The HR industry is a $5 billion industry and continues to grow. Three major trends are driving the industry at this point.

First, the increasing influence of analytics and cloud. Organizations are looking very closely at how to leverage data analytics to maximize the impact of their human capital decisions. CHRO conversations are increasingly gearing towards the use of analytics for talent management decisions. The influence of cloud is also remarkable. Cloud has become the centre of CHRO conversations because of its inherent benefits to reduce costs and make technology administration easier.

Productivity has always been a key agenda in human capital management in organizations; it will once again come to the fore in an organization’s priorities. Engagement has become a concern, but most organizations are now worried about its impact on productivity as opposed to retention.

The third key trend that will affect the nature of HR services in India is the trend of networked organizations. Organizations of today are highly networked and hence HR organizations will be looking at models where there can be a high degree of collaboration between in-house and outsourcing partners.

The HR industry is witnessing many changes. Consolidation is taking place across all segments, with many large national and global players acquiring smaller companies with local expertise. This marks the path to increasing market maturity. The changes in the industry are also due to where HR decisions are now being taken. Earlier, the local HR in global organizations did not have the authority to take major decisions. This, however, is rapidly changing as the decision-making process in organizations starts getting more localized. HR service organizations have to compete with global standards and this marks a radical shift of focus for players across all segments. As organizations in India now have access to both local and global players, even local organizations have to keep up with international standards of service and delivery.

The idea of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) & HR Outsourcing (HRO) has emerged in a big way in India. Most of this demand will be met through technology-based products and the market will see a number of new products in this space. With RPO and HRO dominating the HR space, an increasing number of CEOs and CFOs will look at the idea of RPO & HRO and push for it more actively.

As told to People Matters