The business of building innovative HR solutions has grown exponentially over the past few years and is expected to climb to $30 billion by 2025. HR professionals are looking beyond the benefits and salary of a job and are wanting an organization with easy-to-use solutions which improve their work life.
The increase of innovative tech for the workplace reflects the shift toward a more holistic employee experience. Explore what trends 2019 has in store for the HR industry.
Beginning to fall behind in 2019 trends? Check out these emerging #HRTrends that are disrupting the norm @ClearCompany:Artificial Intelligence and Automation Create a Foundation
In 2018, AI really started to make its mark. However, it couldn’t reach its full potential due to being held back by three things:
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Insufficient information databases - AI depends on data, but most organizations struggle with basic data governance issues.
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Horizontal dependent - If tests were run, they either singularly tested the technology or minimally applied AI to the firm’s specific operations.
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Too confusing - Trying to explain and audit AI is a difficult task to complete. This limits business leaders’ ability to understand and trust AI operations.
How will these affect trends in 2019?
With the help of AI, companies will see an improvement in data governance. It will combine intelligent tools which move data governance to be a more useful, rotating platform.
Furthermore, an emerging supply-side market for explainable AI will help close the gap between enthusiasm and complex machine-learning algorithms with the pragmatic need for business leaders to see, predict and understand AI.
With automation being more popular, machine learning has grown into more of a need for software buyers. HR professionals will be able to rely on an AI system to quickly pour over hundreds of resumes and cover letters in an applicant search.
A bonus in the space of HR software is the analytical evaluation of candidates, free of human bias or error. Ideally, this will result in stricter qualification-based employee selection. With the assistance of AI, HR departments have a tool for the accurate analysis of employees from application submission to continuing performance reviews.
Spotlight Turns on Employee Engagement
2018 focused on customer experience and engagement. In 2019, the focus will broaden with the topic of employee engagement being tossed in. With low unemployment and high turnover rates, business leaders have targeted employee engagement initiatives to help expand culture efforts.
However, there remains a disconnect between who is actually being engaged at a company. Many organizations claim they provide engagement initiatives, but many employees remain unengaged due to non-accessible solutions. 2019 will be the turning point where employees want to be engaged, but continue to be skeptical if the software can help.
Increasingly, HR personnel will look to employee engagement solutions to improve engagement and increase retention. Their challenge will be in deciding which solutions will benefit their employees, company and culture the most.
Virtual and Augmented Reality Enters the Arena
Virtual reality has increasingly become a hot topic in the gaming industry. This technology can also be translated to the HR space. Since augmented reality is all about building a new world, HR can take this technology and use it for extended training scenarios.
These virtual environments have the potential to be more cost efficient and safer than corporate training as we know it today. The implications for on-the-job learning are significant, as the assumption is that real-world tasks will be combined with virtual instruction. This would allow employees to see learning prompts as they interact with hands-on activities.
With the ever-changing #HR industry, it can be hard to keep up with the direction it’s taking. Take a look at @ClearCompany’s #HRTrends shaking up 2019:Virtual reality training has already been deployed for sexual harassment training. Vantage Point VR training has recently secured a seed funding round of $1.3 million to bring immersive Anti-Sexual Harassment Training to corporations. Traditional sexual harassment training has been provided in person, or in the form of computer-based training (CBT) which includes text, slideshow and video learning. These methods aren’t actually reducing sexual harassment incidents, but being in the victim’s shoes might be the thing needed.
Focus Remains on Diversity
Hiring managers and recruiters will continue to recruit, develop and retain a diverse workforce. An organization trying to sell to a diverse society needs a variety of ideas making the products, and HR’s job to find these people who can help the business thrive.
Even though HR departments are trying to find the right diversity balance, unconscious bias is still prevalent throughout the resume screening process. Seventy percent of diverse companies are more likely to report that the firm captured a new market. To avoid any bias during the hiring process, HR personnel can incorporate a multitude of recruiting, applicant screening, interviewing and assessment tools. There’s an ever growing number and variety of these solutions available to companies today.
HR departments will increase their use of blind hiring technology in 2019 to remove unconscious bias from the entire hiring process.
Building Upon Wellness Concepts
As we continue to embrace mental health wellness as a necessity, corporate wellness programs are expanding past improving just employees’ physical health. A recent survey claims 61% of employees are burned out on the job. This survey also finds 31% of respondents reported extremely high levels of stress at work. High-stress levels, in turn, can manifest in poor physical health (fatigue, aches and pains, weight gain) and compromised mental health (depression, anxiety, anger).
A report by the American Psychological Association finds that of the employees who don’t view their organization’s leadership team as committed to their well-being, only 17% would recommend the company as a good place to work. 89% of employees at companies that support well-being initiatives are more likely to recommend their company as a good place to work.
A recent Glassdoor survey explains that our conception of wellness has to go beyond traditional health measures. Although the idea of work-life balance is frequently misunderstood, employees are seeking help and support outside their work life. Employers can help by offering flexible work schedules and by encouraging employees to utilize vacation time.
The embracing of employee wellness programs as a strategic need is a significant shift in the business world, one that will only grow stronger in the coming year.
Discover how you can help your employees’ mental and physical well being by tracking their feedback. Book a Demo of our Performance Management software today, and start making a positive impact in your employees’ lives.
