As more and more companies focus on creating a more inclusive HR experience for their employees, one that is based on the needs of a customer, as opposed to a staff member, there are a number of interesting trends that have begun to emerge.
Now that more businesses are viewing things through a digital lens and focusing on the importance of agile, digital, consumer based HR services, it is time to take a closer look at the following crucial trends and the effect that they will have on the workplace.
1. New Recruitment and Development Tactics
While many recruitment and development teams used to focus on becoming a master of their chosen subject matter, an increased focus on agility and software development has changed the way that businesses recruit and develop their new employees. Corporate learning is now all about presenting an environment where the process has been simplified, making it easier for employees to find and consume the information that they need.
Instead of creating content for employees to learn more from, the focus has now been placed on providing staff members with the chance to curate their own learning experience. The experience has been favorably compared to choosing a movie or television series to watch on Netflix and makes the employee feel like a more active part of the learning process.
2. Increased Emphasis on Work Space Autonomy
Employers who once provided one uniform work area for their staff members are beginning to realize the importance of catering to the introverts and extroverts on their staff equally. The majority of workplaces are typically designed with the needs of the extrovert in mind, but in 2017, more companies are providing the introverts on their staff with the ability to select a quieter area to get their work done.
Open floor plans are slowly becoming a thing of the past and while seven out of every ten American workplaces rely on these floor plans, research studies have shown that a worker who is able to choose their own personal space is usually far more productive than a worker who cannot find the proper area to focus. Giving employees a choice of work space is a great way to improve company culture and will soon become the norm, as opposed to an exception.
3. Added Focus on Ethics
As a number of big name companies have been forced to weather ethical scandals that have been attributed to their toxic work cultures, there is an increased level of focus on eliminating practices that would be considered to be unethical. Companies are now looking to their HR teams to establish a healthy culture that is based on regular, meaningful conversations with all of their employees.
Instead of setting standards that are impossibly high and unable to be maintained by even the most well meaning employees and executives, companies are steering clear of an excessive obsession with numbers and figures, which often serve to encourage unethical behavior.
