Introduction
Many analysts and key industry experts believe that the pandemic has sped up the acceleration towards the future of work. As a result, HR leaders need to be ahead of the curve, as this department needs to embrace the enormous potential that lies with digitalization.
The massive change brought about by the pandemic and digitalization is escalating the importance of HR. The HR is also depending on employees for support during this time. For instance, a survey reported by Harvard showed that over 73% of employees depend on their employer for support in gearing up for the future of work.
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That’s just one instance detailing the future of work and how it affects human resources (HR). The article below sheds some light on what the future of HR will look like.
What is the Future of Work?
Deloitte defines the future of work as the forces of change that affect the significant dimensions of work, including the location, the nature of the job/ work, and the employees performing the job/ work.
Most of these changes are brought about by technology and regulations. For instance, technology has already started changing how we organize tasks into jobs and automation. This division of labor is expected to increase in the future, especially for repetitive and routine tasks.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, this trend will eliminate 14% of today’s jobs and affect a further 32% of today’s jobs as well. In addition, the ‘future of work’ is estimated to make a million jobs obsolete. However, 1.75 million jobs will be generated as a result of the future of work.
What Does the Future of Work in HR Look Like?
With a better understanding of the future of work, we can explain how the future of work affects HR. Here is a brief overview of what the future of work looks like in HR.
First, the workforce is rethinking talent models. Alternative jobs in the United States and the rest of the world are growing every year. For instance, the number of freelancers is growing, an 8.1% increase from 2.6% of all employees. And as such labor sourcing options increase, so does the likelihood of better and more efficient HR activities.
Not only that, but the human resource is also rethinking where work gets done. Before, work needed to be done in a place with physical proximity. However, digital communication, collaboration platforms, and other digital reality technologies have allowed human resources to work from their houses.
Changing the physical workplace for HR is a great way to increase an organization’s HR efficiency while reducing real estate costs. However, in doing so, organizations will be forced to rethink ways to foster both culture and team conditions as both are highly connected to innovation and positive business results.
HR Trends in the Future of Work
Here are some notable HR trends in the future of work.
Increased technology and use of robotics.
Industry analysts predict that over 80% of all organizations will have expanded their use of technology, including HR activities. HR departments will be looking to offload manual work in favor of automation through digitalization.
Organizations expect a significant jump between human-machine interaction when it comes to existing work tasks. In 2018, humans performed about 71% of all human resource tasks, while machines performed the remaining 29%.
Companies will Continue to Strive for Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion When Staffing
According to the McKinsey & Co. group, companies spend about $8 billion every year on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The human resource staffing process still has a long way to go as reports suggest that over 66% of people working in corporate America, C-suite positions, are white.
However, companies are increasingly encouraging the staffing process to be inclusive and diverse. Experts believe that hiring more remote and diverse persons will allow organizations to tap into a much wider talent pool that can improve organizational performance.
Decentralization of Employees
Many technologies today are making it possible for employees to remain connected regardless of their location. Not only that, but the spread of the deadly disease coronavirus has also influenced our decision to do so. As a result, we will see more and more employees work from remote and independent locations. Virtual teams are now part of human resource management, requiring coordination and motivation
New HR Tasks in the Future of Work
HV functions have constantly been changing. Initially, many companies used HR solely for administrative functions. However, the new role of HR is versatile and imperative to a company’s success.
As a result, expect to see increased roles within the human resource department. Positions such a customer service workers, training and development, people and culture, and organizational development specialists are expected to crop up in the future.
Workers are Demanding Better Pay and Treatment for Themselves
Workers at McDonald’s, Amazon, and other large corporations have in large numbers stagged strikes and quit their jobs despite the ongoing pandemic.
According to CNBS news, over 4 million Americans left their jobs in April 2021. Most of these job losses can be attributed to poor pay and unfriendly working conditions. Such employees have started their own businesses or secure employment in better working conditions that allow remote work while paying well.
Experts don’t expect such numbers to go do down anytime soon. More and more workers will demand better pay and working conditions.
What are HR Skills Required for Future of Work?
The traditional skill set of HR professionals is changing. Adequate staffing, recruiting, outsourcing, and strategic human resource management all demand new skills far beyond the traditional administration practices.
Employees in the future of work need to implement and use tools that make work easier, including HR software and project management tools. In addition, hr professionals will need to equip. Such proficiencies will be factored in employee performance.
Such skills include;
- Computer literacy
- Strategic thinking
- In-depth expertise
- Ability to work without supervision
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Project Management
Verdict
The future of work in HR entails several practices. For one, we don’t expect remote working to go away anytime soon as it increases efficiency while reducing real estate costs. Secondly, employers are pushing for more inclusive and equal staffing processes to feature professionals from different backgrounds, races, religion, and ethnicities.
The future of work also means better pay and working conditions for employees. 20201 alone has seen over 7 million Americans quit their jobs as a result of such. All in all, the major feature of HR in the future of work includes the increased use of technology and robotics to automate many HR processes.
This will make most jobs go obsolete; however, it will also create new ones. To increase your marketability in the future as a human resource professional, you should consider picking up new skills to cope with the increased roles and demands of the new HR era.
