The pandemic has significantly changed not only our ordinary lives, but also our work. The corporate sector has rapidly entered the digital reality, and many companies have had to modernize their HR strategies and methods. This article discusses new HR trends and technologies that have become relevant in the era of the coronavirus and will remain with us for a long time to come.
Trend #1: New tools for recruitment and communication
After the pandemic-related restrictions were put in place, companies didn’t stop hiring. For example, delivery networks actively recruited couriers during this period, and online businesses looked for IT specialists and content managers. Still, potential candidates are filling out questionnaires, writing paper online, and taking tests remotely.
Now, many of the restrictions have been removed, but remote search and hiring for a specific project has come into practice. An increasing number of aggregator sites allow employers and employees to meet, and interviews take place online. Among the common tools for video calls are the following:
- Zoom is a popular service for online communications that “took off” just in the pandemic. The free version of the application can be used with a limit of 40 minutes. The platform allows for video and/or audio communication. It is installed on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Up to 100 people can participate in the conference. The paid version removes the limit of 40 minutes, allows recording video to the cloud, and invites up to 300 participants to the conference. The starting price is $20 for 30 days.
- Messenger Rooms – a service from Facebook for virtual meetings with up to 50 participants. Organizers can close their virtual rooms or leave them open so friends can join the meeting whenever they want. The app has no time limit and is free to use.
- Google Meet – Google’s platform for secure video meetings, which can be used for free with a maximum number of participants of 100 people. The conference in this format has a time limit of 1 hour. Companies can use Google Workspace Essentials to access advanced Meet features. This plan allows you to host a video meeting for up to 250 people and stay connected for 24 hours. The cost is $8 for 30 days per active user.
Trend #2: Digital workspaces
The introduction of digital workspaces has become one of the global HR trends. Users now have the ability to “here and now” work with their applications, tools, and data in a familiar environment from any device they can access, not just the office.
This union of humans and new technologies helps companies create super teams. This collaboration not only creates new meanings and values but also allows more time for creative activities.
The digital workplace increases the efficiency and engagement of each employee and the team as a whole. The following platforms serve as tools for creating a corporate workspace:
- MS Teams – the teamwork space in Microsoft 365. The teamwork platform allows small and medium-sized businesses to perform many important business tasks remotely. The enterprise platform combines chat, meetings, notes, and attachments in a workspace. Microsoft 365 for Business starts at $4 for 30 days.
- Adobe Connect is specialized software based on Adobe Flash technology designed for distance learning, interactive conferences, meetings, online customer support, information sharing, and other useful features. The software can be used under license on its own network or by subscription to an external hosting service. The cost of the product varies depending on the toolset, check with your vendor.
- TeamTalk is a free conferencing system that is used for both audio and video communications.
Trend #3: Implementation of automated solutions
Automation of many processes contributes to the development of intelligent HR, in which managers and employees can interact on a one-stop-shop principle. Modern services for teamwork help to minimize routine work and optimize statistics homework help. For example, all documentation can be stored in electronic format, which reduces the workload of employees and minimizes the number of repetitive tasks.
These services also allow you to visualize all work processes, differentiate access for different categories of employees, and much more. Among the most popular tools are the following:
- Trello is a cloud-based project management software for small groups. You can intelligently organize any activity in it: from the stages of a large project to small tasks. The free version of the program has limited functionality, but it is enough to manage small projects and teams. Paid access costs $10 a month per user for a one-year subscription.
- WEEEK is a service for managing personal and team projects. Allows you to monitor project progress: one-click notification to employees about changes in the course of work. The cost of using the program is $8 per month.
- Asana – a single platform for work management, allows you to coordinate any task from start to finish. The price for the Business plan is $25.
Trend # 4: Increasing personnel efficiency
The team is the main priority of many companies. Previously, an employee could complete a task without understanding his contribution to the common cause. Today, personnel performance management systems are being improved. Now the employee can see his individual goals and their relationship with the corporate and strategic goals of the company.
This became available, among other things, thanks to services that include an option for setting goals, assessing the effectiveness of employees and their competencies. In turn, HR management employees are relieved of manual analytics and reporting collection. Using only the data of these services, they can flexibly build a system of employee motivation and quickly respond to any difficult situations in the company’s HR processes.
It is possible to increase the efficiency and engagement of personnel with the help of the following programs:
- Pyrus is a cloud-based system for automating work processes, business communications, task management, and document approval. The starting price of the program is $ 4 per user per month.
- Kickidler is an application that automates the time tracking function in a company, records violations of the work schedule, and notifies employees and managers about them. The price for using the program is $ 5 per month with a subscription for a year.
Trend # 5: Work-life balance
Due to the pandemic, the number of employees working remotely has increased significantly. Therefore, the boundaries between personal life and work have become less clear-cut. Leaders are interested in maintaining their talent pool, so more and more companies are starting to implement well-being programs – both at the level of individual employees and for teams or the company as a whole.
Caring for the mental health of employees has become part of the structure of all work processes. Many companies quickly picked up this trend and began to organize online morning exercises for their employees, all kinds of classes in yoga, Pilates, and other activities. Someone provides corporate cards to fitness clubs or arranges gyms in offices.
The range of tools for maintaining the mental and physical health of employees is quite diverse. Here is one of them:
- Headspace is a modern interactive meditation teaching system. Cost – 14 days free, then $ 6 per month.
P.S.
Of course, these services are not the only line of IT-tools that can be useful in implementing a corporate HR policy. And one of the important tasks for the HR Department is regular monitoring of such tools. We hope that this review will be useful in accomplishing this task.
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