2019 has flown by! Astron wants to thank all of our Astronology® readers for a wonderful 20th anniversary year. As per Astronology® tradition, our last article of the year will be our thoughts on possible HR trends and hot topics for the coming new year. Many of these topics are certainly not new, but the conversations surrounding them have grown. We look forward to seeing positive progress in 2020!
Legislation
2020 is a big election year. Previous Astronology® articles have noted that a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican Senate & White House tend to invoke more friction or an outright halt in new legislation. Since 2020 will be a critical year in United States politics, we will not be surprised to see amplified legislation friction. Additionally, with the amplified political atmosphere closer to election time, it is important for HR representatives to remind employees and managers to respect each other’s viewpoints, and to keep the workplace hostile-free.
HR Technology
We continued to gradually move closer to a more technology-based society. How does this fit in with the HR realm?
- Automation: The field of HR automation is starting to push boundaries with the use of chatbots. For instance, chatbots have the potential to assist in the new hire on-boarding process. Similar to how chatbots are used in customer service and IT technical support, the aim with onboarding is to develop a Frequently Asked Questions list, enter these FAQs into a chatbot program, and let the chatbot take care of the rest! The expectation of chatbot usage in this way is to give HR administration more time to deal with strategic matters by leaving chatbots to address the commonly asked questions in areas of benefits, compensation, and retirement. Other areas of chatbot potential usage include open enrollment and PTO management. Certain concerns also follow the use of chatbots for this purpose, specifically information security and legal boundaries.
- Gamification: Already a highly discussed topic in HR, we see gamification continuing to have an impact on HR technology. Currently, you can find gamification being used to screen candidates and motivate employees to complete tasks. It is even suggested that the data collected in gamification can be used to help HR departments build job families, which directly aids in reskilling jobs.
Work Culture & Work Performance
Continuous Feedback: There has been much talk of how work performance is communicated to employees. Many, in an attempt to meet the demands of the current multi-generational workforce, have adopted continuous feedback when addressing performance reviews. It would make sense that this trend continues into 2020. Both Millennials and Generation Z workers prefer this form of communication over the traditional quarterly / yearly performance reviews.
Are there any other HR trends or topics you think will impact 2020? Share in our comments section below!
This is right indeed! Technology has become the whole part of everyone’s life. And with this, things have been made so easy. I really anticipate more technology trends. Let’s all check out how grown it would become in the year 2020. Just can’t wait!
Well, implementation is the key when it comes to any new technology, irrespective of the department. before going outright with it, testing for reception from employees is important. this will help businesses put in place appropriate policies that will aid in automation. thanks Cassandra for sharing this post
Thank you for sharing some tips that we can use in our hr seminar