An organizations’ business vision and goals are given shape by their workforce. For growth and better productivity, they need to concentrate on employee performance management. Businesses realize that to optimize their employees’ performance, they must foster a sense of belonging. To stay relevant, organizations realize that the work culture must be employee-centric. They are willing to employ the best and newest performance management tools to achieve this.
Workplaces of today are diverse, a veritable jumble of baby boomers, millennials and Gen Z. HR managers have to work hard and intelligently to manage their organization’s most critical asset-its employees to bring maximum value.
The top trends, discussed below, would impact the success and productivity of an organization positively.
Better communication at work
Constant communication at workplace is key to a collaborative approach to work. Effective team play needs to be encouraged in all industries. Teamwork depends on clear and unfettered communication and support at work. Work collaborations or teamwork are gaining more and more important as organizations are hiring part-time, even hourly workers.
Old style communication tools like telephone chats or emails are going to give way to online conversations with real-time messaging.
Implementation of continuous performance management is a necessity now. Employees today value transparent and authentic relationships at work and need opportunities for development and advancement continuously. The era of ongoing performance management has dawned in 2019.
Continuous performance management software will enable HR managers and employees to chart career trajectories in a more useful manner.
You might also be interested to read: Role of a CHRO – Why Your Company Needs One
Employee engagement leads to higher productivity
The emphasis on employee engagement in recent times is not misplaced. Businesses have come to understand that engaged employees lead to better profits. Highly engaged employees translate into fewer sick leaves and absenteeism. As a result, productivity increases manifold. Engaged employees are also less inclined to leave. Better employee training and development opportunities go a long way in upping employee engagement. Companies will get a reasonable rate of return in employee performance. New and unorthodox learning opportunities should be included in HR strategies.
A recent study revealed that companies having better employee engagement showed an increase in profitability by almost 16%. At the same time, absenteeism was reduced by 37%, ultimately showing a jump in revenue and profits. Better employee engagement also led to a considerable drop in employee turnover (65%)
Savvy HR managers in 2019 will, therefore, invest in employee engagement technologies to boost it.
User-friendly employee management
In today’s workplaces where HR deals with employees that lead their lives online, old fashioned ways of manual attendance and scheduling of work will not do. Employees shop, bank, chat and do various other things online. They are tech savvy and value convenience at work above all. 2019 demands consumer type self-service experience in managing employees. HR managers must adopt user-friendly self-service platforms for employees.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning in HR
HR space will see increasing use of AI and ML-based applications in almost everything, from recruitment to employee benefits. The vast amount of incoming data will help these new technologies to produce valuable insights for HR managers. 2019 will see AI and ML-based applications take over workforce management in a significant way, especially routine jobs like scheduling, time- tracking etc.
People analytics will become indispensable. Data analytics will be instrumental in proactive decision making. Agile businesses will be investing significantly in the area of people analytics.
Diverse workplaces demand careful handling of workforce
Workplaces today have baby boomers, millennials and Gen Z all in a jumble. Gen Z has entered workplaces, millennials are in leadership roles, and baby boomers are either retiring(creating a skill gap) or choosing to stay. Such diverse workplaces pose complex challenges to HR managers. Generational shifts in workplaces call for maintaining a studied balance in utilizing disruptive technology and moving from older to the newer generation of employees in a smooth, seamless manner.
Technology integration
Although HR managers use apps for various tasks regularly, these apps work in isolation. For example, they use different and independent apps for employee management, payroll and employee benefits etc. so far integrating them all was an expensive proposition.
2019 will herald conversations about integration of API (application program interface). APIs are easy to use and bring about integrations and data syncs between core HR software and other applications. Very shortly, HR innovators will offer API libraries and other tools to HR managers to sync different functions seamlessly.
The future is gig economy
2019 will see a surge in gig workers. Millennials are increasingly veering towards freelancing and tempting. Companies also find this attractive and are employing freelancers for a lot of their staffing needs. This new workforce scenario calls for employee management tools that tackle issues beyond just payroll. New situations will force HR managers to think about appropriate employee management solutions for temp workers and freelance hiring apps.
Changing employee requirements will force HR managers to reinvent their outlook on employee management. In 2019, HR managers will need to pay attention to these trends. It will equip them to be prepared for meeting employee expectations.
The main point in the performance management strategy in 2019 is the focus on the employee. The professional development of employees hinges on their physical mental and emotional well being. Continuous performance management helps employees when they need it and paves the way for achieving success. People analytics tools and other technologies help HR managers in doing this.
These new approaches will produce significant business results no doubt, but will also facilitate employees to realize their best potential. In doing so, the customers, investors and indeed the world at large will be benefited as well.
References:
– 7 unexpected employee, performance management trends, to watch for in 2019
– 7 workforce management trends for 2019
