The HR Tech industry is undergoing a rapid transformation as new technologies, trends and challenges emerge in the post-pandemic world. HR leaders and practitioners need to stay ahead of the curve and leverage the best tools and practices to drive business success, employee experience and organizational resilience. In this article, we will explore some of the key HR tech trends that will shape the industry in 2024 and beyond.
GenAI: The Next Frontier of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept for HR, but it is evolving to a new level with generative AI (GenAI). GenAI is a type of AI that can create novel content, such as text, images, audio, or video, based on existing data or inputs. For example, GenAI can generate realistic resumes, job descriptions, feedback, learning content, career paths or even employee personas.
GenAI has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of HR, such as talent acquisition, talent management, learning and development, employee engagement and diversity and inclusion. GenAI can help HR automate tedious and repetitive tasks, personalize, and optimize experiences, enhance creativity and innovation, and generate data-driven
insights.
According to Gartner, HR functions will go from dipping their toes into GenAI to accelerating its adoption in 2024. However, GenAI also poses some challenges and risks, such as ethical, legal, and social implications, data quality and security issues, and workforce readiness and acceptance. HR leaders need to adopt a responsible and strategic approach to implement GenAI initiatives effectively.
If you are wondering how you can implement GenAI in your company, here are some steps you can follow:
- Define your GenAI use cases and goals. What are the problems you want to solve or the opportunities you want to seize with GenAI? How will GenAI add value to your HR processes and outcomes?
- Assess your data availability and quality. What are the data sources you need to feed your GenAI models? How can you ensure that your data is accurate, complete, relevant, and unbiased?
- Choose your GenAI platform or provider. What are the features and capabilities you need from your GenAI solution? How can you compare and evaluate different options in terms of functionality, performance, cost, and security?
- Test and validate your GenAI outputs. How can you ensure that your GenAI outputs are dependable, relevant, and appropriate? How can you measure the impact and effectiveness of your GenAI initiatives?
- Train and educate your stakeholders. How can you prepare your employees, managers, and leaders for using or interacting with GenAI? How can you address their concerns or questions about GenAI?
Here are some interesting use cases of GenAI for the HR Industry:
- Resume Generation: GenAI can create realistic and customized resumes for candidates based on their skills, experience, and preferences. This can help candidates showcase their best selves and stand out from the crowd. It can also help recruiters save time and effort in screening and sourcing candidates.
- Job Description Generation: GenAI can generate compelling and relevant job descriptions based on the requirements and expectations of the role. This can help attract and retain qualified and diverse talent. It can also help reduce biases and errors in the hiring process.
- Feedback Generation: GenAI can generate personalized and constructive feedback for employees based on their performance, goals, and development needs. This can help employees improve their skills and performance, as well as increase their motivation and satisfaction. It can also help managers provide timely and consistent feedback to their teams.
- Learning Content Generation: GenAI can generate engaging and customized learning content for employees based on their interests, preferences, and learning styles. This can help employees acquire new knowledge and skills, as well as enhance their creativity and innovation. It can also help HR deliver effective and scalable learning solutions.
- Assisting with Performance Reviews and Evaluations: GenAI can assist with performance reviews and evaluations, providing a more objective and data-driven approach.
- Personalizing Employee Experience: GenAI can help shift towards a skill-based organization and improve the candidate/employee experience through personalization. It can offer more conversational workflows and tailored information.
- Automating Repetitive Tasks: GenAI can automate repetitive HR tasks like screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and conducting performance evaluations. This can significantly improve productivity and efficiency in HR operations.
When implementing Generative AI (GenAI) in HR tech, organizations should consider the following precautions:
- Data Privacy and Security: Ensure that the data used by GenAI models is secure and privacy-compliant. This includes anonymizing personal data and implementing robust data security measures.
- Ethical Considerations: Be aware of the ethical implications of using GenAI, such as the potential for bias in AI-generated content or decisions. Implement guidelines and checks to ensure the ethical use of GenAI.
- Quality Control: Regularly test and validate the outputs of GenAI models to ensure they are accurate, relevant, and appropriate. This includes setting up mechanisms for human oversight and intervention.
- Legal Compliance: Understand and comply with all relevant laws and regulations related to AI and data use. This may include laws related to data privacy, employment, and discrimination.
