As organizations reset work and prepare for the new workplace, one thing is clear- remote work isn't going anywhere. At the same time, a gradual return to work is also in progress - in effect, the future of work is hybrid. What does that mean? A hybrid workplace will require an optimum combination of policies, flexibility, culture, and last but definitely not least, technology. 

How do employers need to reset the way they have been functioning through the pandemic? What workplace practices they need to adapt to meet the needs of both work and home? How will HR Tech play an important role in establishing this "The Hybrid Future of Work"? In an exclusive interaction with People Matters, Jin Choeh, Co-founder and CEO of HR Tech startup Swingvy shares his thoughts on what the workplace will look like and how organizations are remodeling their talent management systems with HR Tech.

With the coronavirus pandemic altering the way we work, it also offered the possibility for HR and talent leaders to accelerate to digital and enable their workers to stay productive amid this chaos. What are some of the trends you have seen across organizations?

It’s certainly a chaotic season and we’re watching how the coronavirus pandemic is bringing the new normal. We believe this new norm won’t finish as a temporary situation but it’s the beginning of a new era: 

● PC first era

● Internet first era

● Mobile-first era

● Cloud-first era

● Remote first era

Whether we like it or not, I believe more than 50% of the tech and service industry, which is the mainstream of the world economy, will adopt remote work in their organization just in the next few years. This trend will be spread out to other industries. 

Most of them will adopt a partial remote work, and some of them will do the full remote work without offices. So having ‘Two work environments’ will be the default in the next decade: Work-from-office & Work-from-home.

With the increasing number of employees working remotely, several organizations are turning to cloud-based tech solutions. What are the kinds of solutions that organizations are investing in?

In order to operate businesses with a remote working environment, companies need to invest in 5 top cloud-based solutions regardless of the industry they belong to. 

1. HR & People operation 

2. Communication & Collaboration  

3. Sales & CRM 

4. Marketing 

5. Customer service 

There are several more categories that companies need to review adopting cloud-based solutions depending on their current practice. For instance, if they are managing all finance procedures without any external accounting firms, a finance solution should be considered also. 

How do you think organizations are remodeling their talent management systems with HR tech – people analytics, talent acquisition tech, RPA, blockchain in the wake of the ongoing crisis?

There are many critical advantages of adopting cloud-based HR solution: 

1. Cost saving without any heavy initial investment

2. Improve employee engagement and business efficiency

3. Real-time and accurate performance assessments

4. 24/7 access to pay and benefit information

5. Data security and information management 

I’d like to say that we need to change our mindset of investing in cloud-based solutions. It’s not an additional expense or investment due to the pandemic, when we understand the benefits and advantages of cloud-based solutions, we will realize that it’s actually an investment that we’ve had to do earlier to build competitive advantages. It’s not about the possibility but it’s necessary. 

How have you realigned your product offerings to deliver maximum value to customers and meet the challenges HR professionals are facing?

We do not change our value propositions but highlight the importance of people operations. We believe the role of cloud HR solutions can be broader than that of traditional HR software. We remind our customers why focusing on people operations or employee experience is getting more important, and deliver the values and how we can help with that. 

How do you think investments in HR Tech have grown this year and what do you think is going to be the trend in the coming year?

As I mentioned in the first question, I believe more than 50% of the tech and service industry will adopt remote work in their organization just in the next few years whether it’s partial remote work, or full remote work without offices. This trend will be spread out to other industries. 

And the growth of the HR tech will come along with the adoption of remote work because there’s no other option than the cloud-based solution to operate the business with the remote working environment. 

In that respect, most governments around the world are providing a grant for companies to support digital transformation.