Being a Human Resources pro today is one of the most challenging areas in a business given the various changes in talent acquisition and management. HR leaders are facing a plethora of challenges today and therefore need to be very creative to ensure employees and employers are satisfied with the results of their work.
Unlike traditional human resource management, today HR leaders have to deal with new concepts that few have fully mastered, as they might be less than five years old. HR leaders today have to deal with social media, cloud computing, sharing economy and contingent employees among others. Don’t forget that this is a time where the shift from generation z to Millennials is taking place, and only HR leaders who are very keen might be able to balance the employee needs, and the company needs properly. Here are five trends that are shaping the work of HR leaders today.
Management roles need to change
Over the years, team managers have always been left to do the bulk of the work including tasks that they are not well versed with or don’t possess the skill set required for such. For instance, we generally confuse supervisors, managers, and leaders. Good managers do not necessarily mean good leaders and good leaders don’t always equate to good supervisors.
In the future, people management will definitely have to change to accommodate the changing dynamics in the office. For instance, you will need to assign roles to people who possess the right skills. Sometimes employees have a hard time finding mentorship at work because their manager isn’t the leader they want to follow. It may not seem important for your company at first, but it sure does slow your employees ‘improvement.
Freelancing/contracting is a big thing
HR leaders today need to be ahead in regards to people management and balancing between full-time employees and freelancers. There are many things that you need to consider here in the most important of them all is giving your most valuable employees the best deals so they can be happier and consequently become productive at the office.
The gig economy is giving employers a run for their money as some employees might find it more convenient working as contractors and enjoying all the benefits such as real value for their time and better compensation. In most cases, freelancers have a much better chance to manage their time and projects than working in an office where they might be micromanaged only to receive a basic salary at the end of the month. In this regard, HR leaders need not play catch up but instead try to explore by offering their top talent considerably better rewards for working at the office rather than contracting. Leaders should also consider tapping into the pool of freelancers who are mostly highly skilled in their areas of expertise.
New tools are needed for simplification
As you focus on employee retention and a happy workforce, you will need to understand the most important aspect that leads to employee happiness. Today, there are so many benefits around, and HR leaders might be having a difficult time choosing the best for their employees. In the future, an introduction of new tools that simplify the process is inevitable. HR leaders will need to find a system that finds the most important rewards for various employees.
Compensation and performance need to be detached
Many business owners and company heads are ditching the traditional annual employee review in favor of a more practical approach towards performance review. Millennials are interested in a more versatile and continuous employee review that does not only help them perform better but also contributes to the growth of the company. When employees can get instant feedback from their peers instead of solely from the manager, it motivates them to perform better.
The job description is changing
Forward-thinking HR leaders today have already started implementing this technique whereby employees are given a chance to utilize their skill set when working on projects instead of strictly following the job description. For instance, Business Insider offers opportunities for employees with interest in cars, cheese, and food among other niches to create engaging content for their various social media sites regardless of the department they work. Since employees are already familiar with the company culture and have an interest in the niche, you need to worry less about time theft but the use of index time clock software is still highly recommended.