A new decade has arrived. So, now is a great time to think about what you would like to achieve in 2020 and beyond, and how HR tech can help you get there. This article explores what we think is going to be the top HR tech trends that you should be anticipating and embracing.
1. Employer Branding
You may think that branding is the sole domain of marketers. Using huge ad campaigns spawning TV, radio, online, and other channels, marketers engage with customers to try to fulfil their needs. However, HR has a significant role to play in building an organisation’s brand amongst employees — both current and prospective.
A company’s brand and reputation has a massive impact on the recruitment process and an organisation’s finances, as it reduces the cost per hire and makes the organisation more attractive to the best talent.
Therefore, it’s critical that you invest in your company’s brand to make it powerful, attractive, and authoritative to employees.
Technology can help with this. Have a think about your current HR system: what does it look like? What colours does it show? Does it feature your company logo and name?
If the answer is “no” to any of the above, then you should investigate whether it’s possible to customise your HR system’s interface to reflect your organisation’s brand, as this will greatly strengthen your brand with your employees. If it’s not possible to customise your HR software interface, then you should consider switching to another provider.
You can also collaborate with your marketing colleagues by getting involved with prospective employee brand-building. Hyper-targeted LinkedIn ads, for example, can help get your brand noticed in an increasingly competitive hiring environment.
However, a really important factor is employee advocacy. How your employees speak about your organisation — both in person and online — has a huge influence over prospective employees and will directly affect the sort of talent that you can attract. Therefore, your utmost priority should be ensuring that your employees ‘live’ your brand, and your HR platform is central to that. By being able to customise your HR system’s interface, as well as being able to communicate effectively to your workforce through company news and configurable emails and letters, you can be sure you are effectively building your organisation’s brand amongst employees; encouraging them to speak positively about your brand. This will make your business much more competitive in the job market of this new decade, where Millennials and Gen Z workers consider the strength of a company’s brand and
2. Cloud HR
Believe it or not, but on-premise HR platforms are still prevalent today. However, the tide is quickly shifting: the 2020s will represent the final switch-over to cloud-based systems.
The benefits of having your HR platform in the cloud aligns with the overall move towards flexible and remote working; a trend that will continue and accelerate in the upcoming decade.
Storing your data in the cloud means that your remote workers can access anything HR-related wherever they are. This is not only becoming the norm, but an expected attribute of your company.
With remote employees being able to access their data via self-service, it gives them more control over their own data and enhances engagement and productivity.
In addition, cloud platforms are more easily scalable, which is great for ambitious and rapidly-growing businesses.
3. Increased data security
In recent years, the introduction of the GDPR has brought the concept of data security front and centre for HR. Concerns around the security of data will increase in 2020 and beyond.
We’ve previously spoken about the importance of data security and the features you need from your HR platform to ensure your employee data is protected. Whilst some may currently consider technologies like Two-Factor Authentication as a ‘nice-to-have’, as we enter the new decade, such features will be considered necessary.
4. The humanisation of technology
Where this decade has been dominated by the rapid and exponential advancement of technology with a focus on digitisation, the 2020s will see a focus on injecting the human element into tech.
Utilising the benefits of automation and AI to process repetitive, insipid tasks will free up time for HR leaders and managers to cultivate relationships and increase their employee engagement. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on your organisation, resulting in revenue and productivity growth.
If you would like to learn more about how cutting-edge HR tech can help your business, then please get in touch with us – we’re happy to help!
