In February’s issue of HR Magazine, Josh Bersin published an article about 9 HR tech trends that will transform the market over the next year. The article talked about how the shift from cloud to mobile combined with new technology such as AI and wearables has altered the way we think about HR in the workplace.
In this post, I’d like to look at just three of those trends as they relate to people management: the performance management revolution, real-time engagement evaluation, and people analytics.
Game-Changing Performance Management
The shift away from annual reviews continues, with increased automation for team-oriented HR and data-driven processes. Software providers like BambooHR have responded with increasingly flexible performance management tools such as:
- Flexible surveys
- Online assessments
- Team management
- Activity streams
- Goal setting and tracking
For example, companies can design their own performance management surveys, making them shorter, more frequent, and with flexible ranking systems designed for regular, actionable feedback. Bamboo’s software allows for custom configuration with goals, peer reviews, and team assessments available based on role:
Engagement Evaluation Tools
Frequent feedback is one of the best ways to keep your finger on the pulse of your organization. As HR tech evolves, Bersin predicts that feedback will become even more important. Already, many systems have begun integrating feedback options into performance management systems with the goal of better understanding and meeting the needs of their current employees. And as the demand for quality talent continues to build, feedback can also be used to make cultural improvements that will position your company as a more attractive place to work.
With new software capabilities, companies can schedule feedback based on their performance management structure whether that’s monthly, quarterly, or after an event such as a change in the company’s organizational structure. Notifications let employees know when their feedback is required and also send reminders about tasks and announcements:
Predictive People Analytics
Everybody’s talking about data, but not many understand the true potential of analytics as it relates to your workforce. As HR software vendors begin building deeper capabilities into their products, companies will be able to leverage the available data to make better decisions, recommend training and role changes, and predict future employee behavior.
Bamboo, for example, offers a performance ranking graph that shows how employees rank as compared to others on both performance and engagement:
Information like this can help predict performance and retention over time. In addition to tracking and assessing past behavior, people analytics also endeavors to consolidate HR data and motivate change. In the next few years, we’ll increasingly see systems that can:
- Evaluate patterns of communication based on e-mail habits
- Predict where security leaks may occur
- Monitor time management habits
- Identify job change recommendations
- Suggest training based on work roles
Bersin urges companies to invest in analytics now, because it may take some time to clean up your data, eliminate redundancies, and hire the right people to mine useful information from the data in your system.
Of course, these aren’t the only HR tech trends you should be keeping your eye on. As software continues to evolve, we’ll see advances in cognitive processing, recruiting, learning products, and much more. Will your company be ready to capitalize on that forward motion?
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