Global Human Capital Trends are one of the hot topics in the industry. Some of these trends are the drastic changes that organizations had to go through during the pandemic, even though the recovery from the pandemic for the most part has been done quite brilliantly. Other trends are more long-term developments in the Human Resource department or space.

Each will, however, will create a lasting impact on how HR manages people and how we work as a partner of the business.

1.     Home as the New Office

Even though the Work from Home concept is not new considering the pandemic forced organizations to have people work from their homes. The idea of working from home is still in very much of use and it is growing in certain aspects of the corporate industry. The shift to remote work was taken as a precautionary measure in order to evade the COVID-19 Pandemic which now has taken into a practice that many organizations use.

Many organizations now have started to appoint a work from home day weekly as a relaxation to the employees. Companies like Twitter, Square, and Capital One, even announced that working from home is a concept that will stay even post COVID and the corporate industry is proving just that.

Microsoft has also unveiled plans to adopt a hybrid workplace, which offers employees greater flexibility once the pandemic truly subsides.

2.     Moving Beyond Generations

In the past decade, organizations have focused a lot on what separates the different generations in the workforce. Gen X, Y, and Z have all been analyzed, written, and talked about extensively. Scientific proof of intergenerational differences however remains slim.

In fact, research increasingly shows that generational differences related to people’s views on work and life aren’t as big and influential as we initially thought.  What people want from their working life are purpose, good leaders, and professional growth that doesn’t differ all that much from one generation to another. The industry believes they will move beyond generations and see an increased focus on perennials, a term first mentioned by Gina Pell. Perennials, as she puts it, are a group of people of all ages, stripes, and types who go beyond stereotypes and make connections with each other and the world around them.”

To understand the workforce, the industry believes they should look beyond group differences and gather insights on the interest, values, and aspirations of individual employees. This practice will also enable to personalize how the HR professionals manage people.

3.     Learning as a Driver of Business Success

Pre-COVID, there was already a strong need for up-scaling the workforce. This need has only become more apparent. Unfortunately, in the search for HR professionals with future-oriented skills, it is slim pickings. Rather than continuously searching for new talent, the most efficient way is to upscale your HR team ensuring they have the expertise to secure success in a changing future.

For HR, we have identified three key capabilities.

●       Data Literacy: HR professionals need the ability to make data-driven evidence-based decisions in order to be true business partners. This involves the ability to read, understand, create, and communicate data as information to influence decision-makers.

●       Business Acumen: HR professionals in all industries need to improve their business acumen. They need to understand the business, its strategy, its customers and its context. Only when they have a deep understanding of the business will HR be able to add the maximum value.

●       Digital Integration: Digital HR offers the opportunity to drive HR efficiencies, deliver the HR strategy, and drive business impact through technology. This is one of the biggest skill gaps in HR and one that has become even more pressing in this new and more remote reality. 

4.     HR in the Driver’s Seat

2021 has not only seen a massive shift in the way businesses operate, but it has also posed significant personal difficulty to workers all over the world. Employees are worried about their health and that of their loved ones and tense about the security of their jobs. While leadership is worried about what should be communicated and how while trying to have departments and model company values.

In the midst of all this chaos, HR has been on the frontline, facilitating employees, handling business requirements, managing concerns, and questions of the employees, supporting them and focusing on people’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

Being at the center of the crisis was a big responsibility for any HR department. In order to succeed in the drivers’ seat and maintain its newfound position into 2020, that means leading and accelerating the infamous digital transformation that has been an HR trend for years now.

5.     Room for Personalization

The shift the industry has seen lately in the way many of the employees work inevitably leads to people creating their own optimal work environment. They arrange their workspace at home as they see fit and they might work outside traditional office hours if that suits them better. When it comes to the actual work employees do, it seems natural that they will want to make some adjustments there too. For example, in terms of tasks, skills, or purpose. This is where a concept such as job crafting comes in. It is believed that giving employees room to take ownership of their roles will be essential for job satisfaction and productivity in 2022 and beyond boosting both employee success and that of their organization. 

Conclusion

The global human capital trends for 2022 are not that much different to 2021 considering the practices and measures that were adopted in 2021 to overcome the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are now just being polished and being applied to increase efficiency and improve employees’ job satisfaction. The HR industry has been leading the departments during the crisis and it is believed it will stay the same for years from now considering the massive shift in work practices and the procedures to carry out business operations across all industries.