It’s been a full year since we shared our enthusiasm on what’s coming up in the field of HR, management, and life at work. In 2018, we’re glad to see some of these movements maturing and taking on new forms. And then there are some we’re happy to say goodbye to.
Here are the 3 trends that have us looking forward to 2018. Feel free to share your own favorites down in the comments!
Employee Experience Personalization and Customization
Forbes predicts a shift from Employee Engagement to Employee Experience (EX) saying that “2018 Will Be the Year of Employee Experience”.
“2018 will finally be a year where leaders start to focus on developing the “Employee Experience”, an ecosystem that integrates three core dimensions: engagement, culture and performance management.” — Chee Tung Leong @Forbes
By 2018, the benefits of focusing on employee experience have been studied enough to be put into clear numbers that even the management will have a hard time arguing with. Here’s a chart from HBR:
Though EX as a concept has been around for a while (we highlighted it among last year’s trends as well), we are excited to see contemporary manifestations of it:
“Singapore-based OCBC Bank recently developed an in-house mobile app, HR In Your Pocket, giving employees a holistic HR resource center for submission of leave and claims, tracking medical and lifestyle benefits, and internal job postings. It also features an in-app chatbot to address questions employees might have about HR. “— Chee Tung Leong @Forbes
Treating employees like one’s best customers is a wise business tactic with a concrete competitive advantage. The blossoming HR tech market makes a personal approach to employees’ needs easier than ever. We hope 2018 brings lots of interesting case-studies of EX for us to share and learn from.
Keywords: employee journey map, experience personalization.
Blending of HR and Marketing
Marketing has mastered the rules of being heard in the age of information society and HR is following in those footsteps. Building a strong employer brand is beneficial for both departments, but most of all for the overlying goals of the entire company.
“The year [2018] will bring organizational preparedness and every candidate will be treated like a prospective customer. (…) HR will spearhead efforts to maintain the organization’s positive image as an employer, an image critical to attracting the right talent. (…) C-suite leaders will look to HR to drive the organization’s ability to meet strategic corporate initiatives.” — Elaine Varelas @ Workforce
Forbes brings numbers to confirm:
According to a separate study by CareerBuilder, they found that 58% of employees are less likely to buy from a company to which they’ve applied if they don’t get a response to their application.” — Dan Schawbel @Forbes
Bottom line, the experience of (prospective) employees affects the business outcomes sharper than ever. The culture inside the company inevitably becomes part of the brand.
When “exceptional candidates don’t look for job openings; they look for people and organizations to which they can make a commitment and leaders they want to follow,” the key question becomes, how can HR market the right message? Or even — how can they create the culture worth marketing?
An actionable recommendation for HR: focus on creating a story employees can get behind. Marketers have been doing this through all forms of advertising since the dawn of their profession. People love stories. Start by reading this: “Great Storytelling Connects Employees to Their Work”, and then go have a coffee with your marketing people. There are discussions waiting to be had that everyone can win from.
Keywords: employee storytelling, employer branding.
No Glory to Hustling
Like the once popular craze of “multitasking”, “hustling” had its moment of viral fame. But this is a trend we’re very glad to see going down. In 2017, we witnessed an array of articles (HERE, HERE, and HERE) from burnt out “hustlers”:
“Unfortunately, my exhilarating affair with superhuman productivity didn’t last, and after three intense weeks, I crashed. Hard.” — Jesse Lear @Forbes
Human Resource departments and executives should take note: there is no glory or pride in overworked employees. A recent study found that “employee burnout is responsible for up to half of annual workforce turnover” and “organizations ‘burn and churn’ talent, making it tough to build an engaged workforce.”
One actionable move companies can take is encouraging “non-working” hours or even leaving work equipment in the office for the night. Last year, France went as far as to legislate “workers’ right to disconnect”. The immersion of technology has expanded the workday and is stepping on the toes of employees’ time off.
Establishing a balance in their organizations should be a focus for HR in 2018.
Be proud of employees working smart, not working hard: “Working fewer hours doesn’t mean you’re getting fewer results. In fact, it could even mean that you’ll get better results because you’ll only be working in peak mental condition.” — Pia Silva (9–5 Is Out. Try The 1–6 Instead.)
PS. Check out this online magazine, Anxy, launched in 2017, with the Fall/Winter edition focusing on workaholism. Also HBR’s autumn edition focusing on connectedness at work. It’s about time for an open discussion on the wholeness of human experience at the workplace.
Keywords: burnout, employee well-being, talent churn.
NB! Virtual and Augmented Reality and the “Deskless Workers”
This is a bonus tickler we just had to mention. Enrique Rubio contemplates at HR.com on the underlying current of VR/AR. Thus far it’s nothing but a shimmer on the surface from the viewpoint of wider audiences. But VR/AR are on the rise, no doubt.
Imagine the possibilities of connecting with colleagues via VR/AR, instead of having them in the office with you.
As he points out, teleworkers are equally or more productive than those at the office. VR/AR won’t probably play a major role in HR in 2018, but it’s inspiring to see the discussion on how the innovation will reimagine the workplace landscape as we know it. How will it enhance the remote work experience? What does it mean for communication and coming together for team building? Can it contribute to a whole new dimension of organizational culture?
We are dreaming here, yes. But these are exciting times to live in!
Here’s to a successful 2018!
What are your favorite trends floating on the field of HR? What do you hope to see more of in 2018? Let us know in the comments!
