It is safe to say that the Human Resources in 2020 has gone through several challenges and evolutions compared to previous years. Some of these trends are certain to go beyond the pandemic and our current social and cultural happenings. It is important for HR managers to analyse the impact of every phenomenon in their company’s activities, visions and objectives to determine which developments to look out for.

With the Coronavirus crisis, many employees have started working remotely, or are using rotating working schedules causing an increased necessity of digital and technological improvements. Technology is used in every facet of the business, including Human Resources. Employee engagement and motivation, recruitment, orientation, and other functions are being performed exclusively digitally in some companies. Human Resources must therefore embrace the unfamiliarity of conducting tasks that were previously hands-on and in-person. Human Resources must be adept with these changes and stand as an example before employees, as it is them they turn to in case of need and difficulties.

Organisational intricacy is another factor to look out for. After the Subprime Crisis in 2009, international Merger and Acquisition activity increased, and several businesses were nationalized to prevent downfall. A similar trend is hypothesised after the Coronavirus crisis. Businesses must concentrate on increasing their regional versatility and on participating in supplementary markets to reduce and control uncertainty in times of transition. When institutional structures change, it increases the challenges for HR managers. Therefore, improving capabilities and capacities are both necessary to equip the Human Resources department to deal with the substantial changes that will manifest in the human capital of the companies.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is not a new topic at all in the Human Resources, but the current events necessitate a different and multi-layered approach to handling this. D&I will no longer be a “good to have” checklist, but instead a business model. For example, Tech giant Intel announced that they will not partake in any projects with companies with a below-average diversity percentage in 2021. Their reasoning is that “If Intel cannot abide by the current state of progress – it is not enough, and progress is not happening fast enough” – an approach which is becoming progressively common-place at a rapid rate. Human Resources will need to look beyond conventional profiling and make way for an inclusive corporate culture.

All these trends in 2020 stand as an identification of the company’s reputation, brand and extend to not only current and future employees, but also to the market and extraneous individuals. Therefore, it is imperative that the CHROs are proactively prepared in their resources, mindset and strategic management.

References:

1. 13 Human Resources Trends Expected In H2 2020, August 08, 2020, Forbes.
2. Two Crucial Human Resources Trends To Watch In 2020, January 07, 2020, INC.