At this time of year, we publish our annual round up of the HR trends for the year ahead. The reality is that it is becoming more and more difficult to accurately predict future HR trends because of the transformation taking place in the HR industry (and indeed, across all industries). However, there are a few annual reports that provide well researched, robust forecasts about the possible future direction of HR. One of those reports is Deloitte's annual Human Capital Trends report. Their 2017 report outlines the opinions and perspectives of over 10,000 HR and business leaders across 140 countries, so it offers an HR best practice perspective. Let's look at the most prevalent trends that emerged from Deloitte's 2017 report.
Top 10 Trends From The 2017 Human Capital Trends Report
It is fair to say that the accelerated rate of change precipitated by the digital revolution will continue to disrupt the way we live and work in ways that we often don't (or can't) anticipate. In an effort to try and keep pace with such changes in the workplace, here's a summary of the top 10 trends that emerged out of the 10,000+ responses to Deloitte's 2017 study.
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The organisation of the future - arriving now: As organisations are forced to become more digital in order to keep up and improve efficiencies, they face a growing imperative to redesign themselves. It is abundantly clear that in order to survice, businesses will need to learn how to move faster, adapt more quickly, learn more rapidly, and embrace dynamic career demands. Leading organisations are at the point of transition beyond the design phase to actively build this new type of organisation.
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Careers and learning - real time, all the time: As businesses focus on building a organisation of the future, continuous learning at all levels is more critical for success than ever. Today's business environment calls for learning and development processes and infrastructure that can deliver learning that is always on and always available over a range of digital platforms.
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Talent acquisition - enter the cognitive recruiter: Recruiting is becoming more and more a digital experience as candidates become accustomed to convenience and mobile contact. Savvy recruiters will need to embrace new talent acquisition technologies to forge strong emotional and psychological psychological connections with candidates so as to constantly strengthen the employment brand and build authentic inter-personal relationships both insde and outside the business.
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The employee experience - culture, engagement, and beyond: Rather than fa narrow focus on employee engagement and culture, organisations are future proofing themselves by developing an integrated focus on the employee experience throughout the entire employee lifecycle. This lifecycle extends beyond start and end dates and now includes pre and post employment touchpoints. A new marketplace of pulse feedback tools, wellness and fitness apps, and integrated employee self-service tools is facilitating this process.
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Performance management - play a winning hand: Across all industries and geographies, businesses are re-evaluating every aspect of their performance management programs, from goal setting and evaluation to incentives and rewards. Leading organisations align continuous improvement and performance management to business strategy and the ongoing transformation of work as we know it.
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Leadership disrupted - pushing the boundaries: In 2015, Deloitte termed leadership the "perennial issue" that never seems to go away. This year's report results indicate a radical shift in the definition of 'leadership.' Today, more than ever before, organisations don't just need more strong leaders, they need a completely different kind of leader - one who has a youthful outlook, is more agile, and who must be 'digital-ready.'
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Digital HR - platforms, people, and work: HR leaders are being pushed to take on a larger role in helping to transform the organisation into one that can 'be,' not just 'do' digital. As digital management practices and agile organisational design become much more critical to business thinking, HR is focusing on people, work, and platforms.
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People analytics - recalculating the route: Analytics is no longer simply about finding interesting information and flagging it for managers. Data analytics has become a business function in and of itself, focused on using data to understand every part of a business operation, and embedding analytics into real-time apps and the way we work.
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Diversity and inclusion - the reality gap: Fairness, equity, and inclusion are now CEO level issues, and they continue to challenge and frustrate. Training and education are not working well enough to transform organisations into fair, equal and inclusive environments. The new rules of business engagement focus on experiential learning, process change, data-driven tools for change, transparency, and personal accountability.
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The future of work - the augmented workforce: Automation, cognitive computing, and crowd-sourced decision making are paradigm-shifting forces reshaping the workforce. Organisations must experiment to find what works for them and implement cognitive tools, retrain people to use these tools, and rethink the role of humans and machines as more and more work becomes automated.
If that isn't enough to wrap your head around, Deloitte has also produced a 2018 HR Technology Disruptions report that illustrates what HR Professionals need to be aware of and pay attention to in the coming year. Our next blog will summarise these disruptions, giving you a clear picture of what is on the HR horizon during the next 12 months and beyond.
In the meantime, if you're an HR Professional who wants to transform your organisation from 'doing' digital to 'being' digital, take a look at the video below and discover how your business can take advantage of software that offers you the opportunity to offer potential employees the convenience of a 24/7 talent sourcing experience.
Image Credit: Deloitte 2017 Human Capital Trends dashboard
