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10 HR Trends Youll See In 2016

By Kosta Petrov
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The rise of technology and social media have completely redefined the role of
Human Resources around the world.

To understand what the future holds for HR professionals around the world, at
P World, we spent the last month talking with over 60 international HR
experts, discussing their ideas and predictions for the year ahead.

The conclusion- 2016 is going to be one of the most complex years in the
global HR world.

1. Data driven recruiting.

Data-driven recruiting will definitely be a trend that will gain more traction in
2016. Access to data is getting easier and cheaper with new technology and
professional network platforms. Talent acquisition leaders can arm themselves
with data and become very strategic in their decisions. For instance, build
talent pools using data helps recruiters enhanced their understanding of the
market and be more efficient. (Maud Durand, Strategic EMEA Sourcer,
Facebook)

2. Relationships not programs.


HR continues to be about relationships rather than programs and a deep
understanding of the business. The key skill set for future HR people will be
how to effectively understand and manage the impact of mergers, demergers
and globalization. These changes have profound impact in the
workplace. (Jenny Arwas MBE, Formerly Director, BT Group Functions
HRBT)

3. Keeping the skills of your workforce up to date.

In 2016, keeping the skills of your workforce up to date in this fast-changing


world will be more important than ever. Many companies immediately turn to
an external training firm but it is worth thinking about the expertise and
experience already in your company and how you can tap into this for the
benefit of the rest of your staff. Your younger employees, for example,
probably have knowledge of social media which an older generation might
struggle with, reversing the traditional hierarchy of skills. Harnessing this peer
to peer learning can be an efficient and cost effective way of increasing skills,
and the knowledge transferred is likely to be relevant because it is delivered
by people who understand your organisations culture. (Anne Morrison,
Chair, British Academy of Film and Television Arts)

4. Employee engagement and culture as top priority.

The new era of change is expected. Current economic climate demands


smarter operational methods of business. The challenge to stay ahead of
global demographical shift and growing competition seems to lean towards
one common theme, Employee Engagement interconnected to Culture. The
fact that Employee Engagement may have not been the center piece
historically has a distinctive strategic place in business today. Executives must
place Employee Engagement and Culture as their top most priority in 2016.
This growing necessity has benefits and those that embrace will be victorious.
Secondary to this theme is Leadership, having the right people that know how
to lead teams, inspiring them on a journey to success and on the way creating
an exemplary brand. Further, learning and development which forms the
foundations of the brand has an equal foothold in this highly commercialized
world. This triangulated theme is NEW revised HR Trend in 2016. Be in it to
win it! (Ravi Singh, Founder of Bluefin Consultancy [Bridging
Knowledge and Performance])

5. Improving the employee experience.

I believe that HR is starting in new journey in terms of focusing. We have been


dealing with HR transformation for the last 10 years, implementing new
technology to streamline our processes. The time has come to focus on
improving the Employee Experience.

Marketing and sales departments have to improve & develop the customer
experience in order to increase market share and revenue. Our employees at
every level have seen this improvement and are now looking forward to seeing
this improvement not only focus on external customer but also internally to
improve their journey.

Every function has implemented new processes without looking at the big
picture in terms of employee journey and it has become a painful process
between financial / HR / IT / Procurement / Benefits processes. All those
departments are using different technology / workflow and documentation to
perform the task that they have transferred in the last decade. Improving the
Employee Experience in a challenging environment will drive engagement and
retention. (David Lamy, Lecturer Human Resources, Paris-Sorbonne
University)

6. Focus on well being and resilience.

Wellbeing and resilience continues to be a big area of focus for us. For us this
means physical, emotional, mental and purposeful wellbeing. We even provide
free counseling with an external expert provider for employees and their
dependents.
As Europe becomes even more volatile and uncertain in terms of socio
economic indicators, the pressure on individuals becomes even more
challenging. Individuals are pushed to deliver ambitious growth targets at work
and at home there can be struggles with unemployment (partner or child),
financial pressures like the mortgage, loans etc. (Julie Hudtohan, Global HR
for HR Director, Unilever)

