Article: A brave new world - HR priorities for 2018

Employee Engagement

A brave new world - HR priorities for 2018

The future looks bright from an HR standpoint with newer frontiers to cover that rest on the foundation of an in-depth analysis of employee engagement
A brave new world - HR priorities for 2018

Human resource professionals currently are at the cusp of sweeping changes across the entire HR landscape. The need of the hour is to have HR professionals with high levels of emotional quotient and not be replaced by robots as process owners.

In today’s VUCA world, priorities have evolved. Human Resource has truly become Human Capital. With the advent of technology in the HR space, hiring practices have undergone a paradigm shift. The increased use of predictive analytics and decision-making tools, coupled with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recruitment, is going to be one of the things to look forward to in 2020. Data is going to evolve at an increasing rate, so much so that it is going to become the bedrock upon which key and critical hiring decisions are going to be taken.

Manual processes are going to be passé and process automation is going to be a key priority going forward which will have implications on process design, too, as processes will be designed to be more intuitive, framework adaptive and data mining in nature so as to ease the automation of these processes.

Employee experience will still continue to be the cornerstone of all HR activities in 2018. While the automatons may take over the processes, HR as a practice still has people at its heart. Innovative pre- and post-onboarding processes for employees, an efficient business partnering network that will truly coalesce with the businesses, and deft interventions to engage the employee through organizational values and causes, will ensure that we nurture long-term relationships with them.

Building a strong second line of defense, both in terms of people and processes, is a critical priority. From an HR standpoint, having a robust organization in place that has the right mix of top tier and mid-tier talent is important. Investment in developing a millennial workforce is also a key activity, which can be achieved prima facie by fostering in-house talent through a multitude of leadership programs and upskilling activities. Job evaluation activities and the codification of unique roles are going to be key indicators in the growth stories of robust organizations, including ours. Resource and emotional investment in employees is also a key factor. A happy workforce is an optimally delivering workforce and it is in the organization’s best interests to devise ways and means to foster and build this happiness quotient. 

Being socially responsible is a mantra I live by. Embracing social responsibility is not just a priority; it is a way of life. CSR manifests itself into many forms and the joy that the employees and the organization derive from the greater good is immeasurable. We live in a world that is becoming progressively gender-fluid and gender-agnostic, and it is in any organization’s best interests that these changes get reflected. The case for gender diversity is compelling and this, indeed, is the way forward. Gender diversity is vital to any workplace and hiring a demographically diverse workforce brings with it holistic improvements to an organization’s capabilities. Second career opportunities for women and seamlessly reintegrating them into the workforce are going to be another such niche priority in the coming year(s).

The future looks bright from an HR standpoint with newer frontiers to cover and newer peaks to scale, resting on the foundation of an in-depth analysis on employee engagement, where there are well-knit synergies between social responsibility and employee engagement — resulting in higher productivity rates. It is, indeed, a brave new world out there and we are all set to embark on a path-defining journey in 2018. 

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Topics: Employee Engagement, Employee Relations, Technology

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