The pandemic has made HR leaders rethink the way they approach their workforce and manage it to prepare better for the coming years. As a result of this, many new trends are emerging that will define how HR departments tend to view the life cycle of an employee. 5 significant HR trends that have emerged in 2021 are:
- Personalizing Workplace
The hybrid workplace accelerated by the pandemic has led to companies making available a more personalized workplace by considering; the assigned tasks at hand, the personality of the workers, home conditions of workers, and the nature of the work. The home office design is getting more heed, and more solutions to customize better are being provided, like co-working spaces utilized that are closer to where people are living. The offices are still available, but the focus will continue on the hybrid approach; hence, the virtual workplaces should be designed and planned accordingly.
- Skill Mapping
The recent major 2021 trends moving from traditionally job-based HR to now a more skill-based HR. Skill mapping is about evaluating the skills required for a particular role and task and putting together a specific goal team. It is important to know which skills are already available in the organization, and then if any gaps exist, they could be filled in by renting talent. According to Gartner’s analysis, job adverts focusing on skills have increased by 33% since 2017. To meet the needs for new skill manifests, organizations “rent” or hire employees for a short time span till the need is there.
- Evolving Performance Management
The desire to improve the performance management practices at the workplace and how performance reviews are conducted has led to the need to understand better how employee evaluations are carried, and performance is managed. Companies are now moving towards real-time feedback and continuous feedback throughout the year. The tighter feedback calendar cycle is said to increase engagement and more representative of the performance of the employees.
- Anti-Fragility Personalities
Personality has become an important element in employee selection during the last year. Personality traits that can survive better in a workplace are looked for. This led to an increase in the demand for anti-fragile personalities; a concept recently emerged that basically is about higher resilience in tougher times. Given how employees crucially need to learn agility in today’s business world, the concept of anti-fragility and personality traits dominating the selection criteria in 2021 is rising.
- Perennials on the Rise
Perennials are said to be a group of people who belong to all ages and are of all types but come together worldwide to connect and go beyond stereotypes. It is hence, becoming increasingly important to look ahead of the demographic categories and understand the workforce on a deeper level. This will allow for gaining insights into the workforce interests, values and preferences by adopting a more value-attitude-based approach.
Whether we continue to work remotely or on the front line, many HR processes would be seen being automated and adopted according to the agile working environment. Given the current trends in 2021, a lot is moving towards remote working. Keeping ahead in operational processes and managing the workforce is vital to continue developing the future of work.
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