HR trends

Top HR Trends for 2017

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What’s coming next in HR?

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Deloitte has produced a comprehensive document on the top HR trends for 2017. Some would be easy to spot if you are an HR professional that keeps current; others trends are not so easy to see. Here are some of the overriding trends in HR for 2017:

  • No organization no matter what size can survive without some type of HR. HR has permeated all organizations to their core.
  • Continue to move and improve HR systems away from transactional to not only strategic but to applicable, with the creation of technology apps that make workers more productive.
  • People or employee data analytics will become more functional, no longer just storing data but analyzing HR data for organization decision-making.
  • The use of data to influence performance management in a meaningful way. Many organizations will drastically re-invent their performance management systems with real-time assessment and employee engagement.
  • Increased emphasis on the learning organization; according to Deloitte millennial’s rate training and development as the top job benefit.
  • There will be a greater requirement for expanded recruitment sourcing.
  • There will be an explosion in new wellness initiatives in the workplace.
  • One of the most disruptive HR trends will be the incorporation of artificial intelligence into work.

If Deloitte’s trends and disruptive innovations are accurate there will be a lot of HR to do in the coming year.

Click here to read a summary of the top HR trends by HR ONLINE

or Click here to read the complete document.

Discussion Questions

  1. Review the nine HR trends for 2017. Which one do you feel will become readily accepted? Which ones do you feel will be challenged by HR or employees?
  2. Pick two up and coming HR trends and develop an action plan for what you have to do to become more knowledge about the trends.
  3. If you had to pick one trend to implement, which one would you pick for an HR department to implement and why? Defend you answer.

Millennial Movement

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If there is one consistent thing when looking at workforce patterns, it is that the millennial generation is on the move.  However, how that movement is perceived seems to be a bit of a glass-half-full/glass-half-empty view.

GIF with caption, " I don't want to freak you out, but I may be the voice of my generation".
Source: alastairadversaria.wordpress.com. The above content constitutes a link to the source website.

A recent article in the Huffington Post provides us with survey-based information related to the high patterns of millennial workers wanting to quit their jobs.

Click Here to Read the Article.

The Canadian HR Reporter also posted an article recently that looks at the rationale behind the high rates of workforce movement for the millennial crowd.

Click Here to Read the Article.

As HR practitioners, we have a choice as to how we capture the challenges and opportunities offered by these millennial created patterns. The known benefits of a staid and stable post-millennial workforce may be just that, offering a steady flow that is predictable, unchanging, and perhaps, a bit dull.  It should be no surprise that the millennial workforce is vibrant and full of movement. This is a generation that is young, well-educated, and connected to the virtual world in a way that has never been seen before.  It certainly seems that the decision to move to the next best thing, for a person of the millennial generation, comes at a faster rate when existing things like career limitations or organizational values based fit are no longer comfortable.

Should we hold this generation back or let them go, knowing that this millennial pattern too, shall change?

Discussion Questions:

  1. As an HR professional, how does the statistical information about millennial workforce patterns assist in HR forecasting?
  2. If the patterns for millennial workforce movement are accurate, then a) What types of HR activities would be least effective for retention purposes? and b) What types of HR programs would be most important and effective to have in place?
  3. How does the survey information, including the identification of age/generational categories, reflect your own career experience or expectations?

Check Your Sources

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Every year end, industries look back or look forward at their performance. This is particularly true for strategic HR planning as it is key to look forward and try to predict where the work world is going?

According to Robin Domanik Havre’s blog, there are seven interesting trends for 2016 that all HR Practitioners should be aware of:

  1. Some 3.6 million baby boomers are set to retire in 2016
  2. Millennial’s are moving into the work world and soon they will make up 20% of the workforce
  3. Greater time flexibility is a key to attract new employees
  4. Office design must be taken seriously, the way you design your workplace does affect productivity
  5. Big data: from buzzword to actual thing, big data and HRIS will be disruptive technologies in the working world
  6. Greater transparency, if your organization has to say, “it is transparent,” then it is not. Organizational transparency is a feeling not a statement
  7. More immediate feedback is a must to actually change employee behaviour and performance

Click Here to Visit the Blog.

The trends listed above are happening now and all organizations should be developing strategic plans on how to address them.  All seven might not apply to all organizations right away, but they soon will.

Let’s dig a little deeper and ask ourselves – are these actual HR trends for 2016?  Let’s check the source?   Robin Domanik Havre’s is a blogger – here is his bio.:

“Robin Domanik Havre is the CEO of New Intranet. He’s helped many companies deploy successful mobile intranets that are easy to use and specially designed for employees not working in front of a computer. The goal of this blog is to provide research-backed intranet and internal communications advice for more successful HR strategies.”

The goal of his blog is to provide research backed intranet and internal communications advice for more successful HR strategies.

He may have great supported research or he may not, nowhere on his site are his sources of research noted.  We just don’t know!

As an HR professional it is easy to fall into the online research trap.  Just because it is online does not make it true. Before you start to implement any HR programs make sure you have true, creditable research to defend your position.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think these seven (7) trends are valid?  Your VP of HR has asked you to pick two trends that you think are most relevant to your vision of HR. Pick two trends and research the topics with the goal to support your position.
  2. Once you have validated your position with research, what executable plan(s) will you recommend to implement the plan(s) in order to stay ahead of the trend?