The role of HR has changed over the last few decades. In the past, your team of hiring managers may have only focused on recruiting and developing key employees. But today, with technological changes, your department may also take a more active role in core business processes, from strategic planning to building flexible organizations via remote work setups or digital meetings.   

The future of HR is an exciting one. With your help, people, teams, and offices can now collaborate on new projects and deliver better results. In the coming years, you will see innovative trends and technologies that will change how you do your job more effectively.    

This article will present how HR and IT can join forces to produce better onboarding results. We will also help you understand trends shaping the future of HR tech. You can also use this article as a guide toward what you can expect for human resources in 2023. 

What Does the Future of HR Look Like?

The future of HR may already be nearer and more familiar than you may think. As McKinsey states, 70 percent of global companies will adopt some form of artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. This technology will be used to aid humans and automate processes. 

In the human resources field, automation in talent acquisition is already occurring today. A study presented by the Society for Human Resource Management states that institutions that are currently using sophisticated HR technology tools beat those that don’t, in aspects such as workforce management and recruitment of global talent.   

Additionally, according to PwC, more and more organizations use HR technology today to help them with their onboarding and administrative tasks. Although not perfect, HR technology has proven itself valuable and effective in helping improve processes.  

HR Automation Trends 

From possibilities to present changes, here are the following recruitment automation trends you and your team of hiring managers can expect to find as another year begins.  

1. Automated Talent Acquisition Trends 

• Recruitment. According to Forbes, automated programs today focus on screening candidates based on their interests and skills rather than depending solely on their academic backgrounds and work experiences.  

Using these programs and riding on this trend today would be more beneficial for your team. It’s especially true since, in 2020, Harvard Business School’s findings are in contrast to present applications. In the past, candidate screening software would automatically disqualify applicants who didn’t have specific academic requirements or had gaps in their work years.   

• Job automation. With technology, jobs will also become easier and more accessible for humans. It contrasts with current ideas that automation will make human labor obsolete in the future. 

To defeat this thinking, Pew Research released an article in 2018 where they interviewed different tech experts and enthusiasts–one of them being Charlie Firestone, communications executive director and vice president of Aspen Institute.   

In this interview, he said that he is hopeful that AI and other technologies to reveal new areas for employment s equal to the number of repetitive jobs and tasks it eliminates.   

Pedro Lima, a computer science professor from Lisbon, also said he is expecting new challenges and activities within current workplaces, as dangerous and heavy-labor tasks can already be delegated to computers and robots. 

• Company cost reduction. Another article from Forbes presents computer programs as an effective help for your team. Automation reduces the time spent on recruiting and hiring and the costs associated with those processes. 

AI-based tools are also becoming more sophisticated (and more affordable) as they become integrated into other systems within an organization. This means that you can buy one tool and use it across your entire organization. 

To add, SHRM’s article proved that automation can help hiring teams with more precise audits in payroll. In terms of monitoring benefits for employees and discontinuing benefits for who have resigned, an error reduction rate of 50-60 percent was shown. Even administrative time can be reduced by 70-90 percent and used for strategic planning using computer applications. 

2. HR Performance Management 

• Automation for mental health. American Psychological Association’s 2022 Work and Well-Being Survey revealed that 81 percent of applicants consider organizations appealing when employers prioritize employee mental health. 

There are ways you can prioritize employee mental health with the help of automation. As Forbes puts it, you can include it in current workplace programs and set times specific for mental health breaks. You can also enroll employees in outpatient mental telehealth check-up programs and even contact them and engage with their thoughts, all while in a remote setup.   

• Digital workplace. Even with the continuous decline of cases within the current pandemic, the remote workplace setup does not seem to leave anytime soon, most likely for a good reason. As Forbes stated in their article, there was a five percent increase in employee productivity during the past pandemic work-from-home period. 

