The next twelve months promise to bring a number of changes to the way professionals navigate the job market and eventually find steady employment. In the past few years, human resource departments and job seekers have both seen increased diversity in the way things are conducted in the hiring process and how workers are completing day-to-day tasks. As a result, many human resource professionals will find themselves evolving to meet the new needs and expectations of workers. A greater emphasis will be placed on contacting a DC staffing agency to find talented workers more efficiently.
“One thing that is striking about the list [of 2013 issues] is how many of these are employee relations/compliance issues,” Peter Cappelli, director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told BNA. “If you take that away, the rest is all talent management. This suggests something about what the world of HR is about these days.”
Changes will be adopted at different intervals as departments struggle to adapt to some trends and immediately take on others, in accordance with their needs and budgets.
Here are three human resource trends predicted for 2013:
1. Employee retention efforts will improve. The recent uptick in the nation’s economy has resulted in increased confidence levels for many workers across the United States. Therefore, experts, like Jennifer Schramm, manager of the Workplace Trends and Forecasting Program at the Society for Human Resource Management, are predicting that human resource professionals will have a harder time retaining top employees — and she isn’t the only one.
“It still remains to be seen how rapid economic growth may be… but based on the assumption of growth, there will be a lot of people that will start looking for new jobs,” Patrick Wright, professor of business management at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, told the news source. “The perception is always that the grass is greener on the other side.”
To combat the potential for a mass exodus, employers may have to consider sweetening compensation offers, and providing perks like dress-down days and helpful lifestyle opportunities like in-house lunch options. Retaining the best and the brightest will require an in-depth look into those who provide the business with innovated solutions, creative ideas and reliability.
“Employers need to identify key employees from entry-level to upper-level management and take the appropriate steps that are unique to their businesses to retain these individuals,” Lonnie Giamela, a partner in the Los Angeles and Irvine, Calif., offices of Fisher & Phillips LLC, told BNA. “It’s thinking outside the box.”
2. Bring-your-own-device policies will grow in popularity. Business 2 Community reports that bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are allowing more employees than ever to bring in mobile devices, smartphones and other devices that they personally own. According to the news source, human resource departments and in-house information technology offices are allowing and promoting this new trend because it gives workers a sense of autonomy and power, while also increasing productivity. Switching back and forth between personal devices and work-provided units, applications and programs can slow people down.
In addition, it allows a business to drastically decrease operational expenses by limiting the number of physical technology units required to be provided by the office.
3. Telework and flex time will increase. The increasing digitalization and reliability of technology has allowed professionals to forgo the traditional office environment and instead work at home, in a coffee shop and even while on the subway. Consequently, work flexibility options like allowing professionals to conduct business remotely, as long as it doesn’t negatively impact performance, is becoming more of a norm. Young professionals who have grown up with the advantages of technology are even more onboard for this development and are coming to expect it from employers. This could mean that companies that do not allow for some flexibility may find themselves unable to attract younger professionals for long.
“[The trend] started to catch on in the Congress,” said Bob Carragher, senior state adviser in SHRM’s Governmental Affairs Division, during a meeting of the Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area, according to BNA. “The president and particularly the First Lady are very interested in more and more employers embracing [flexible work options].”
