To brace for COVID-19’s continued effect on the global workforce in 2020, HR executives are rethinking their workforce management strategy. Although there is a slew of emerging human resource developments on the horizon, many trends will shape how HR teams manage the employee life cycle.
Working online, rethinking corporate travel, transforming face-to-face education to its online counterpart, and implementing a digital HR system are all indicators of how the pandemic has caused workplace experimentation that would typically take years, if not decades.
How we work, where we work, and the tools we use to remain linked to teammates and clients will all evolve dramatically in the workplace in 2021. Here are some of the top trends to expect during the year.
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Building a Healthy Workplace Culture
In recent years, stories of unsafe working conditions, including workplace abuse, have flooded headlines, highlighting the dysfunctional business world in which we work. Any company’s priority in 2021 should be on addressing toxic working environments and assisting in implementing a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of abuse.
Employees need to feel comfortable and cared for in the workplace to be effective and retain their attention. This is why businesses must ensure that proper workplace behaviour is enforced and that any discrimination report received from workers is never dismissed. HRM systems ensure that such issues are handled appropriately.
The first step toward a safe work atmosphere is encouraging open dialogue and confidence, where workers are not afraid to speak up and share their concerns. In the event of an abuse report, management should take action and conduct an investigation, demonstrating trust and accountability.
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Prioritisation of Mental Health
COVID-19 has a negative effect on our mental health. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in June 2020, 19.2% of adults were likely to be depressed. This had almost doubled from 9.7% before the health crisis (July 2019 to March 2020).
HR’s job involves campaigning for an organisation’s employees’ wellbeing, so engaging in mental health programs is one of the enduring HR patterns we see for 2021. Such as:
- Displaying empathy: Working remotely and being socially disconnected will make certain people feel isolated. Team administrators must deal with these questions, but HR teams must still take them into account. If an employee’s work performance is being harmed due to pandemic-related mental health issues, HR can need and intervene to provide care and services.
- Offering long-term remote work support: Remote work has been a permanent option for many organisations, at least for the time being. HR departments may have developed mental health strategies in the early days of the pandemic, but they may eventually continue to implement longer-term solutions as the pandemic continues.
- Being accessible: Workers are likely to be struggling with mental health problems such as feeling depressed by working remotely or being uncertain about their potential opportunities at the organisation.
HR teams will have to create long-term plans for delivering mental health services to staff in 2021. Those approaches will remain at the forefront of the hiring process and become a primary selling point for new recruits.
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Big Data
Big data has played a crucial role in all of the significant transitions of the last few years. We can now extract helpful insight from gigabytes of data in a very brief amount of time due to this technology.
In a human resource management system, big data can help gather valuable knowledge about employee success, retention, morale, and efficiency issues. All of this information can be obtained at any time via a human resource management system that assists with employee time control, spending, and payroll.
Employee statistics, success KPIs, and recruiting info, among other items, are all stored in the HR department and are now readily available and used to make better, more informed decisions. This way, companies can hire better talent and simplify the recruitment process altogether.
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Overcoming the Complexities of a More Fluid Workforce
COVID-19 has undoubtedly generated a great deal of economic instability, prompting many employees to lose their employment and firms to rethink their recruiting and staff management plans. Employers who recruit contract or freelance employees have greater versatility in recruiting and handling their staff. More companies are increasing the number of contract staff they recruit to cut costs, with 32% replacing full-time jobs with contract workers.
HR divisions will need to commit more attention and money to recruit freelance or contract staff in 2021. HR would also have to deal with problems such as deciding how performance metrics and employee benefits apply to non-full-time staff.
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Expect New Human Resources Jobs
The Coronavirus has had a significant impact on the economy and labour force, causing significant shifts in how and where we work. According to a study, 73% of employees depend on their boss for assistance in planning for the future of jobs.
In 2020, two new HR jobs were created:
- The Future of Work Leader: Determines which capabilities can be more valuable as the workforce evolves.
- Work from Home Facilitator (WFH): Guarantees that the organisation’s procedures, strategies, technology, and preparation are suitable for remote staff.
