8 HR Trends to Consider in 2024

These nine HR trends should be considered in 2024. Some patterns and some wishful thinking, as usual. Top HR trends for 2021 included the shift to remote work, an increased focus on employee well-being, and the adoption of AI-driven recruitment tools to streamline hiring processes.
1. Moral guidance
I read “Super Pumped – The Battle for Uber” by Mike Isaac and “She Said” by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey this year. Super bullies Travis Kalanick and Harvey Weinstein are featured in both books. It’s interesting to note that the HR specialists in the companies had no part in either book. HR is not there. The legal departments have a role, but it’s a very questionable one because their primary goal is to keep things out of trouble and keep the bully safe. HR has a clear opportunity here. Client, employee, and applicant expectations are evolving. They are searching for organizations that can help bring about the necessary social changes. Organizations will find it difficult to fulfill their responsibilities and their business will suffer if they tolerate toxic workplaces. I anticipate that leading CSR will rank highly among HR’s opportunities. HR should step in and not watch when they witness unacceptable behavior.
2. Farewell, Business Partner in HR
I had a conversation with the HR director of a company with about 300 employees last week. She wanted to know how many business partners we should have in HR. One (you) is probably more than enough, is my response. The idea of an HR business partner has grown in popularity since the early 1990s.
3. A Hybrid Workplace
Over the past few decades, the workplace has gradually altered. From offices with many small rooms to offices with big floors and cubicles, to offices with open areas for everyone, to more varied offices with areas suitable for various purposes (such as producing reports, holding meetings, making calls, brainstorming, one-on-one meetings, having coffee, etc.).
4. A higher chance of dissociation
There is an increasing disconnection between the office and work (see The Hybrid Office). It takes deliberate effort to maintain employee engagement while they are working remotely. One could contend that it gets harder to draw a distinct line between work and personal life when working from home. The link to work also gets less tight at the same time. Most of the time, the boss and coworkers are not visible. Video conferences are somewhat helpful yet insufficient.
5. Skill mapping: identifying related abilities
“From job based HR to skill based HR” is one of the megatrends that is discussed in the introduction. Knowing what skills people currently possess and what they can learn in the future is becoming increasingly crucial. I’ve seen an instance where a business was able to create a three-dimensional map of its employees’ skill sets. This makes it simpler to identify related skills.
6. More encouragement than enforcement
According to Wikipedia, nudging is a concept in behavioral science, political philosophy, and economics that suggests using indirect recommendations and positive reinforcement to affect how individuals or groups behave and make decisions. Other approaches of achieving compliance, such education, regulation, or enforcement, are in opposition to nudging.
7. The Individual User Manual
Since we are just beginning to explore HR, it needs to stay on the list. I recommend using the Personal User Guide for 2024. Your Personal User Guide is generated using a BIG-5 personality test, which you may use to advise others on how to interact with you most effectively. and you with them.
8. Digital tracking and Big Brother’s comeback
Not all employers have become saints overnight. Many employers wish to monitor and manage their employees. Although they don’t express it, some people do believe that “control is better, trust is good.” Software for HR monitoring software like Controlio is becoming more and more popular. A few instances are:
- Controlio (as the name implies)
- Hubstaff “Everything your team needs to work smarter,”.
- Interguard: “Simplified employee monitoring.” Keep track of, examine, notify, and prohibit user activities.
- StaffCop is yet another fantastic name.
- Teramind: “Preventing insider threats”
- Veriato Cerebral says “Stop responding to threats and start hunting them,”.
- Work Examiner: “You can easily track who tweets and who does the job with our employee monitoring software.”
- On the plus side, the trend can be referred to as “Continuous Listening,” but we should be wary of “Continuous Tracking.“