7. Developing the human side of the business.

Most organisations with the ability to thrive in todays dynamic business


environment are struggling because they dont empower people or tap into
their full potential. While success in the 20th century was driven by process,
structure and encouraging people to function more like machines, success in
the future requires us to make more of the human side of business. Humans
have evolved to deal with uncertainty through collaboration, cooperation and
using conflict in a constructive manner. Businesses need to encourage their
people to develop mindsets geared towards connection, conversation and
experimentation. Curiosity is crucial: we need to continually question whether
we are doing things simply because thats how theyve always been done and
seek new perspectives to identify potentially better solutions. While different
departments and reporting lines provide clarity of role and accountability, they
also create artificial barriers that block progress. Organising people into silos
of similar skills and functions reinforces the patterns required to solve simple
and even complex problems, but discourages them from working with other
departments or people outside of the business. It does nothing to encourage
the kind of conversations required to solve the major problems we face today.
Businesses also need to redefine how they view fear and failure. Most of us
allow fear to control of our lives. The key to eliminating it is to take back that
control and look behind the self-imposed curtains our fears create. ( Annemie
Ress, Former Global HR Director, eBay and Skype))

8. Big data analysis.

The biggest HR Trend 2016 will be predictive data analysis. Weve talked
about big data for some time and now its time to start to act on that data and
put it to use. (Johannes Sundlo, HR Controller, Spotify)

9. Consolidation of businesses.

As for the HR Trend for next year I believe that Consolidation of Businesses
will continue and the envrionment will stay challenging for most of the
industries. As such HR effectiveness and effectivity paired with analytics on
the one hand and on the other hand I believe we are going to have more and
more challenges with Generation Y and how to become the most attractive
employer for the future workforce. ( Kerstin Knapp, HR Director,
Richemont)

10. Reinventing performance reviews.

I think the hottest topic now is reinventing performance reviews, including


dropping performance ratings. A number of companies like Accenture, Deloitte
and others have already done it. GE is piloting. Another one is abolishing
individual bonus. GSK have also done some very interesting things. (Bjarte
Bogsnes, Vice President Performance Management Development,
Statoil)

CHENNAI: Attracting the best talent with critical skills, retaining them and
enhancing workforce productivity are the top three human resource
challenges that organizations in India anticipate, according to 54% of the
respondents of the HR Game Changers 2016 survey, which was conducted
by Randstad India.

The HR Game Changers survey findings also offer an overview of the top 13
workplace trends that are likely to define HR landscape in India in 2016.
According to the survey results, a majority of HR leaders in India feel that HR
'needs' to be aligned with business and ranked this as the top HR Game
Changer for 2016.

The findings of the survey are based on the feedback and outlook of almost
500 HR leaders from cross industry verticals. The top 5 HR Game Changers
that are expected to prevail in 2016 are the following.

HR 'needs' to be aligned with business

40% of the HR leaders surveyed in India ranked greater alignment of HR with


business as the top HR Game Changer of 2016.The respondents feel that this
is the need of the hour and also agree that over the years, HR has progressed
from being a mere support function towards playing a more strategic role of
being the 'business partner.'

Multi-generational workforce management

According to 35% of the HR leaders surveyed in India, managing the


expectations and aspirations of a multi-generational workforce is the second
most important HR Game Changer of 2016. The survey respondents feel that
specific strategies geared towards different generations are critical to optimise
organizational cohesion.

A vast majority of the respondents also mentioned that today's multi-


generational workforce come with significantly diverse needs and demands
pertaining to communication, use of technology, expectations from the
employer etc. and meeting their aspirations and expectations is directly linked
to top talent retention as well.

Innovation and risk-taking culture to become prevalent

34% of the survey respondents mentioned that fostering a culture that


empowers employees to take risks and drive innovation is going to be the
third biggest HR Game Changer of 2016. A majority of the survey respondents
felt that for organizations to create the desired market impact and to
differentiate itself from the competitors, it has become vital for HR to drive a
culture of innovation and risk preparedness within the organizational talent
framework, especially in context of the start-up boom flourishing in the
country.
Nurturing and developing leaders is a necessity

34% of HR leaders surveyed said building a leadership pipeline is an


imperative and ranked this as the fourth biggest HR Game Changer of 2016.
The respondents felt that internal succession planning and cultivation of a
sustainable talent pipeline of future leaders at all levels is a key competitive
advantage for organizations and this will aid effective change management as
well.

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