Every year, analysts, investors, influencers, practitioners and vendors predict the HR technology trends they believe will have the most impact for the upcoming year. I used to write these articles myself. But all my predictions tended to foreshadow the adoption of feedback-based recruiting and employee experience management. Go figure.
So I thought this year, I would yield to the experts and the influencers who show up every year and really deliver the goods in terms of predicting HR technology trends. The following is a round up of the trends we think actually have a chance of being important in 2022.
Talent acquisition and internal mobility will converge
This is number five on analyst Josh Bersin’s list of HR Technology trends for 2022. Bersin points out that many organizations are already leveraging new technologies to automatically analyze HRMS data to identify internal candidates for open positions based on skills and experience. And that top ATS providers are updating their systems to be more inclusive of internal and external candidates for sourcing and hiring.
But the part that resonates with me is this:
“Our Talent Acquisition research also points out that employment brand, reputation, and a company’s purpose and mission are more important than ever. For many years, we’ve seen companies upgrade employee experience (EX) initiatives to be more growth-oriented, inclusive, and supportive. Now, in a world where the economy is growing much faster than
the labor market, this has become essential. In fact, if you aren’t making your EX “irresistible,” I can guarantee your recruiting will be more difficult.”
In an environment where labor shortages, max employment and the so-called “Great Resignation” are facilitating mass movements of talent out of and between organizations, employee experience and employer brand are important to both increase retention and fill key positions. I would add that if you can measure and optimize employer brand from hiring to retiring, you will be in a good position to manage this transition effectively.
The intense focus on employee experience will become mainstream
Keeping with Bersin’s predictions, we go to number eight on his list of HR technology trends for 2022. Bersin points out that employee experience is a broad and white hot trend that encompasses many facets of being employed by a company. But the first of his four stages for structuring effective employee experiences in your organization is listening.
“First, you have to listen to people, analyze, and identify your problems.”’
He also points out that people analytics will touch on every aspect of your business. We couldn’t agree more.
All in one systems are too slow for the pace of change
Michael O’Hare, CHRO for Estee Lauder points out that the last two years have highlighted the fact that one platform can’t adapt to the rapid changes continuously rippling through the modern workforce. And that a healthy HR technology stack should look to emergent vendors with innovative solutions to serve the workforce.
“If [this time has] taught us anything, it is the need to pivot to more cloud-based technologies that are nimble and easy to use. We are seeing an evolution away from big box systems that provide an end-to-end solution that will solve for all needs.”
Organizations will increase the speed of decision making
Rhonda Morris, CHRO of Chevron has seen first hand that the workforce has different expectations of their employers. The ability to read these changing expectations and pivot to ensure organizations are meeting the needs of their workforce in multiple dimensions will be necessary.
“HR leaders will need to be empathetic, flexible, have exceptional influencing and listening skills coupled with an ability to quickly adapt with robust decision quality. These attributes will keep employees engaged and motivated.”
Organizations will need fast and light tech to facilitate the process of listening, reacting and adapting.
IT Workers Will Be Hard to Find and Keep
This prediction has probably been on everyone’s list since 2012. That said, SHRM uses the recent survey, “The Impact of Technology in 2022 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study” to point out that this hard to find IT talent is impacting the employer’s ability to implement new HR technologies to address the rapidly changing employment dynamics outlined in this article.
“97 percent of IT leaders agree that their team is working more closely than ever with human resource leaders to implement workplace technologies—though it may take longer than usual due to the (IT) staffing shortages.”
As I digest this list, the main theme that repeats is “listen, understand and adapt to changes as they happen.” I know of a platform that does much of that for you automatically. Doh! See, I can’t help myself.
