5 HR Trends You Need to Embrace in 2024

Are you interested in knowing about the top HR trends that are expected to gain momentum in 2024? Well, you don't have to look any further. We have already done the groundwork for you and compiled a comprehensive guide that covers the biggest HR trends in 2024.

What Are HR Trends?

HR trends refer to the most popular or relevant technologies, strategies, or practices that can affect employee management. These trends reflect the current state of the workforce and how businesses adapt to meet the changing needs and preferences of employees. 

Why You Should Stay Updated With HR Trends

Whether you’re an HR manager or a small business owner, these are the top three reasons why you should stay up to date with HR trends in 2024. 

1. To Identify New Opportunities for Improvement

Staying up to date with the latest HR trends provides valuable insights into the evolving needs and preferences of your employees. Utilizing this understanding can help you create new or enhance existing strategies that cater to your changing workforce.

2. To Gain a Competitive Edge 

Being aware of the newest trends in the field enables you to proactively take steps and position yourself as a forward thinker. This allows you to enhance your brand image and gain a competitive edge over your competitors. 

3. To Attract More Applicants 

Staying informed of the present needs and preferences of the workforce is crucial to adjust your recruitment strategies accordingly and attract the right candidates for your company. This not only enables you to demonstrate that your HR practices are innovative but also shows applicants that you value them. 

What Is Trending in HR Now?

There are several trends that are currently shaping the human resources industry. Let’s explore five of the most prominent 2024 HR trends below. 

1. Continued Integration of Technology Into HR Processes 

Every year, there are noticeable trends within HR technology. This year, the use of technology has become even more prevalent than before.

Automation Technology 

‍Automation technology is the use of software, robotics, and other digital tools to automate various business processes and tasks. In HR, automation technology can be used to streamline and simplify various HR processes, such as talent acquisition, onboarding, payroll, and benefits administration. 

A specific example of how automation technology can help in HR processes is through GPS check-ins and outs, which is a feature available in StaffConnect. Using StaffConnect’s custom mobile app, staff can check in easily and HR managers can access a GPS tracking functionality to track employee locations and ensure that employees are present at the right place and time. The app can also automatically mark staff as a 'no-show' if they fail to check in on time. Through this technology, HR not only saves time on attendance tracking but also makes performance assessment more accurate.

Collaboration Technology 

Did you know that companies that encourage collaborative working are said to be experiencing a five-fold increase in their chances of being high-performing? Due to this positive trend, many businesses are now paying more attention to enhancing collaboration in the workplace. One way to achieve this is by utilizing collaboration technology.

Collaboration technology refers to any digital tool or platform that enables people to work together on shared projects or tasks, regardless of their physical location. Some examples of collaboration technology include video conferencing software, project management tools, messaging apps, and cloud-based file-sharing services. These tools help teams communicate and collaborate more effectively, streamline workflows, and increase productivity on-site or remotely. 

Generative AI Technology 

Generative AI is an emerging type of AI technology that has started to significantly transform the field of HR. Believe it or not, less than a year after the debut of many of these tools, one-third of a 2023 McKinsey study respondents have reported that their organizations are regularly using generative AI in at least one business function. Do note that this is less than a year after its debut, imagine how much it can impact the industry in the long run. 

Generative AI technology is a form of artificial intelligence that is used to create new and unique content. It involves training a machine learning model on a large dataset of examples in order to teach it how to generate new content that is similar to the examples it was trained on.

In the context of HR, generative AI is being utilized to eliminate mundane tasks, reduce biases, and improve data-driven decision-making to improve the employee experience. One common application of generative AI in HR is the analysis of vast datasets to determine the most effective wording to use in creating personalized and effective job descriptions. 

2. Adoption of Data-Driven Diversity and Inclusion 

It is expected that the Global Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Market will reach US$15.4 billion by 2026, indicating its significant impact on the current business landscape. Simply put, diversity and inclusion are terms used to describe the efforts made by organizations to promote diversity and foster an inclusive workplace culture. Its goal is to create a workplace culture that accepts differences and promotes a sense of belonging for all employees. 

If you want to gain more insights into the impact of diversity and inclusion in modern workplaces, make sure to read this blog post. 

In 2024, companies are projected to rely strongly on data to develop and implement diversity and inclusion strategies. Organizations are collecting and analyzing more information related to diversity and inclusion, such as demographic data and feedback from their employees, to improve efforts in HR.

With the utilization of data in HR, companies can track their progress in enhancing staff management over time and measure the impact of their initiatives. Accordingly, this promotes informed decision-making and enables them to continuously improve their efforts towards diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

3. Implementation of Employee Well-Being Programs 

When employees suffer from poor well-being, it can significantly impact their job performance, leading to missed opportunities and loss of productivity. A study suggests that for every 10,000 workers struggling with low well-being, there can be up to a $20 million opportunity loss due to the drain on performance. Furthermore, when low well-being manifests itself as employee burnout, it can cost up to $322 billion globally in turnover and lost productivity. 

Given the significant impact of employee well-being on a business, companies are increasingly interested in promoting employee well-being programs to support and enhance employees' physical, mental, and emotional health. In the U.S., this trend is evident as over half (52%) of businesses offer wellness programs, highlighting the significance of workplace wellness as per a 2024 report. Some examples of workplace wellness programs include offering gym memberships, stress-management workshops, mental health resources, and work-life balance policies. 

4. Emphasis on Skills-Based Hiring

Skills-based hiring is on the rise in the HR world primarily due to the changing nature of work. With rapid technological advancements and fierce competition in the job market, employers are looking for individuals who possess the necessary skills to succeed in their positions and adapt to new challenges.

To explain, skills-based hiring is a recruitment strategy that focuses on a candidate's skills and abilities rather than their qualifications or experience. It involves assessing a candidate's skills and potential to perform the job at hand, rather than relying solely on their past experience or credentials. This approach allows companies to widen their hiring pool and consider candidates who may have non-traditional backgrounds or diverse experiences. Skills-based hiring can also help reduce bias in the hiring process by concentrating on objective measures of candidate performance rather than subjective criteria. 

5. Greater Attention to Work-Life Fit

The idea of maintaining a work-life balance is becoming out of date as work-life fit takes precedence in 2024. Although the terms "work-life balance" and "work-life fit" are often used interchangeably, there is a subtle difference between them. Work-life balance aims to distribute equal time and energy between work and personal life. However, work-life fit acknowledges that the balance between work and personal life varies for each individual, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 

Work-life fit emphasizes the need to integrate work and personal life in a way that suits each person's unique circumstances, needs, and priorities. It is about finding an effective way to manage work and personal life so that both can coexist harmoniously instead of striving for a rigid balance between them. Through this approach, organizations can support their employees in achieving a better quality of life, reducing stress and burnout, and ultimately increasing productivity and job satisfaction. 

Keep Up With Evolving HR Trends With StaffConnect

HR has evolved with time; and modern challenges in staff management require advanced tools like StaffConnect to handle them effectively.

StaffConnect is a business management software created for organizations to streamline their internal communications, improve employee engagement, and increase productivity. With features like GPS check-in and out, automated reminders, a centralized talent database, live chat, a communications hub, and a survey designer and analytics, StaffConnect is here to give you the tools you need to address the needs of the modern workforce. 

See how StaffConnect can help you manage your business and staff, book a demo here!