Last year has been a very different year under so many aspects. In terms of how it shaped the world of work however, it probably was one of the most memorable year that will make it to the HR history books.

So much changed, so much needed to change, and also it needed to do so very fast. So let’s have an overview of how 2021 will probably need to continue establishing this trend, according to over 18 absolute experts in the field, from Future of Commerce and Human Resource Today

2021 will be a very decisive year under so many circumstances. Large companies will seriously need to decide what they will do with their Real Estate assets or leases, if the current regulations will still require their workers to work remotely for most of this year. Some companies noticed that their teams have been more productive actually, in some cases saving from two to three hours of commute per day.

At this stage, it is of course incredibly hard to make any clear cut predictions, however some new trends that started already last year seem to be clear that will mark 2021 in terms of Human Resources. Let’s see what these trends are.

1. Remote work: Many companies have seen tremendous improvements in the level of performance of their teams. People can spend more time with their families, commute less and sometimes even get less distracted by the surrounding or the mytical coffee machine chats in the hallways. Offices used to be hectic environments, whereas in some cases, working at home can result in increased focus, that is when you don’t have three kids a cat and a dog. Online trainings and courses, in order to increase the skills of your workforce, might require to re adapt, as continous training and investing on your human capital is something that can pause but definitely not stop.

2. Technology: AI will make it’s way more predominantly this year in our organizations. From Machine-learning to interactive guides that can support your employees in their career paths and everyday struggles, a whole new set of modern HR tools will be able to give a new light to the way we take close care of our employees. User experience and friendliness will become even more crucial now that we are no longer at arm reach, so it is harder to just drop a casual technical question.

3. Mental and emotional well-being: This may sound a vary wide matter, and part of the responsabilities that each individual should care about when they actually finish work. However, it is no secret that in this hyper connected world, especially now working from home, this might represent more of a challenge. Deadlines accumulate, results are becoming ever-more a priority, and technology is enabling us to track every minimum detail of our performances. Often chat is not the best tool for communication, it can leave space for malinterpretations, so stress might accumulate. How organizations deal with all these matter will highly influence the level of fidelity your enterprise will gain with your employees in the years to come.

4. Purpose-driven efforts: Your talents want jobs that are personally rewarding. They expect companies in which they work to define a clear mission, a transparent sense of purpose, and above all follow through to make them a reality. Having a defined lists of tasks and getting paid to execute them is no longer the definition of work. Companies that fail to understand this key rule will inevitably have demotivated teams that will abandon them sooner than later.

5. Not loosing focus on employee experiences: Truly understanding who are your top talents in your company requires adjustments. Now more than ever having the capacity to provide the correct type of feedback, mentoring and follow-up to your team, will result essential in the long run. We are flying through a very major shift in the way we all work and interact, both within and outside our companies. This shift will demand a higher level of attention, openess and acute listening from all management levels in order to be able to perceive, what is the general level of engagement of our team.

6. Diversity, equity and inclusion: As time progresses, new generations enter the world of work, and with their inclusion, more and more coherence is required for company’s CEOs around the globe in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is a growing requirement, even if members of your team are not themselves directly part of a minority or women. Equity is a demanded value and it finally starts to become the basis of any well-respected organization. As it should be. Simply put new generations aren’t going to accept a status quo where equality isn’t the foundation.

7.Data as a primary form of decision-making: A few decades ago, data already was a highly important tool, however a lot of the data needed to be manually fed onto a database or system of sort. Now, sophisticated data scraping tools allow us to simply observe more accessible and visual dashboards, that assist in taking the key decisions at various points. Data will become an ever more trusted source in regards of decision-making, and AI will help us navigate huge volumes of data that would otherwise result impossible to decipher.

These are the main predictions in terms of how Human Resources will differ in this 2021. We will cover this topic again however in the months to come, observing closely how HRTech startups make their way into the scene and conversational AI starts to become an ever more “human-like” companion. The future of office space and co-working hubs is still to determine. There is more technology arising in order to avoid touching doors and surfaces, new materials are entering the scene so they can resist being desinfected multiple times a day.

How will the world of Business be reshaped by this Pandemic?

What good aspects will arise from all of these changes?

Is working from our living rooms going to establish as the new normal?

We will tackle all of these open questions and many more in the articles to come.

InHunt World

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