HR management is a complex and dynamic field that constantly undergoes changes and functions in a state of an ongoing flow. Since it deals with human resources and the global labor force, HR management responds to a variety of social trends that are highly changeable. In this paper, the reflections and impacts of such trends can be analyzed and overviewed in order to notice what types of changes occurred in the field of HR management over the last decade.
Employee engagement and experience is known as one of the most important trends in HR management. However, negative processes and dynamics have been in place in this trend since the beginning of the 2000s. Namely, employee engagement stands for the participation of workers in their workplace life and decision-making process. As a result, Gallup reported a steadily low percentage of engagement in the USA – 32 percent only; in fact, the same trend in the global scale was even worse showing just 13 percent engagement level (Mann & Harter, 2016). In the West, this trend is in rebound and is slowly improving after its ultimate crisis in 2010 (AON Hewitt, 2014).
Data plays a significant role in HR as it provides timely and valuable information of the tendencies that take place in the labor force. One significant improvement trend occurred in this regard in HR management. This trend was the appearance of HR information systems that established the integration of information technologies in the field of HR management (Nagendra & Deshpande, 2014). HR information systems allow organizations to track the state of affairs in their labor force and notice or predict versatile events and tendencies such as the level of performance, turnover intention, attendance rates, job satisfaction, occupational stress, to name a few. This trend signifies growth and development of this segment of HR management.
In terms of performance, HR management has made several important steps forward that brought it to the new level of effectiveness. First of all, today’s performance trends are based on the reliance on feedback that is provided regularly and allows careful monitoring and efficient changes in the process (Haberman, 2016). Moreover, the integration of multiple new types of professional software in diverse workplaces allowed for significant performance improvement. Moreover, some of the most influential organizations in various industries showed that regular communication between leaders, management, and employees helped to improve the level of employee engagement, job satisfaction, and planning for the future in a more accurate and effective manner (Haberman, 2016). Finally, goal-setting has seen a wave of improvement due to the introduction of SMART techniques that help align objectives with organizational goals and long- and shot-term plans.
In the field of HR management, the need for data and analytics tools increased due to the diversification and fragmentation of the contemporary labor force under the influence of the process of globalization. Human resources became more complex in terms of cultural and social differences. As a result, managers are faced with the need to acquire and process more data in order to receive more relevant information as to the needs and inclinations of various segments of the workforce. There are several different kinds of data and analytics tools that serve as effective instruments for the modern HR managers. However, as the diversification growth and trends change, strategies regarding analysis and data collection need to adjust. Consequently, the tools are still wanted. At the same time, more standardized assessment and evaluation criteria are another important change that needs to occur so that HR data could be used and processed by a broader range of organizations.
The complexity of HR management work has increased due to the diversification of the contemporary workforce in terms of generations that comprise it today. In particular, currently, workforce contains several differente generations such as Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. The latter are starting to occupy the largest portion of the modern human resources. This generation is rather different compare to those that came before it. As a result, it is necessary for the workplaces and their leaders and managers to transform their style in order to match the requirements of the new generation that grew up in conditions very different from those of the generations that came before them. HR managers are the most important professionals who are faced with the need to work out plans and strategies helping to attract, integrate and retain Millennials.
To sum up, many trends are in place in the modern field of HR management. Some of them, such as performance and data analytics are experiencing growth and development. At the same time, other trends such as employee engagement and the integration of Millennials face multiple challenges are can be stagnant for certain periods. The field of HR management is dynamic and deals with changes on a regular basis. This is why following the transformation in trends is very important for the purpose of establishing the connection between organizations and their leadership and the existing workforce. Such connections help develop a better understanding of what needs and views dominate the workforce population and how they can be integrated in organizations to generate benefits.
References
AON Hewitt. (2014). 2014 trends in global employee engagement. Web.
Haberman, M. (2016). 5 performance management trends that are shaking up HR. Web.
Mann, A., & Harter, J. (2016). The worldwide employee engagement crisis. Web.
Nagendra, A., & Deshpande, M. (2014). Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) in HR planning and development in mid to large sized organizations. Social and Behavioral Sciences,133, 61–67.