It's that time of year when HR industry experts share what they see as the coming trends for the next year. HR management changes and evolves with technology and demographics.

Every year, the professionals and experts weigh in on what they see as coming or anticiapted trends for the Human Resource profession. Last year saw some of the same trends forecasted and the realities of both the HR industry and business in general reflect these.

One of the anticipated and now evident trends is that of there being a wealth of job candidates looking for positions. According to an article on bitly.com, 

Almost all recruiters (92%) use social media to find candidates. But then, there are others who swear by referrals – 78% of recruiters say referrals are the best way to find candidates. On top of that, there are more than 100+ job boards to post to and track.

This leads to more technology in HR trends coming into play as HR managers and recruiters strive to improve their recruiting and hiring practices and results.

Five HR Management Trends Predicted for 2018

Here is a list of five of the forecasted HR management trends according to industry experts and researchers.

1. Remote Workforce

Being able to work flexible schedules, work remotely, and even job sharing can help increase employee morale, engagement, and commitment to the organization. Working remotely, also commonly known as "Telecommuting", is definitely a growing trend in the U.S. 

In a survey by Randstad it was noted that employees born after 1996, or "Generation Z", is the first group to care about flexible work schedules more than healthcare. A large number of these workers are also choosing to forgo university or college and work a job instead of taking on the debt often needed for higher education.

For many employees, it can be a great perk and offer needed flexibility that often means keeping that particular job. For employers, if managed properly, a remote workforce can reduce employee stress and management costs while boosting and morale.

2. Employee-Centric Workplaces

With the rise of younger generations, and more companies are hiring employees to work remotely, there’s no doubt that the workplace is becoming increasingly casual. In addition, there is a growing emphasis in HR departments on the value of work-life balance. A number of companies now have policies that limit employees from checking email while out of the office and from working while on vacation.

HR managers are increasing the number of learning and development opportunities for their employees. Making use of learning management software (LMS) for digital training is a growing practice as it allows organizations to measure employee productivity through data, according to Michael Heller, CEO & Founder, iRevu.

3. Performance Optimization

Recognizing that traditional performance reviews are not only dated, limited in efficacy, and too often overlooked, the trend is to engage in performance consulting. This is the practice providing regular and more granular feedback, based on real performance, in real time.

Too often the focus has been on helping those employees who have demonstrated averge performance or are in need of specific guidance or training. However, providing feedback and coaching designed to help "top performers" improve is a larger challenge. Emphasis is being increasingly placed on expanding and structuring the perfomance consulting and reporting process in organizations.

4. Dynamic Positions

In the traditional worplace every employee has a clearly defined and assigned position. The reality, however, is that many employees find themselves doing other tasks that they were not originally hired for. The trend is for more flexible and dynamic "job descriptions" and positions.

Along with more flexible job structure, employees can have the opportunity to "craft" their own position descriptions to better fit their goals, needs and their capabilities.

Along with this is the move towards increased and continued education for employees. This fits in well with the concept of "job crafting" in that employees can access training and education opportunities to help them create their more "ideal" job.

5. HR Bots

Technology for data science and collection techniques is already changing traditional interview process. One approach is gamified candidate assessments. Another popular trend is video interviewing. Questions can be designed to elicit responses that can then be analyzed with artificial intelligence technology, and scored against the ideal responses determined by the organization.

According to Brandon Carter, Engagement & Loyalty Marketer at Access,

Talent acquisition is a prime candidate for the use of robotic process automation. A big company might have tens of thousands of resumes and other paperwork from past applicants, and managing all of that is incredibly time-consuming.

One recent example of AI is Talla, a chat bot that handles recruiting tasks such as suggesting interview questions or finding similar candidates on LinkedIn.

Discover the Benefits of Outsourcing Your HR Processes

Considering alternatives such as outsourcing is increasingly becoming a cost-effective and strategic option. Accuchex can help you in managing your HR needs, payroll processes, and staying on top of compliance demands.

At some point in the growth of your company it makes sense to consider other options for maintaining and managing the vast number of tasks and functions that fall under the HR department. While newer software and automation are certainly viable and beneficial options, it can often be far more cost-effective to outsource.

If you are considering outsourcing some or all of your payroll processes, give us a call. Let Accuchex help you in managing your HR needs, payroll processes, and staying on top of compliance demands. Feel free to reach out to us at 877-422-2824.