Undeniably, the HR landscape has changed a lot over the past decade. The changes that we are enjoying at our workplaces now are a result of frequent technical advancements and the new age working professionals.
Now that the 10-year challenge is going crazily viral on social media, we thought of taking it up to analyse the workplace and HR landscape.
Let past stay in the past. Herein, we will talk about what has changed over the span of 10 years and what may change in the coming 10 years.
Even though it is hard to predict the future accurately, there are still some trends that will be on the rise and will continue to redefine the HR landscape.
| Criteria | Past | Present | Future |
| Recruitment | Scanning resumes manually | Social recruitment | More resume parsing, use of robots |
| HR chores | Automated payroll | Automated may HR functions | Fully automated |
| Technology | More manual and excel | HR functions automation, AI | More advancements (Robotics, AI, machine learning) |
| Data & Analytics | less insightful | insightful | More insightful |
| Employee Engagement | Low | Moderate | high |
| Perks | Very less | Moderate | High |
| Flexibility | Rigid Scheduling | Flexible work hours | Gig Economy |
| Mentoring | Senior to subordinates | More Training, workshops etc. | Reverse Mentoring |
| Software Acceptance | Low | High | Very high |
Present: 10-year transformation
India has witnessed a warm embrace of technology in the HR industry. There have been many technological advancements, change in work culture and a lot more. The changes that happened widespread are:
Technology increased accessibility:
Work goes beyond the office premises. Technology, especially cloud made it possible for the HR and the employees to keep a track of their attendance, payroll, and much more. The investment in HR software increased immensely. This also allowed HR to work from home. More than 60% now keep a tab on their work due to increased accessibility. Due to this, collaboration and productivity have also increased to a great extent.
Recruiters got social:
Recruiters gradually started realising the potential social media has. Hence, social media apps like Facebook, Whatsapp became a popular medium for posting job vacancies. In the past year or so, Instagram has also sprung as a medium to announce job posts. After all, no matter what, the purple squirrel candidate if not anywhere, must be here.
Data and analytics influenced decision making:
Reports related to attrition, YTD, statutory, salary, reimbursement etc helped the employers in making important decisions. Deciphering what the data is implying is anyway required but data and analytics slowly took the lead seat in determining the effect and guiding the important company decisions.
Employee needs got increasingly noticed:
Work culture, infrastructure, perks, flexibility, all of them were increasingly being considered by the HR professionals. Frequent feedback makes more than 85% of employees more confident. So, the performance module in the HRMS and kudos were used by the HR and managers to keep the employees happy. Basically, employees were valued more and HRs focused more and more on making their work life better.
Future: 10-year ahead
Change is inevitable (even in the social media 10-year challenge) and so, the Indian HR landscape will continue to grow. More or less, here is what the future will unveil.
More powerful data & analytics:
Around 32% of companies only are actively using data and analytics to predict. In the coming years, the analytics and data usage will increase and become more powerful. Expect performance analytics, engagement reports and many other insightful reports with concrete data and predictions by the end of the approaching decade. They will support you in making more informed decisions.
Reverse Mentoring:
Generation Z and millennials are already preferred more due to the common traits most of them have; most importantly because of how they react to change i.e “digital readiness”. Resistance isn’t in their dictionary, they love technology and love learning new ways to work smartly.
This is why in the coming years, reverse mentoring will become a trend. The employees hired or the generation Z HR professionals will increasingly be seen guiding their seniors, mostly pertaining to the best use of technology.
Gig economy will thrive:
The recruiters would be required to brace themselves up and use the recruitment management software rigorously. The gig economy is expected to escalate soon. Limited space, the increasing number of startups, stiffer competition, more requirement of work. All of this will give rise to the gig economy. Freelancers and contractors that work per project would be leveraged more and more.
Technology will continue to advance:
Let’s face it! HR technology is a work in progress. There are still many things that can be improvised and introduced. This is why artificial intelligence, machine learning, will continue to mushroom. Moreover, not just SMEs, in the coming years, startups will also start harnessing the power of HR tools.
AI will keep replacing manual HR tasks to eliminate any chance of error. Time to hire will reduce as recruitment technology will advance even more.
Evident enough, advancements in technology will continue to spur the HR to do better every day. The way HR functions will continuously be defined. Sometimes, it may get tough for the HR professionals to adapt themselves to the ever-evolving environment; but in the end, all of it will seem to be worthwhile.
Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks for reading!