We are almost at the end of 2019, which means it is high time to get ready for 2020. TruQu has researched the latest and greatest HR trends so that you can act on this on time. Because of this collection of HR trends it is no longer necessary to look further and you can quickly determine which trends are worth investigating more thoroughly!

When anticipating trends, anticipation, change management, sufficient knowledge and interest are important. When you make a well-considered decision to integrate a trend into your organization, it is important that you know what direction you want to take with this and how you will take your organization along with it. Deepen, orient and spar sufficiently to successfully raise your organization and employees to a higher level.

1. Employees are key

Employee experience, is a concept that will become even more important in 2020. Keeping employees happy is not about a higher salary, but about appreciation. They must have the feeling that they matter and can contribute to the organization, where recognition and authority in their own role play an enormous role. But what does employee experience actually mean? Employee experience is the experience in which an employee optimally cooperates with the organization from arrival to possible departure and everything in between. This sounds simple, but years ago, an organization cared little about employee experience. These days, insight into this employee experience is at the top of the priority list. People want a workplace where they enjoy working. This applies to all facets of an organization. Both for lunch, office space, collaboration and which technologies are used. It is all part of the employee’s experience. The model of IBM, Institute for Business Value shows this well. (figure 1)

figure 1: Components of employee experience – IBM

HR is putting this topic higher and higher on the agenda because it has positive effects on organizational culture, absenteeism and outflow of employees.

Workplaces nowadays have football tables, colorful walls and open workplaces to create synergy between different roles of employees. But also to create a positive atmosphere and attract talent. If you take good care of your employees, they will also take good care of the organization. Through this trend, attention is created for the employee, resulting in more job satisfaction and higher productivity.

2. Customer service

Automation may take the work out of your staff and ultimately reduces costs, but is automation always good? Research by Accenture has shown that 45% of consumers are inclined to make extra purchases with personal interaction. It seems that contact with “real” people has greater persuasiveness than a chatbot or Artificial Intelligence. 73% of consumers look for a “real” person for advice and the same percentage prefers human interaction with customer service.

Nowadays, more people work at customer services than before.”Despite all the automation, more people work in our profession,” says Geeske te Gussinklo, director of the Customer Service Federation (KSF) in the AD. According to the AD, there were almost 4500 positions open in the first quarter of 2016 and 8000 in the first quarter of 2019. An increase of 79%.

In this article from Customer Think you can read that companies like to focus on live chat (32%), mobile apps (26%) and self-service (21%). On the other hand, according to the article, the customer prefers these channels with only 4%, 9% and 13%. Looking at this, it becomes clear that human contact should not be missing for the customer. A trend for 2020 is therefore also to combine personal and digital contact and to keep this well balanced.

According to Freshworks, customers will go faster to companies that offer them personal service, certainly in 2020. It is up to you to be that organization!

3. Gig economy

In a gig economy, full-time employment is a thing of the past. The gig worker gathers his income by combining different activities. This emerging economy represents the total of flexible, freelance or temporary jobs where payment is made exclusively per realized result. This gives employees the flexibility and freedom to choose projects themselves or to determine the amount of work.

The number of freelancers (or freelancers) in the Netherlands is growing explosively. On average this number increases on average by 40,000 to 50,000 a year. According to figures from the CBS, the Netherlands had 1,237,734 freelancers on 1 January 2019. Research agency Intuit predicts that by 2020 around 40% of the US labor force will be active as a freelancer. With the continuing growth in the number of freelancers, the gig economy will continue to grow.

4. New technologies

The technological landscape is changing rapidly. This means that more and more new tools are becoming available that create value. You don’t have to control the latest technologies directly, but you can keep an eye on them and understand how they can support certain HR activities. As an HR professional you cannot ignore the following two technologies:

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a recurring topic and will also make its entry into the HR area next year. AI uses all available data to perform tasks without human intervention. But people will always make a difference. Through AI, more capacity, time and budget are released to transfer more and different information.

Within HR, self-learning systems, such as searching for candidates, will have a major impact. They make it possible to shorten the recruitment timeline and help with screening. With Artificial Intelligence systems you can do checks and make estimates. For example, the Tax Authorities can check on social media or cheat people. Other larger companies use Al to determine if someone is suitable as a partner.

AI applications are still expensive because they do something for which it was not initially developed. As a result, they are currently rarely used. Due to constant developments in technology, AI will become more accessible in the future.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality is also back in the list of HR trends. This trend has been going on for a while, but it remains one to take into account and perhaps to integrate in a way that fits your organization. Although it may sound like something of the future, it is happening now. HR is increasingly using this technology to train employees on many different fronts. It is also used to recruit and test potential employees.

Virtual reality is probably familiar to you from the gaming industry. Realistic simulations or images are used to tell a story. In fact, it is an artificial environment that is experienced by sensory stimuli in which someone’s actions partially determine what happens in the environment. HR actually uses this in the same way. This allows employees to gain certain experiences that can be applied later in the real world.

The German railway company Deutsche Bahn tells CNN that they use virtual reality to attract new staff. During the application, you wear a VR headset and in a few seconds, you experience, very realistically whether the job is for you. The Israeli company Actiview uses virtual reality not only to attract talent but also to assess talent. This is another step further. According to the same CNN article, the company uses a puzzle game. While the candidate solves the puzzles, Actiview collects data about how you do this. Virtual reality is also widely used for training. For example, the British army uses virtual reality to train soldiers, while Kentucky Fried Chicken uses the technology to teach employees how to make fried chicken. When a function requires a lot of training, virtual reality may be a good investment.

5. Continue performance management

Whereas in the past it was sufficient to evaluate the performance of employees only at the end of the year, it is now desirable to do this several times a year. Organizations encourage employees to work more often on personal development and to enter into dialogue with colleagues.

A survey by Forrester Consulting, in which more than 600 performance decision-makers from 14 different countries were interviewed, shows that 60% of respondents are concerned about the fact that they are lagging behind in performance management. It appears that the traditional method of assessment must give way to more continuous and involved methods. No fewer than 46% believe that improvements in performance management contribute positively to the retention of employees.

The research shows that the organizations that are revamping their performance processes are more than reaping the benefits. Of the companies that have invested in their performance management system in the last two years, 60% report experiencing better employee engagement and 53% higher productivity.

6. The role of an HR professional is changing

With “the new way of working” and the changed focus on the shop floor, traditional HR is shifting to strategic human resource management. This means that your assignment as an HR professional extends further and cooperate much more with the business.

For example, data plays an increasing role and you must be able to monitor the progress of your employees. In addition, it is important that you as an HR professional can identify new needs. You must also be able to cope with new challenges, keep team members involved and above all, motivate yourself to develop yourself. Due to automation and digitization, functions are constantly changing and it is therefore important that you are always aware of the latest technologies and additional changes. This is faster than ever. Some jobs will inevitably have to be filled indifferently.

Conclusion on the HR trends of 2020

Employees with a do-it-yourself attitude will excel in the 2020 economy. Many traditional 9 to 5 jobs are being replaced by a Gig economy with Freelancers-based specialists. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other HR technology trends become less futuristic and more reality. In addition to these technical innovations, there is an increased focus on the human aspect of HR – the experience an employee has with a company, better ways to perform performance management, and new work habits. 

This mix of technology and people forms a fascinating world. What do you think are the most important HR trends for 2020? Did we miss something? Share your insights into the responses!