In each year ahead of us, we can expect something new to emerge in HR. Innovation, changes, and improvement combine together to shape and reshape the face of HR and create a unique environment for everyone involved. It’s important that you keep up with the emerging trends and stay informed on what’s new and how it affects the way things are done in HR.

To help you stay updated, and know what to expect in 2020, we’ve put together this list of emerging HR trends. We’ll break it down together and see how exciting the upcoming year will be for everyone. 

Here are the 7 trends that will shape HR in 2020.

Remote work to get stronger

The rise of remote work started years ago, but it never stopped advancing. The benefits including flexible work hours, no location boundaries, and increased productivity led to a major rise in the popularity of the remote workforce.

This trend will keep on growing in 2020, and HR will be hiring more people across the globe. Here’s what that means:

• No location limitations for applicants and future employees
• More applicants and a deeper talent pool
• Collaboration with a team member from different parts of the globe
• Uniting different types of knowledge and skills 

HR specialists will be able to create powerful teams of talented and educated people, who’ll work shoulder to shoulder, but miles away.

A better organized onboarding process

Onboarding is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to retaining the best workforce and creating quality employees.

The process of onboarding is different in each company and there are various strategies people use. But, there’s a trend waiting for its five minutes of glory to come, and it’s coming in 2020.

A better organized, smoother onboarding process  onboarding process includes:

• Evaluating each employee’s specific needs
• Pairing them up with a manager suitable for them
• Asking for feedback from both the managers and the employees
• Analyzing data and improving the onboarding process further

Onboarding will be more personalized and adjusted to specific cases. For example, those who need faster and thorough guidance will be assigned with a manager of such nature, and vice versa.

This will improve the success of onboarding and help everyone reach their objectives and goals easier.

Equal rights & diversity

Although the struggle to get things moving and create a fair atmosphere for people of all colors, genders, ages, and backgrounds, we're still not even close to where we want to be.

The gender gap is still enormous in so many companies and men and women are not being treated equally.

Also, other personal characteristics put certain groups of people in the discriminated zone and make it hard for them to find a job.

In 2020, more companies will make changes to turn things around:

• Equal pay for men and women
• Hiring people who’re not millennials 
• Hiring people with a criminal record
• Disregarding the race of a person

The changes are happening, but they’re happening slowly. In 2020 we might see a more serious breakthrough.  

More work for chatbots

Chatbots are already doing important work in different aspects of a company’s daily workflow. From customer service to HR, chatbots are entering deeper and deeper into the core of companies.

Still, in 2020, we expect to see even more progress and tasks performed by chatbots:

• Resume selection
• Answering employee’s FAQ
• Helping HR deal with more complex issues
• The rise of the HR chatbot will continue in 2020

Raising social consciousness

The modern employee looks for more than just a workplace when applying for a job post. Today, more and more people, especially young ones, focus on the impact they might make in the world.

Dealing with social issues will become a more important segment of a company’s image and HR will play a role in tackling these with specific goals in mind:

• Presenting the company's policy on major social issues
• Creating an atmosphere in which every individual employee can contribute
• Organizing employees into groups of productive, socially aware individuals
• Advocating change

HR in 2020 will have the task to build a strong community within the company and lead everyone forward.

HR data analytics

Data Analysis has been around for quite some time, but it still has a long way to go in HR. This method can do so much more for the average HR professional and benefit the process of recruiting and hiring.

The truth is, HR data analysis will blossom in 2020, making sure the HR professionals have less to worry about and give better results. HR data analysis will contribute to the following processes:

• Selecting which recruiting processes are the most efficient
• Determining the level of satisfaction of employees
• Creating better conditions and improving employee satisfaction
• Having full control over the information and statistics within the company
• Lowering resignation rates
• Identifying major and minor issues 
• Improving talent development
• Increasing productivity

With the proper analysis of the available information and data, HR professionals will be able to take a deeper look at their strategies, ideas, processes, and methods. This will help them understand the status quo ad find a way to raise the bar.

In 2020, data analysis will open new doors for HR professionals and give them the tools for creating the best work environment for their employees. 

Skill instability

Twenty years ago, many of the job positions and professions existing today, weren’t even a thing. There was no official education for jobs such as a digital marketer.

Similarly, we have rapid changes happening today. Professions are changing as well as the skills necessary to perform them. 

According to Forbes, by 2022, the skills required to perform most jobs will have shifted significantly.

What does this mean for HR specialists in2020? They need to get ahead of things and start working on:

• Better training processes
• Continued education
• Onboarding management
• Learning on the job

There needs to be a quality onboarding process that will help the employees learn as they work. This trend has already started and is expected to conquer more companies in 2020.

Final thoughts

Just like every other segment and domain in business, HR is changing and adapting to the new environment that’s being shaped. With the improvement of technology, awareness, business goals, expectations, and possibilities, HR needs to step up and keep up. 

Hopefully, the list above helped you understand the changes and trends that are coming up in 2020 and that will shape the face of HR. Get ready to adapt to those changes and introduce innovative strategies into your daily schedule.