HR Technology For 2021: Ten Disruptions Ahead

Transformative Tech Changes Will Produce Disruption
Forced into decentralization by global emergency, many companies are now contending with a total shift in technology that has had, in some cases, unforeseen consequences for traditional areas of operation like Human Resources. Here we’ll explore complications to expect in 2021, and going forward, owing to this technological shift.

1. Zoom: It’s Here, And It May Stay
   Zoom meetings have grown ubiquitous, and that’s not going to change until the whole world reverts to how things were prior the COVID-19 panic. So the question becomes: will things ever get back to normal? Well, truth be told, they may not. For many companies, remote operational infrastructures will require HR personnel to conduct regular zoom interviews.

Your company needs to have the right sort of infrastructure in place as regards computational equipment and connections to do this. Many companies are decentralized already to the point where there is no specific “address”, all employees work from home and telecommute via zoom anyway. If this is the case, designing appropriate protocols for HR facilitation is wise.

2. General Decentralization Of Employees
   Perfectly dovetailing from point one are the added HCM (Human Capital Management) hurdles which naturally define decentralization. Contacting employees, administration of necessary discipline, specific circumstances affecting work, and all associated legal realities now require remote consideration.

HR needs specific software for the task if that’s affordable. If it isn’t, then you’ve got to identify precise needs as regard the management of your workforce, and find tech solutions that fulfill those needs.

3. An Expansion Of Contractor Services: The “Gig” Economy
   Again owing to decentralization, work is more likely to be outsourced as tenuous or part-time positions with varying companies are cut. No longer does a decentralized operation require a staff of custodians—but the boss may need some tech help with the new system from his office, so he might outsource an MSP consultant sporadically.

Those presiding over a company’s HCM needs will have to take into account “gig” options as regard certain operational requirements. There’s no need to retain a full-time contractor when the boss can just grab a guy from Task Rabbit to fix an issue with the downsized office. Also, travel that’s decentralized often involves Lyft over, say, a company bus.

The interaction between employees who aren’t part of the “gig” economy, and those who are, could be an issue for the HR department; so protocols need to be developed for increasingly prevalent circumstances of this kind.

4. Some HR Technology Eliminates Antiquated HR Personnel
   HCM technology can do a lot of things more efficiently, quickly, and cost-effectively than an individual in a salaried position can.

There will always be a place for flesh-and-blood employees; but that place is smaller than it was, and will continue to downsize until a department once holding twenty now only needs two.

That reality needs to be understood, planned for, and properly managed by those involved in HR across your company’s surface area.

5. HCM Is Increasingly Cloud-Based
   Because HCM is facing increased decentralization, cloud computing is more cost-effective and convenient than on-site networks anyway, and the market demands such expansion, there is and will continue to be an increase in HCM software over the cloud.

As cloud computing becomes more central to HR operations, software to manage things like payroll will be increasingly necessary. Finding and implementing solutions such as HR Payroll Systems is better done sooner, rather than later.

6. AI-Recruitment And Screening Doesn’t Always Do The Job
   While automation and decentralization are certainly big players today, as stated earlier, there will never be a situation where technology can totally outsource the human element. Especially for interviews, AI just won’t cut it.

However, solutions like AI are becoming a mitigating factor in HCM operations worldwide. What makes sense is a balanced approach incorporating multiple legacy and modern approaches to HCM.

7. Wellbeing Markets: Health And HR Tech Combined
   Health markets are increasingly symbiotic to HR owing to a variety of factors, some of them even political. In a nutshell, your HR department needs to develop and maintain a stance as regards wellbeing markets.
8. The Reaction Against Diversity Mandates
   Diversity mandates are on the increase now, and are expected to continue their expansion through 2021. There will be a knee-jerk reaction against this which will make competitors more viable to prospective employees, or vice versa.

As restrictions come or go regarding hiring quotas for specific “underprivileged classes”, be ready to turn on a dime when political winds shift—this could happen in 2021; just for evidence, look at the recent GameStop fiasco on Wall Street.

9. A More In-Depth Analytical Component To HR Tech
   Because Big Data, cloud computing, and IoT technology is more prevalent than ever, more opportunities exist to collect and apply diverse data. You can more efficiently gauge workers, manage them, promote them, or shuffle them around horizontally when the need arises. Not only is this more convenient, but it’s becoming more integral by the day to HCM exploits.
10. Increase In Massive Market Contenders Like Google And FB
    Perhaps the biggest shift for 2021 is that Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are now entering the HCM industry with their own solutions, challenging long-term pillars of the HCM tech community.

Their entry into the market has been known since about 2019, but as of 2021, it’s getting real momentum. Keep this in mind as you consider which tech you want to use. While the billionaire “big boys” may have some substantial advantages, there’s also the possibility they overplay their hand.

Understanding Potential Tech Issues To Stay Ahead Of Them
New players in the game, better analytics, diversity considerations, wellbeing markets, the things AI can and can’t do, cloud-based HCM, personnel elimination through tech solutions, “Gig” economy considerations, general decentralization and Zoom will likely all exert some level of influence on your HR department throughout 2021.

Getting ahead of potential issues requires knowing how things stand at your company presently, and how you can most efficiently contend with these likely disruptions. Preparation is like emergency rations: it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Accordingly, these disruptions are worth preparing for even if some don’t directly affect you.