR teams will get a new design and a new focus on professional development
The Human Resource function will continue to evolve and become more strategic. The key functions will begin to move away from back office/transition work to a more consultative approach where HR leaders will be driving strategy.
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