- Transparency: Be transparent with employees about how GenAI is being used in HR processes. This includes explaining how decisions are made and how data is used.
- Training and Education: Prepare your employees, managers, and leaders for using or interacting with GenAI. This includes providing training and resources to help them understand and use GenAI effectively.
- Workforce Readiness and Acceptance: Assess and address the readiness and acceptance of your workforce for GenAI. This includes managing change effectively and addressing any concerns or resistance. Remember, the successful implementation of GenAI requires a strategic and responsible approach. It’s not just about leveraging the latest technology, but also about ensuring that it’s used in a way that benefits the organization and its employees while mitigating potential risks and challenges.
Employee Experience: The Key to Engagement and Retention
Employee experience (EX) has been a top priority for HR for several years, but it has become even more critical in the wake of the pandemic. The shift to hybrid work models, the increased demand for flexibility and well-being, and the changing expectations of employees have challenged the traditional ways of delivering EX.
HR leaders need to rethink how they design and measure EX in 2024. Instead of focusing on one-size-fits-all solutions or superficial rewards, they need to create personalized and holistic experiences that cater to the diverse needs and preferences of employees. They also need to leverage technologies that not only improve efficiencies but also enhance EX outcomes.
Some of the technologies that can help HR improve EX in 2024 include:
- Employee feedback platforms that enable continuous listening and action.
- Employee engagement platforms that foster communication, collaboration, and recognition.
- Employee wellbeing platforms that support physical, mental, and emotional health.
- Employee learning platforms that offer engaging and interactive learning opportunities.
- Employee career platforms that facilitate internal mobility and career development.
According to Forrester Research, 66 per cent of technology decision-makers said they’ll increase investment in EX or human resource technologies in 2024. However, some analysts predict an EX “recession” in 2024 as executives turn their attention to reducing costs and boosting efficiencies. HR leaders need to balance the trade-offs between EX investments and business outcomes and demonstrate the value of EX for organizational performance.
Data Analytics: The Foundation of HR Decision Making
Data analytics is another area that has been gaining momentum in HR for a long time, but it is expected to reach new heights in 2024. As HR becomes more involved in strategic decision-making and business transformation, it needs to rely on data-driven insights rather than intuition or best practices.
Data analytics can help HR answer critical questions such as:
- How can we attract and retain the best talent?
- How can we optimise our workforce planning and allocation?
- How can we enhance our employee productivity and performance?
- How can we measure our employee satisfaction and engagement?
- How can we improve our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts?
- How can we predict our future talent needs and risks?
To leverage data analytics effectively in 2024, HR needs to overcome some challenges such as data quality and integration issues, data privacy and security concerns, data literacy and skills gaps, data interpretation and communication challenges, and data ethics and governance issues. HR also needs to collaborate with other functions such as IT, finance, or marketing to share data sources, tools, and best practices.
Skills Tech: The Solution for Talent Development
Skills are the currency of the future workforce. As the world of work changes rapidly due to technological disruptions, economic shifts or social changes, skills become obsolete or irrelevant faster than ever.
HR needs to ensure that employees have the right skills at the right time to perform their roles effectively and adapt to changing demands. Skills tech is a term that refers to technologies that enable skills identification, assessment, development, or matching. Some examples of skills tech include:
- Skills inventories that capture the current skills of employees.
- Skills gap analysis that identifies the skills needed for current or future roles.
- Skills development platforms that offer personalized and adaptive learning paths.
- Skills verification platforms that validate the skills of employees or candidates.
- Skills matching platforms that recommend the best fit for roles or projects.
Skills tech can help HR address some of the key challenges in talent development, such as:
- Aligning skills development with business strategy and goals.
- Providing relevant and engaging learning experiences for employees.
- Creating a culture of continuous learning and feedback.
- Enabling internal mobility and career progression for employees.
- Reducing talent acquisition costs and time.
According to Gartner, HR leaders will adopt powerful predictive analytics and skills technologies in 2024. However, skills tech also requires some prerequisites, such as a common skills framework, a robust data infrastructure, a clear governance model and a strong change management plan.
Conclusion
The HR tech industry is poised for significant growth and innovation in 2024. HR leaders and practitioners need to embrace the opportunities and challenges that come with new technologies, trends and demands. By adopting a proactive, responsible, and strategic approach, HR can leverage the best of HR tech to drive business success, employee experience and organizational resilience.
