We read a lot about a company’s success driven by powerful marketing, business strategies, and nurturing leadership. However, in this chaos, we often forget the contribution made by human resources (HR) to steer the company to new heights. Besides, the HR department plays an instrumental role in creating and retaining a strong company culture. The COVID-19 pandemic put forward a myriad of issues and challenges for companies worldwide. This is when a majority of businesses realized the importance of a well-structured and streamlined HR department.
The combination of efficient HR processes and the use of HR software has enabled companies to hire seamlessly, boost productivity, and improve employee satisfaction. If you are looking to gain some inspiration while creating an HR strategy for your company, you should first be aware of some hot HR tech trends. The advent of innovative HR software has helped companies replace time-consuming, mundane, and tedious HR activities. When we are looking at HR tech trends in 2022, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Read along to find out the latest HR technology trends.
SEE ALSO: Find Out How Technology is Impacting HR Roles and Processes
HR tech trends in 2022
1. Employee wellness
In the past, companies have stared into oblivion when it comes to employee wellness, failing to understand how they can implement it. However, that seems to have changed post-2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have recognized the need to check in on their employees consistently. Besides, even coworkers were more proactive in terms of connecting with their peers over quick virtual coffee chats, online quizzes, and other activities.
Companies have also upped their efforts to improve the mental health of their employees. It means that businesses are investing in laying a strong foundation for employee wellness programs. What this trend indicates is that we are likely to see more thriving and non-toxic workplaces in the future. Having said that, to achieve their goals, companies need to ask their employees what they really want.
Employee wellbeing programs are expected to focus on including:
- Work/life balance
- Telemedicine services
- Forging better relationships with coworkers
- Financial well-being
- Mental and emotional health support
2. Freelancing and gig economy
As remote working and work from home gains momentum post the pandemic, companies have noted that they do not need their employees to be physically present at the workplace. As a result, companies are turning to freelancers and gig workers for such roles.
For instance, instead of starting from scratch during the hiring process, companies can hire skilled and experienced resources from across the globe. Besides, gig workers or contract workers can also help companies fill in temporary skill gaps. Besides, gig workers can also be used in hard-to-fill positions on a long-term basis.
Businesses are also beginning to get a taste of the gig economy along with options to track costs. HR tech tools such as Workday come with in-built people analytics feature to help you keep track of contractors and how much they are costing your company.
3. Virtual onboarding
Again, driven by the pandemic, virtual onboarding has emerged as one of the hottest HR technology trends over the past couple of years. While companies were reluctant to hire through the first half of 2020, virtual onboarding was a rare sight that year. However, it has become common in 2022. That being said, even today, a lot of companies have not figured out the most efficient manner in which they can onboard new hires effortlessly.
Some of the main challenges include delivering IT equipment and integrating new hires into the team. Circling back to the first point, companies should also design a system in which they check in regularly with their new hires by setting up casual get-to-know chats and talking about things that are not related to work.
You can check out some cool and fantastic onboarding templates by Namely, a popular human resource management tool used by companies worldwide. You can design your processes, deliver new hire emails, and also complete the required paperwork to meet regulatory requirements.
4. Shift management
While most of the HR technology trends come with a flavor of remote work, we can easily be drawn toward thinking that all employees can work from home all the time. That is not true. A lot of people cannot work from home solely due to the nature of their industry or profession.
For instance, it is next to impossible for the healthcare sector to shift to remote working. A doctor cannot perform surgery remotely and the nurse cannot assist patients when they are not physically around. These sectors need to organize their shift management processes, enabling employees to change their shifts seamlessly.
Most of the top HR software vendors provide shift management features, meaning you have plenty of options to choose from.
5. Artificial intelligence-driven human resource analytics
Over the past decade, HR leaders were in the dark and failed to recognize the dissatisfaction among employees. When they did, water had reached above the head. Things have started to change since the arrival of AI-driven analytics. HR tools that come with AI analytics help HR leaders analyze employee behavior and feedback. These solutions also help them provide workplace insights and engage with employees in real-time.
With these insights, HR leaders can make informed decisions related to all aspects of HR. Instead of addressing your employee concerns before it’s too late, HR teams can leverage these insights to understand their employees and offer them solutions.
Staying abreast with these HR tech trends is important
There is no denying that the HR department plays an important role in taking a company to new heights. The pandemic has shed light on why human resource management matters. HR leaders had to navigate their way through the unforeseen circumstances put forward by the pandemic. As a lot has changed in the business world post-2020, it is a good idea to stay updated with some of the top HR trends.
What according to you was the biggest change at your workplace post the pandemic? If you are an HR, we would love to hear from you about your experience, challenges, and perspective on the evolving landscape of the HR world.
SEE ALSO: 7 Strong Reasons for Integrating Global HR solutions
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