HR Industry Trends 2014 - Part 1

Stewart Miller writes:

The world of Human Resources is complex and consists of many different areas, such as payroll, recruitment and HR technology. As such, it is not always easy for organisations to focus on the right strategic HR priorities, in order to keep up with market evolutions and to improve HR service delivery.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to learn from the past, to make some good resolutions and to prepare for the future. This does not only apply to individuals, but also to businesses and companies. We wanted to consolidate some of the industry’s most popular trends for 2014. We've identified a total of 15 trends, to be published in 3 consecutive papers. This week’s article focuses on 5 predictions for 2014 related to the strategic role of HR:

The article covers:

1. The ongoing transformation journey of the HR function
2. HR needs to think as a marketer
3. HR outsourcing on the rise
4. Globalization – continued
5. A holistic approach towards Talent Management

1. The ongoing transformation journey of the HR function

In many organizations, the HR function “is still holding onto traditional siloed processes and inefficient approaches,” according to a report from SHRM. But as business growth becomes a top priority for organisations across their markets, HR leaders will be expected to partner with senior leadership to devise and implement strategic plans dealing with an effective growth, retention, engagement, and total compensation.

2. HR needs to think as a marketer

In 2014, a company’s employer value proposition and related brand become more important than ever. According to Josh Bersin, an employer brand reflects a company’s leadership style and work environment. All these things are connected, and how well they resonate will directly impact the company’s ability to hire.

NGA predicts that 2014 will be the year that organisations make a strong move from recruitment to attraction. This requires a different skillset and a new approach to recruiting; companies will need to set themselves up for long-term success, such as defining messages and communication strategies that generate potential candidates’ interest.

3. HR outsourcing on the rise

The downsizing of in-house transactional HR activities and the increase of HR outsourcing is not a new trend. However, the HR outsourcing is no longer reserved for big multinationals. SMEs are placing a greater importance on business HR which allows regional HR leaders to focus on critical challenges including talent retention and leadership development.

Global Industry Analyst Nelson Hall confirms the above trend, and predicts that the market will continue to grow significantly in the years to come. Where HRO services are provided, payroll will continue to be the initial footprint.

4. Globalisation – continued  

As the world becomes more globalised, understanding all aspects of the "globalisation" of functions has become essential, particularly in HR. Moving into 2014, Pat Greer expects “going global” to become more commonplace. Cameron Edmond, chief journalist for HC Online, also states that as organisations and workforces become borderless, the ability to manage globally and execute locally is becoming increasingly important, creating the need to set up a borderless HR strategy.

In addition, key skills and functions will increasingly be scarce. But unlike prior years, Josh Bersin thinks that this is no longer a problem of hiring top people or recruiting better than the competition. Instead, companies must expand recruiting to a global level, and need to source and locate operations around the world to find the right skills

5. A holistic approach towards Talent Management

Recent research by Bersin shows that, although many companies have talent management teams, many are still operating in silos. In 2014, companies will have to think of talent management as one, holistic, integrated system to deal with future talent pressures.