Human resources have had a challenging year, as 2021 was the first full year tainted by the global pandemic. And with no end in sight for the pandemic, companies still have a lot to think about and more adjusting to do with the ever-changing business environment. At the moment, companies are faced with vaccine mandates, lack of talent as many are resigning, and requests for hybrid work.
The acknowledgment of flexibility
Flexibility has slowly become the number one desire for employees everywhere. And it is all thanks to the ability of employees to work remotely via telecommuting. What is more, hybrid work is showing that employees do not have to sit in offices to be productive. Remote work is going to continue growing throughout 2022, as employees will be allowed to work from wherever they can be the most productive.
Companies also have to figure out a way for remote workers and on-site workers not to be split into groups that have the access to the tools needed for work and that don’t, that value can be shown to and cannot, and that can be promoted easily or cannot.
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Technology for new talent and old employees
While HR technologies allow companies to put their employees in the center of the business through people data usage, HR technologies will also have aid in bettering the experience of the employees and helping companies attract talent to battle the current shortage of workers due to the Great Resignation.
The Great Resignation started in the early stages of 2021 and saw workers massively quitting their jobs voluntarily. That is why it comes as no surprise that 49% of businesses will focus HR technologies on talent acquisition in 2022.
At the same time, companies might have to focus on making their teams more diverse and make sure their new workers fit in from the start. Another use of HR technologies this year will be enhancing the employee experience, with 48% of companies reporting that this will be the focus. Also, another trend that will continue this year is the use of social media and applicant tracking software for talent acquisition.
When it comes to new employees, technology needs to ensure that they fit in from the start. One way to do that is to build technology that is inclusive from the start. New employees will be able to define themselves and not be defined by old technologies and their presumptions about their identity.
Another way to use technology in human resources is to make a more individual approach to benefits and perks for employees. Companies should start thinking about building platforms that will be able to offer individual perks and benefits to their employees. In turn, this will see employees feel valued, heard, and recognized.
How HR technologies help employee experience and onboarding
Employee experience is of high priority in 2022. Businesses have a lot of catching up to do, as many technologies can help employers feel supported, cared for, and engaged. The market today offers a myriad of HR technologies focused on special aspects of employee experience, while some even integrate many of those aspects into one software. Companies need to decide which one works for them and then they can move on to decide where to build such software and how to implement it.
One part of employee experience focuses on rewards, benefits, and the well-being of employees. And in 2022, this is where businesses need to improve, as the pandemic has made a shift in how employees are feeling and how appreciated they feel. Also, HR technologies can help keep employees informed and up to date with what is happening inside the company.
The economy today welcomes more and more freelancers to be onboarded and work with companies, especially since so many are resigning from work and there is a big shortage of staff in many industries. Besides freelancers, HR technologies also help businesses, onboard contractors, and vendors. Likewise, companies will stay recruiting through online platforms and online technologies even in 2021. With the last two years of the pandemic, this has been evolving, and new innovations have further facilitated the onboarding process for new talent.
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Data protection, learning, and development with HR technology
The new laws worldwide are addressing data protection and it is crucial that companies address this in 2022. Human resources need to ensure that employees are safe and protected along with their data. HR technologies play a key role in protecting sensitive identifying information to keep everything secure and organized.
Platforms for professional development have been important since the start of the pandemic. Businesses had to ensure that their remote workers are reskilled and retrained to be able to adjust to working from home. Learning, training, and development can be stimulated by HR technologies that allow sharing of resources for employees and do even more to help employees to develop professionally.
Technology leverage for data and analytics
Human resources store a lot of data on talent, job candidates, and other information about their workers. That is why HR professionals should turn to technology as aid with filtering the data and not getting overwhelmed in the process.
There are two ways in which HR technologies can help here. First of all, it can help with the organization of data so that it is easily accessible. On the other hand, it can also generate insights into developing new strategies that can improve human resources.
To create strategies and plans for the future, technology has to bring intelligence that will help decision-makers. Augmented analytics analyze data and help make decisions by giving access to insights that would otherwise demand the expertise of a data scientist.
By turning to technology for data and analytics in 2022, companies can focus on more important parts of the business, such as making decisions and ensuring effective operations of the business.
What has changed since 2021?
The forecast for 2021 predicted that companies would finally surpass the investments and spending that were predicted for 2020 before the pandemic hit. However, this number is expected to grow further in 2022, as companies turn to new chapters and focus on new beginnings.
Apart from that, last year was the year that saw businesses turn to achieve productivity in remote work settings via HR technology enhancements. As remote work and hybrid work models are the future of so many businesses, HR technology was focused on addressing those issues in the last year. However, this year, it will continue in the same way. HR technology has the potential to prepare software and programs that will help remote employees stay productive, but also be able to easily communicate with the rest of the team for efficient collaboration. Further innovations will also make this even easier in 2022.
HR software in 2021 was also used to monitor employees for productivity, but also saw a shift in usage as some started using HR technologies to make sure employees do not overwork and risk burnout. Such HR technologies in 2021 were also predicted to help employees get enough rest during work to prevent burnout whenever possible. However, with employees’ protests, businesses had to be careful with monitoring employees, as there was an imbalance with their privacy due to tracking productivity.
In 2021, companies also continued to use HR technologies for virtual recruitment processes. So last year, as well as this year, a big part of recruiting will stay virtual thanks to automated processes that have been developed. However, both last year, and in 2022, some of the recruiting processes, such as in-person interviewing, have seen and should see a comeback. For the best-recruiting results, companies need to figure out what to use technology and automation for, and which processes to return to in-person meetings.
Another important part of human resources and the usage of technology in 2021 focused on employees’ mental health. As concerns have been raised about employees and their mental health, digital tools were considered last year to help employees with burnout, stress, and the feeling of anxiety. This is mostly done through online platforms and services that promise mental health support.
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Conclusion
To sum everything up, technology in human resources has the potential to help companies retain and attract talent. At the same time, it can help with many other things, such as allowing workers to feel their best and be the most productive through hybrid work models.
Employee experience is another important aspect where human resources need the help of technology. Studies show that companies want to focus HR technology on employee experience and talent acquisition especially in 2022.
While the last couple of years have seen companies struggle due to the pandemic, human resources in 2022 have a chance to start afresh and make enhancements and changes that will benefit both the business and the employees, but also the business environment, too.
With the help of technology, a myriad of HR processes can become more automated and advanced. However, on the way to achieving this, companies will have to invest money and then see it returned to them in the future.
