Top 4 HR Tech Trends For 2021 & Beyond

Focusing on employee engagement

When Josh Bersin talks, HR professionals listen. Bersin, a global leader and analyst in all things HR, recently called attention to the disruption in HR technology. He states that the “concept of ‘talent experience’ has taken over and [is] transforming the HR technology market,” moving from a more traditional “integrated talent management system” to a “talent experience solution.” 
 
But let’s back up for a second and talk about HR tech. What is HR tech anyway?
 

Human resources technology is a broad term encompassing software and hardware that automates HR tasks, such as recruitment, hiring, payroll, compensation, benefits, and performance management. However, as with all technology, HR tech is experiencing a shift, from providing basic services such as payroll to offering solutions that cover the employee experience. Simply put, a good payroll product is no longer complete without addressing employee engagement.
 
To engage employees in today’s workplace, HR tech must be employee-centric. Simply automating HR forms and basic processes is not enough. Workplace technology must consider the whole employee. Let’s look at four HR tech trends focusing on employee engagement.

4 HR Tech Trends that Focus on Employee Engagement

1. Increased Focus on Mental Health and Wellness

The global Covid-19 pandemic has exposed many cracks in the way we work. One large crack that emerged over the last year is that employers don’t pay enough attention to their employees' mental health and wellness. In a year, where many experienced stay-at-home orders, job instability, a crumbling economy, and concern over loved ones, mental health and wellness is now the top concern for employees.

So, what does that mean for human resources professionals? Since well-being is a significant contributor to employee engagement and performance, HR leaders can implement new technology that focuses on an employee’s physical health, such as wearables and gamification. Additionally, post-pandemic, 83% of employees are demanding that HR tech boost their mental health through AI-powered therapists and quick answers to health concerns.

Back to Bersin, well-being is “no longer a benefit; [it’s] now a business need.” Be prepared to see more workplace technology focusing on the well-being of you and your family — both in and out of the workplace.

2. Embracing the World’s Instant Demands

Instant gratification is now commonplace. Whether it’s ordering same-day delivery from Amazon, grabbing a ride through Uber, or watching your favorite guilty pleasure on Netflix, you can get what you want, when you want it.

So, why doesn’t that seem to work at, well, work? One way “instantness” has appeared in the workplace is through real-time learning. Many employees no longer have the time or desire to sit in a large conference room, training for eight hours at a time. Instead, they want to learn what will help them do their job better at a time and in a way that’s convenient for them.

In 2018, Bersin called this instant learning “learning in the flow of work.” The new way to learn at work, he said, is not so different from Netflix or Spotify. For example, many HR learning and development vendors have defined “learning as a series of playlists or content channels. You publish a lot of content, you subscribe to channels or interest areas, and the content is promoted and recommended to you through job matching, AI-based recommendations, and your own history of consumption.”

With this more tailored approach to learning, employees can tune into training when it’s most convenient for them, allowing them the freedom and flexibility to upskill or reskill as needed.

3. Recognizing the Next Big Employee Sector: Gig Workers 

Another change ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic was the rapid increase in workers entering the gig economy. With close to 10 million U.S. workers losing their jobs because of Covid-19, employees began looking elsewhere for income. According to a 2020 study by Upwork, one of the world’s largest digital platforms for finding talent, “59 million Americans performed freelance work in the past 12 months, representing 36% of the U.S. workforce, an increase of 2 million freelancers since 2019.”

Not only was this growth in the gig economy spurred on by the pandemic, but also “by an influx of younger, highly skilled professionals seeking flexible alternatives to traditional employment.” In fact, “[m]ore than two-thirds of Millennials now have side hustles, and more and more young people see an employer as a simple ‘stop on the way to the next opportunity,’ not a destination at all,” according to  Bersin.

Because of this younger, more technologically advanced generation pursuing gig jobs, it’s no wonder that technology is also a driving force spurring on the gig economy. From digital talent platforms like Upwork to collaborative digital tools like Slack, Trello, and Google Docs, it’s easier now than ever to work whenever and wherever employees want.

4. Abandoning the Traditional Pay Cycle

We’re not quite done with the impact that the pandemic has had on the workplace. Another significant aspect of Covid-19 was financial instability and worry. With millions losing their jobs and 56% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, the financial strain was, and still is present as we collectively move into a post-pandemic world.

One HR tech innovation that is making waves is on-demand pay access, sometimes referred to as earned wage access or earned income access. On-demand pay access “allow[s] employees to access their accrued wages before payday. An employee can access and withdraw already-earned income immediately, allowing them to better manage their finances and use funds for recurring monthly payments.”
 
As many employees have concerns over late or missed bills or not having enough emergency savings, offering access to earned wages in real time can “offer much-needed help and create a foundation for long-term financial well-being.” By partnering exclusively with HR tech companies, employers can offer these new payday services, allowing them to attract and retain employees with a differentiated benefit.
 
With on-demand pay access technology, employers can vastly improve their hourly and gig workers’ experiences by giving them free access to their earnings whenever they need it while promoting financial health and inclusivity.

Moving Forward

From the pandemic’s impact to the rapid growth of the gig economy to younger generations demanding a different workplace environment, HR professionals have their hands full. But between all of these changes, one thing is clear: the workplace is becoming — and will continue to become — employee-centric, with a primary focus on employee experience. 

The future of work came a bit sooner than we thought. But there’s no doubt we’re in the middle of a workplace transformation. By integrating new technology thoughtfully into our HR practices, we can better prepare for what’s to come — a more flexible, agile, on-demand workforce.

Author Bio

Nico Simko is the CEO at Clair, a financial services company that provides on-demand pay access to hourly and gig workers at no cost. Nico previously worked in payments at J.P. Morgan and as an analyst at Goldman Sachs before co-founding Clair in 2019.  Visit https://getclair.com/ Connect Nico Simko