2020 has taken a huge toll on the workforce. In the USA, at the beginning of the pandemic, more than 20m lost jobs, though the numbers started looking better post-July, and employment is on an upward trajectory at present. Though the ones in jobs didn’t have an easy time, either.
Lack of remote work infrastructure and overnight adjustment to this working style came with its own set of challenges. Businesses worked hard the entire year to find the right model for continued uncertainty in bringing the workforce back to normalcy.
This dilemma alone has led to a record investment of US$1 billion+ in Q2, which is greater than the 13-quarter average of US$841 million.
HR tech is considered white-hot, because companies operating in talent-constrained environments seek to invest in tools to help them better recruit, develop, and support their workforces. A record amount of capital has gone into AI solutions for talent recruitment.
However, the pandemic has shifted the quest to find solutions in the other overlooked areas of HR that require urgent attention and breakthrough solutions. It is hence safe to say that the next wave of investment in the HR space will likely be focused on the solutions in the areas listed below.
Self service technologies
The post-pandemic era will see a rise in the demand for employee self-service (ESS) and manager self-service (MSS) tools to make HR information more accessible.
Historically, ESS and MSS tools being purchased are seldom fully rolled out to the organisation. Mainly because organisations perceive this as putting too much burden on managers to accomplish tasks. The MSS tools were generally shelved and instead, a shared-services centre with HR administrative services was made available to the line managers.
This approach is obsolete now and will not work well with the remote working era in the foreseeable future. The industry will be vying for interactive self-service tools in the area of on boarding, performance monitoring, and employee training and development.
The industry is yet to be disrupted by a comprehensive technology that will take away a lot of manual, repetitive tasks from the administrator’s hand.
Human capital management solutions
Although the majority of organisations have flat organisational structures and teams, much human capital management (HCM) solutions haven’t been built to support those structures. Post pandemic, the future of work lies in flat working structures that unlock the potential of dynamic teams.
As business strategies and teams grow more agile to keep pace with recurring change in companies, HR technology must adapt as well, including providing employees with more user-friendly and efficient experiences. The industry will see a rise in the demand for HCM solutions to deliver improved levels of system uptime and scalability.
For instance, a rise in remote working and gig working will lead to changing needs for remuneration cycles. HCM solutions with a more personalised, easier payment methodology will be of interest to many.
Work redesign
Historically, companies have mitigated skill imbalances by redeploying staff continuously across teams, unbundling job roles into specific competencies by training and development modules.
Organisations are focused on redesigning jobs as one alternative to thwart the recruit from a shrinking supply of “purple unicorn” candidates in the job market. Investment in the skill set enhancement of the active employee will be top on their agenda.
In the remote work era, organisations will be looking for solutions that are leveraging technological systems and tools to reduce in-person dependencies and creating a virtual learning environment.
Data privacy
The expectation of employees today is that internally they’ll be treated more like customers, and that includes how their personal data is handled. Many expect more transparency and control over their data.
To a certain extent, it’s up to HR to ensure that the policies and technology systems being used will provide the right level of transparency, as well as the right level of protection for employee data.
As more data-privacy laws are enacted to join the likes of the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, HR leaders, and technology solutions will play a growing role in helping to strike the right balance to win employees trust.
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