In this same article, 88 percent of employees surveyed admitted being satisfied with their setups. Of the same respondents, 62 percent also found it more comfortable to work in their homes, reducing their work stress and increasing their physical and mental health.  

• Employee training. Forbes published an article proving that AI can help employee training and development. With technology, both personalized and experiential training can be obtained. 

Automation is expected to help in the former as teachings and approaches can be tailored specifically to every employee.    

On the other hand, AI can help with experiential training as it can already present new circumstances for new employees to learn. This will allow them to be prepared for when related instances occur next time. 

• Employee feedback. HR tech is also expected to help in employee growth via real-time feedback. This will allow employees to correct their actions while honing their current skills.   

With real-time feedback present, employee performance toward products, customers, and other business partners could skyrocket, leading to increased revenue and organizational growth.   

• Employee engagement. HR professionals are aiming to elevate employee engagement in the coming years. SHRM stated in their article that 85 percent of employees globally are actively disengaged in their workplaces. Worse, this could lead to a decline in the quality of performance, even equating up to $7 trillion in lost productivity.   

But with AI, engagement can occur via improved communication, decision-making, and reward programs. With technology, chatbots can be used to make collaborative and interactive communication with employees and even candidates. This same tool can be used to help both leaders and subordinates come up with the best decisions by looking at different angles of the same situation.    

Reward and incentive programs are another thing all employees want these days. As SHRM states, AI can provide the right rewards for good performance. Without bias, employees can receive better compensation for their work. 

HR and AI 

From recruiting candidates to handling employees, HR and automated programs will be sure to work hand in hand. The association of human resources (HR) and artificial intelligence (AI) has been growing steadily over the last few years. This HR software landscape is expected in the near future.   

As Forbes lists in their article, data analytics and knowledge in technology are some skills HR professionals should equip themselves with. It is where advanced tech training becomes vital for hiring managers who want to have a future-ready workforce.    

SHRM presents another article where both HR and IT processes are starting to coincide with one another. From recruitment, compensation, and even employee relations, your team of HR professionals is expected to acquire technological skills today to keep up with the changing environment.    

This means that while your team may already be able to connect with candidates and employees, you may have to rely on IT professionals to teach you different software aspects affecting human resources–creating a mix between human-human interactions as well as human-machine interactions.   

But does the focus on the machine make human resource teams useless? As an article from LinkedIn states, AI is not going to replace current HR systems anytime soon. However, it will undoubtedly be used in many ways as your organization moves into 2023 and beyond.    

Machine learning, for example, is a type of artificial intelligence that allows computers to learn without being explicitly programmed. This means that you can expect computers to recruit candidates and help employees learn on their own.    

However, you and your team can still make the final decisions and implement the best employee and organizational growth methods as you see fit. After all, you are using technology, which means you have more power over it. 

Prepare Today, Celebrate Tomorrow  

As the tech-based future of HR becomes more and more of a reality, it is essential that your HR professionals are prepared. The future of HR is bright, but it will not be easy.   

To achieve success through technology, your team will have to enter a new era for the industry. This will require everyone, including you, to rethink how you will work, deliver value, and stay competitive.    

Technology is now at our doorstep. Human resource executives must engage today by embracing change and adapting their skill sets accordingly. If this is done smoothly, preparations today will lead to celebrations tomorrow.  

Read more: Diversity in Tech Matters Now More Than Ever

FUTURE-PROOF YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH THE ON-DEMAND GROUP. 

As helpful as it is, preparations and recalibrations within your current systems are not without fault. Critical HR system decisions can best be made with the help of a staffing agency driven to support your organization.    

With this article, you can gain insight into current trends and future changes. In our candidate selection process, we not only find the top candidates but also help match them with a working environment geared toward the future.    

On-Demand Group is willing to provide not only administrative management ideas via articles but also a top-tier candidate pipeline of IT professionals ready to help you anticipate the future of HR tech. Contact us today, and let us start making your organization future-proof!