What is one HR technology trend emerging from the pandemic that HR professionals should prepare for?

To help HR professionals identify the right tools in their technology stacks, we asked technology experts and the 2021 SHRM Annual Conference and Expo exhibitors this question for their best tech trends. From the automation of screening to the adoption of employee recognition software, there are several trends that may help you strengthen your tech stack for your workforce. 

Here are technology trends for HR professionals: 

 

Monitoring software is one emerging trend that many companies are starting to implement or consider implementing that could have vast HR considerations. (Photo: freepik.com)
 

Multi-channel sourcing

The biggest trend we’ve seen emerge from the pandemic is the need for more diverse sources of talent. Despite reaching record-high unemployment just over a year ago, employers today are struggling to find talent to fill their open roles. This is largely because people have had time to reassess what they want in a career and they now have plenty of options to choose from. The employers that will be able to attract the best of the best are the ones who think beyond job boards and distribute their open roles on more channels — think: career sites, social media, and Google search. Another really effective source we’re seeing is employee referrals. When hiring is hard, the best way to reach qualified applicants is to tap into your existing employees’ network of friends, peers, and former colleagues.

Kristin Tschantz, VP, Growth Marketing, Hireology

Demand for faster payments will accelerate

The proliferation of peer-to-peer payment apps is quickly entering the workplace. Whether it’s a result of using Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle, consumers have gotten used to being compensated quickly and conveniently. With the continued utilization of these technologies, employees and gig workers are beginning to question the relevance of the traditional payroll cycle requiring them to wait for access to their earned wages. This is especially true in industries like home health care, restaurants, and other leisure and hospitality businesses. Solutions such as earned wage access and real-time payments – as well as allowing employees to confirm their gross-to-net pay amount before the funds hit their account – are all ways employers can meet these new worker expectations. A combination of integrated technology that drives efficiencies for employees and the business is what makes this all possible. Providing access to faster payments is here to stay and will only accelerate.

Tom Hammond, VP, Corporate Strategy & Product Management, Paychex, Inc.

Employee Recognition & Appreciation

We ran a survey of 2,000 individuals and learned that 75% of employees think their mental health would improve if they received more recognition and appreciation for their efforts. The pandemic and remote work has made that harder to do since you aren't passing in the hallways and having conversations as often. HR Leaders that implement technology to recognize and thank their team members will notice an improvement in culture and employee engagement.

Logan Mallory, VP, Marketing, Motivosity

TA professionals automating screening & onboarding

The pandemic accelerated business’ shift to digital recruitment and now more than ever job seekers expect a seamless hiring experience. Specifically, talent acquisition professionals are focused on automating the screening and onboarding stages of the hiring funnel. In JazzHR, for example, hiring teams increased their sending of electronic documents by a whopping 905% since the beginning of the pandemic and boosted their use of candidate self-scheduling by 311% for the same time period. HR teams must continue to reduce friction as much as possible in order to keep job seekers engaged and stand out among competitors.

Kelly Peters, Content and Communications Manager, JazzHR

Real-time market analytics & integrated tech stacks

A trend we’re seeing is using real-time market analytics and integrated tech stacks to predict talent pool behavior and build talent pipelines in advance of need. Hiring teams want to analyze data and identify patterns that can help them better understand what the market for a role is going to look like in the next 3 to 6 months. AI and Machine Learning will continue to grow in the HRTech market because of their ability to digest such large volumes of data--not just one from a single platform, but from all the platforms involved in the process.

Steven Jiang, CEO & Co-Founder, Hiretual

The need for a centralized HR system

Moving to remote and distributed work teams highlights the ongoing and evolving need for a centralized system for your human capital management activities. Managers and HR teams are working together to more effectively support organizational success while adapting to shifting employee expectations about broader work flexibility and work life balance.

Cassie Whitlock, Director of HR, BambooHR

Video interviews are here to stay

Virtual interviews evolved immensely over the last few years. While some initially viewed them as a new recruitment trend, during the pandemic they became a necessity to keep hiring processes moving forward. Now, even as the necessity wears off, recruitment professionals refuse to give up the benefits of video interviews. In fact, in Cielo’s Future of Work Survey, the majority (82%) of hiring managers said they’ll continue interviewing candidates by video for many years to come, which makes choosing video interviewing software built for recruitment all the more necessary.

Megan Zolnierowicz, Director of Marketing, Spark Hire

Talent marketplaces for non-traditional work arrangements

COVID-19 spurred the She-session, where over 1.2 million women left the workforce. Female talent will be looking for ways to match their personal needs and professional skills with the jobs they desire. Employers will need to entice those who have left the workforce to return. Employers that embrace talent marketplaces for non-traditional work arrangements like gig-work, contracts and flexible full-time remote roles will be at an advantage.

Erica Driskell, Head of Talent, Trusted Health

Employee privacy and rights

Monitoring software is one emerging trend that many companies are starting to implement or consider implementing that could have vast HR considerations. Employee privacy and rights will be evolving as more and more companies move to a fully remote or hybrid work arrangement. HR should be prepared for what proactive communication will be needed to ensure employees are adequately made aware of what privacy they are or are not entitled to.

Shayleen Stuto, SHRM-SCP, VP of HR, TechnologyAdvice

Source: SHRM.Org