10 HR Tech Trends Driving Workplaces Forward in 2021

Since early last year, many companies have found HR technology to be crucial for running effective businesses when staff are in remote locations. This technology has also been essential for helping teams to provide virtual benefits.

Sharing information with remote employees is easier with the proper tools and resources. That’s why more businesses are focusing on implementing different technologies that can help them stay compliant, monitor time efficiently, manage payrolls, and drive engagement.

As the world of work continues its transitional period in 2021, which HR tech trends will drive your industry forward? Keep reading, and you’ll find out.

1. Emphasize on Employee Wellness

As employees were forced to transition to working from home effectively overnight, their wellness became a big talking point. Even when companies head back into the office, attention to employee wellness will remain essential.

Expect to see employers spend more on rewarding employees and investing more in physical and mental health initiatives.

2. Your Home Office is Now Your Office

Many employers and employees feel that the shift to remote work has been successful, and there are signs that to some extent, WFH will continue. Talks of offices closing their physical doors might be exaggerated, but remote work is undoubtedly here to stay in some capacity.

With employees either working remotely for good or on a part-time basis, companies will continue investing in the right technology to support this. In particular, communication tools will continue to be important.

3. Revamping the Role of HR through Technology

The role of HR has evolved beyond recruiting alone. Modern-day managers must be innovative and consider how they can also improve their colleagues’ efficiency.

2020 research by Deloitte found that 47% of survey participants believed that HR teams needed to adopt new practices for the age of digitalization. Meanwhile, 45% said that changing the team structure to accommodate more agile, collaborative work was essential.

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Technologies that will help HR teams reinvent themselves include data analytics software and automation platforms.

4. Personalization is Everything

If 2020 taught HR teams anything, it’s that every employee has their own needs. Consequently, managers need tailored approaches.

Personalization will continue to be critical throughout this year. Individual circumstances like distance from home, looking after loved ones, and family duties must be considered.

As HR teams adopt a more flexible approach, team members may choose to work at different times. In these instances, time-tracking software will help them stay on schedule.

5. Focus on Analytics That Matter

Vanity metrics like social media followers and website visits do not move your business forward. As an HR team, you need to look deeper to determine how successful your strategy is.

This year, teams will focus on statistics like revenue per employee, voluntary turnover rate, and effective training.

To help HR teams focus on meaningful analytics, managers will invest in employee engagement software that allows for comprehensive monitoring.

6. Making Positive Employee Experience a Priority

HR teams have realized that the employee experience is more complex than receiving a lucrative paycheck. If a company’s culture is toxic or frustrating, the amount of money going into their bank account every pay period may be irrelevant to your staff.

Besides adopting a more personalized approach, HR teams will also focus more on ensuring that employees have everything they need to do their job.

For HR teams wanting to reinvent their employees’ experience, asking questions is the best starting point. More companies will invest in survey software and conduct regular polls to find out where they can improve.

7. Taking an Approach That Works for Everyone

There’s a lot of talk online about boomers, millennials, and generations Y and Z. But in reality, employees generally want similar things from their work.

Most employees want to feel a sense of purpose and are looking for career growth opportunities. They also want to set an example for others as leaders and to feel in control of their own lives.

By taking a perennial approach, HR teams will invest more in providing the right kinds of training and ensuring each employee has a meaningful role within the company’s ecosystem.

8. Upskilling and Cross-Skilling

Many industry reports have cited a lack of opportunity as one of the main reasons employees move on.

One way to address this and keep your best talent is by creating opportunities for growth. Upskilling and fitting employees into more meaningful roles that suit their qualities will foster engagement and motivate them. If employees’ career needs are fulfilled with you, they are less likely to go elsewhere.

To help employees upskill and learn skills for new roles, HR teams will invest in learning technology this year. Courses, online workshops, and virtual events will all form part of this.

9. Integrated Services for The Win

Technology helps businesses run more efficiently, and for companies operating remotely, it is essential for maintaining high levels of collaboration.

However, avoiding overwhelm when using multiple apps is challenging. To ensure that these tools don’t start working against your team, integrating as much as possible into a single interface is essential.

This year, you can expect to see HR teams invest more in solutions that offer comprehensive third-party integrations. Everything as a Service (XaaS) platforms will likely also become more popular.

10. Organization on a Mission

When employees feel isolated, it can be hard for them to stay focused—the challenge for HR is ensuring that your employees feel a sense of belonging and a shared mission.

To help maintain a sense of purpose, HR teams will look to software that allows for transparent benchmarks and detailed overviews.

Technology Connects Employees and Keeps Everyone On Track

The importance of technology in HR was amplified by the pandemic last year. As the world begins to emerge on the other side, we’ll see that the workplace as we used to know it has changed forever.

Technology will continue to play an essential role in helping HR teams build a sustainable, positive company culture. Teams will focus on giving employees a sense of purpose and less on vanity metrics.

They will also look to implement systems that enable teams to continue operating efficiently, regardless of where team members work.

Dean Mathews is the founder and CEO of OnTheClock, an employee time trackingapp that helps over 10,000 companies all around the world track time. Dean has over 20 years of experience designing and developing business apps. He views software development as a form of art. If the artist creates a masterpiece, many people’s lives are touched and changed for the better. When he is not perfecting time tracking, Dean enjoys expanding his faith, spending time with family and friends, and finding ways to make the world just a little better. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com.