3 HR technology trends that will deliver the best ROI in 2022

The year 2020 is already end, and one thing we have learned last year is that HR tech is a key success factor for companies. It’s essential.

From hiring the best people, to managing them as efficiently as possible (especially when working remotely), to providing opportunities for employees to do their best work, technology has revolutionized the HR industry. Companies that have kept up with HR technology trends have seen a significant return on their investment.

Joe Monaghan, principal at Mercer, told Human Resource Executive, “After COVID-19, HR will likely continue to enhance HR technologies to enable online learning and career development, feedback and engagement, hiring and onboarding, and many other critical functions.”

So as we head into 2022, these are the three biggest HR tech trends to keep an eye on.

01.the rise of remote work technology

“As more companies adopt remote work options and greater flexibility for employees, HR technology must adapt to the changing workforce by becoming more accessible and convenient for these dispersed teams. On-demand online platforms will become increasingly important, and existing software will need to adapt to these new use cases,” said Tom Griffiths, CEO and co-founder of Hone.

Remote work offers a number of benefits for employers and employees.

Employees prefer to work remotely
With the advent of COVID, most people have already developed the habit of working from home, and they enjoy the flexibility that remote work offers them.

Recent studies show that 42% of workers who work from home plan to work from home more often in the next 5 years than they do currently, and 80% of workers plan to work from home at least some of the time. And most companies are on board, too. Google, Reuters, Microsoft, Zillow, Uber and several other companies have already announced that they will offer telecommuting options at least through 2020.

Mark Dixon, chief executive at IWG, says: “Giving workers the opportunity to work where they’re needed, rather than where they’re sent, completely changes their view of the business and makes them more productive.”

Remote work is both cost-effective and easier to manage
Recent survey data shows that more than a third of workers are willing to cut their pay by up to 5% in exchange for the ability to work from home, and a quarter are willing to cut pay by 10%. 20% of workers are willing to cut even more in exchange for flexible working.

And with a plethora of cloud-based HR systems, ATS systems, video conferencing software and other management tools, it’s now easier than ever to manage large remote teams.

But it’s not all sunshine
Telecommuting is not without its challenges, however.

Facebook and Quora are looking to hire a “Head of Remote Work,” and companies are quickly realizing they need help transitioning to remote work and managing remote teams.

Team collaboration is also suffering as a result of remote work, with 35% of respondents in a recent survey saying their team’s ability to collaborate has deteriorated.

Talent risk has also become a major concern for companies in the era of telecommuting. Godelieve van Dooren, partner at Mercer, says, “Given the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, some companies may be taking stringent measures to manage their ongoing costs, but they must not be short-sighted in doing so. They need to consider the resources needed to ensure the business can grow again after the crisis.”

Key conclusion
Remote working has its benefits, but companies and their HR teams need to take steps to ensure better team engagement and collaboration, and may need to seek help to ease the transition. Companies need to develop the right mix of cloud computing solutions, business apps, mobile tools, unified communications, project management tools and video conferencing software to address these challenges.

02.technology solutions to improve corporate culture.

Over the past decade, there has been a growing understanding of the importance of corporate culture. For example, a study by Berwick Partners found that 85% of UK employees value company culture over financial incentives. A company culture that attracts highly skilled employees can lead to 33% higher revenues, and companies are now looking to improve their culture.

The challenges posed by the pandemic have made it even more clear how important corporate culture is to a company’s success. Here are some important considerations to keep in mind.

Using data to improve corporate culture
As technology has given companies access to more and more data, it has become easier to quantify employee culture metrics such as employee retention, employee lifetime value and employee engagement. It’s now more important than ever to leverage this data to create a thriving company culture.

According to a recent report from Forrester, data-driven companies are growing at an average rate of more than 30% per year. And with a plethora of real-time data software solutions, businesses today can get information more easily and quickly than ever before, which can help solve problems as they arise.

Employee retention is more important today than ever before
Employees are 26% more likely to leave their jobs if they feel they lack respect among colleagues. And companies have been quick to recognize this fact.

Josh Bersin of Deloitte says the cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of dollars to twice the employee’s annual salary. So there’s an urgent need to invest in tools that promote employee retention.

Empowering employees to increase productivity is critical
When the gap between employers and employees widens, it can lead to many problems. A great company culture leads to empowered employees who do better work.

PJ Hough, chief product officer at Citrix, says, “When employees feel they’re empowered by the tools they use, not hindered by them, they can focus, innovate and deliver value.”

However, hiring for cultural fit also has its dangers
Although recruiters and HR specialists prefer to hire employees who fit well into their culture, hiring for cultural fit alone can lead to problems.

HR professionals need to pay particular attention to an applicant’s skills, qualities, and problem-solving abilities, not just their personality.

Focusing too much on culturally fit employees can lead to a lack of diversity in the organization. Aside from the ethical issues involved, a McKinsey report showed that in the U.S., for every 10 percent increase in diversity at the executive level, profits increased by 0.8 percent. Another study showed that diversity and inclusion improve employee engagement, which in turn increases retention by 19 percent and collaboration by 57 percent.

So a company’s workforce needs to be diverse to thrive, and recruiters and HR specialists need to find the right balance between cultural fit and diversity in the hiring process. The way to do this has been described as finding a “culture add” instead of a “culture fit.”

This means that rather than focusing on candidates who fit into your current culture, you look for candidates who will enrich your culture.

The most important thing to remember
Hiring candidates who fit the culture can be difficult. But with the rise of telecommuting, it’s more important than ever to focus on improving your company culture wherever you can.

03.increased focus on technology to reduce discrimination in hiring.

Recent events in the United States have led to a societal outcry about discrimination, and Americans have begun criticizing companies for hiring discrimination and lack of diversity more than ever before.

Companies seek to reduce discrimination
After paying Wells Fargo up to $8 million and Walmart a whopping $20 million to settle discrimination charges in hiring, companies are now working to reduce discrimination.

Several large companies, such as Target and Best Buy, have pledged to increase the percentage of ethnically diverse employees and women in the coming years. And companies are also investing in diversity training to avoid lawsuits. According to a survey by Glassdoor, U.S. companies spend about $8 billion on diversity training each year, and one in four HR decision makers are optimistic they will make progress toward their diversity and inclusion goals in the next year.

Rise of HR tech tools to combat hiring bias.
Artificial intelligence tools like Entelo and Textio are growing in popularity as they lead the way in combating hiring discrimination. However, employers need to be wary of untested AI, as these tools often depend on what you tell them to do, as Amazon learned with its sexist hiring debacle in 2015.

Mike Trigg, chief marketing officer of Entelo, said, “If the machine learns from a biased recruiter, there is a risk that it will reinforce bias instead of removing it from the hiring process. There’s a risk that the machine will mimic the biases of individual recruiters.”

While these tools can be very helpful in combating hiring discrimination, the end result depends on how recruiters analyze this data and what they do with the insights offered by these tools.

The most important thing to remember

Stay on top of HR technology trends to stay competitive.

It may be impossible to completely eliminate unconscious bias, but there are many tools available to help reduce the impact of hiring discrimination. A lot has changed in the HR technology landscape in 2021, and more changes are coming in 2022. It’s important to know what’s coming next so you’re ready to lead your organization into 2022.

Icehrm.com provides new ways for companies to increase diversity and reduce bias in hiring by providing the best digital HR platform.