HR management has never been this pivotal. During the pandemic, HR managers sat across C-suite executives as they strategized how to keep organisations running amidst great disruption. The workplace that has since emerged, characterised by hybrid working models, elevated health and safety concerns and new demands for better work-life balance. This has mandated HR professionals to make critical business continuity decisions daily while trying to maintain positive employee engagement procedures.
While people leaders adopted HR technology to significantly ease this process and stay in sync with the future of work, the evolving workplace dynamics and changing user behaviour necessitate keeping an eye on the upcoming trends. Below are six such HR trends that will change the work landscape in 2023.
Employee experience matters more than ever
Recent data where more than half of employees in MENA have considered leaving their current jobs to find a better work-life balance at some point during the past year should give every business leader pause for thought. Employee retention should be a high priority for every organisation to help curb turnover rate, save money, and boost employee morale and productivity. Unfortunately, many organisations still follow ad-hoc, imprecise employee engagement methods subject to personal whims and with no long-term plans.
A modern Human Resource Management Software (HRMS) especially if it is powered with an AI and predictive analysis technology that eliminates ambiguities and transforms employee engagement into a data-driven, accurate process with clearly defined goals in mind. Such a platform captures real-time feedback backed by real-time performance reviews and surveys, making employees feel valued and engaged. It also accurately identifies commendable performance and defines techniques to implement rewards and recognition (R&R) programmes effectively.
Upskilling and reskilling are the new business enablers
With every business at risk of disruption, the need for highly skilled employees has never been greater. But with the shrinking shelf life of skills, demands for better work-life balance and hybrid work environments, skills development should be tailored to the new way of work. The right upskilling/reskilling strategy should focus on enabling employees to adapt to the changing world of work today and be future-proof for tomorrow.
Today, most HRMS platforms have a dedicated learning and development (L&D) area that not only allows HR to add or remove the content as required, but personalise it as per user groups or learner preference. Lessons are also accessible anytime and anywhere and employees learn at their convenience. Learning can be offered as bite-sized sessions to keep workers motivated while introducing innovative features such as gamification.
Millennials and Gen Z will define the workplace
Millennials and Gen Z now make up a large segment of the workforce. Technology is fundamental to these digital natives and mobile experiences are a necessity. This new workforce is ‘on the go’ and always connected online through their smartphones. According to recent YouGov survey, people in the region, such as UAE and Saudi Arabia spend between three to six hours on their mobile devices daily, respectively.
For forward-thinking organisations smartphones and mobile apps serve as potentially powerful engagement tools. Putting the entire HR management suite on an app, coupled with an intuitive and seamless UI and UX allows for faster decision-making, real-time feedback and less wastage associated with manual processes.
Hybrid work environments are the new normal
It’s clear that the hybrid work environment is here to stay. Contingency plans put in place to deal with the pandemic-driven disruption must give way to concrete strategies to empower the dispersed workforce in 2023. The technology to power the workforce of the future is already mature. The challenge many businesses face is how to integrate this technology into normal processes and do so without disrupting normal operations. Cybersecurity and compliance issues pile pressure onto organisations keen to empower employees on the go.
Traditional HR software platforms were cumbersome, poorly designed and inflexible. Contrast that with a modern mobile-first HRMS such as Darwinbox that puts users first with an easy-to-use interface that is intuitive and lightweight while maintaing data security, compliance and privacy.
Borderless HR platforms are in demand
Regional firms increasingly operate across borders, particularly newly minted digital businesses. Therefore, the ideal HR tech platform must offer locally relevant experiences, keeping in mind culture, calendar, labour laws, compliance, taxation, etc.
The ideal HR software must therefore be comprehensive with global standards and an advanced tech stack while being simple enough for all businesses to run HR processes in the most regionally contextual way .
Data is the new gold
Business leaders today have access to mountains of data thanks to the increased digitisation of HR functions. Forward-thinking organisations can use this data to efficiently recruit, retain, motivate, and promote to replace subjective procedures.
For instance, HR managers can leverage HRMS software to identify talent gaps, as well as employee trends such as attrition rates. Then the organisation can prioritise engagement, training and development, and motivation for these specific roles.
The world of work has changed drastically in recent years, and it will only continue to evolve. Companies will lean heavily on HR, and the talent and experience of their teams as they tackle the challenges ahead. Staying ahead of these HR trends, integrating HR tech and automation into their workflow, while implementing versatile strategies to support an agile workforce will be key to powering through the continuous winds of change.