If you're in human resources, you're likely a "people person." You have the capacity to connect with and help others, which is essential to a job in HR.
While the industry needs that human element, technology is now advancing the field even further, paving a smooth path for current and future workers looking to deliver their best work. We asked a panel of Forbes Human Resources Council members how they want to see their industry leveraging new tech in the near future. Their best answers are below.
1. People Analytics
Technology is making it easier for HR organizations to integrate workforce data into their decision-making processes. Having better insights to guide succession planning, career mobility, retention strategies, talent acquisition strategies and learning and development programs will increase the effectiveness of human resources. - Candice McGlen, The Rinker Group
2. Hiring And Career Planning
Where technology truly lends its edge is in taking out more of the guesswork when hiring new people with the assistance of personality and performance tests, and cross-referencing those responses with data gathered from existing employees, which can then be used to better predict which types of personalities and strengths perform better in which roles. - Angela Nguyen, Ad Exchange Group
3. People, Process And Technology
The CIO and CTO of a company will focus on all three of these elements to bring IT/technology in the forefront to help with the business objectives. We first have to determine the KPIs, and then define if any of the technology being considered will help you achieve those KPIs. Platforms that help us connect with global resources could transform a business by getting things done fast. - Abhijeet Narvekar, The FerVID Group
4. Learning And Development
In the area of leadership training, there are now companies that use smartphone apps to give leadership development training, and tie employees together on topics to have instant coaching sessions on the topic. The technology in these systems also leans on artificial intelligence that reads the coaching session, and recommends other training courses that the leader may be interested in taking. - Charmaine Smith Winters, Samsung Austin Semiconductor
5. Strategic Planning
Effective HR work can be leveraged with new technology to support aligning business priorities to its people strategies. HR can be a strategic, proactive partner in many functional areas, such as talent acquisition, talent management, succession planning and learning and development to effectively support talent development in service of achieving business priorities and organizational goals. - Sherry Martin, OmniTRAX
6. Augmented Intelligence In Recruiting
I'm excited to see how new technologies help augment a recruiter’s ability to find and engage candidates. With the current job market, more and more of recruiting is proactive. Finding great candidates when they aren't actively looking and catering a resume to your job description can be tough, but AI can help. - Steven Jiang, Hiretual
7. Balancing AI And HI
HR has leveraged artificial intelligence to screen high-volume applicant pools, minimize unconscious bias in hiring and upskill workforce talent for succession planning. However, AI should be balanced with "HI” — human intelligence. This will provide an objective tool that gives humans the data they need to make better decisions, create innovative strategies and resolve complex problems. - Bridgette Wilder, Wilder HR Management & EEO Consulting
8. Uncovering Values And Performance In Context
Technology that uncovers talent's values and performance in context and at scale allows teams to envision culture fit and creates a strong organization. This also gives HR professionals more tools to work with their teams, instead of solely relying on personality type, categorizations and labels. - Julie Choi, Pointr
9. Mobile Apps For Benefits Management And HR Tasks
Using mobile apps is really exciting for HR departments. Your employees can manage their benefits, healthcare appointments and coverage, payroll operations and expenses, while your HR department can use apps for recruiting, application tracking, employee attendance, time tracking and project management. - Cameron Bishop, SkillPath
10. Creating Better Strategies And Human Experiences
Today, the effectiveness of HR rests heavily on the experiences it creates for all business stakeholders. At the same time, transparency of key processes with a feedback loop for continuous improvement is essential. It is exciting to have tech solutions that can aid implementation of people strategies across the entire continuum of HCM, and facilitate shapeshifting business models. - Ekta Vyas, Ph.D, Stanford Children's Health
11. Increasing Employee Touch Points
Technology has the power to create even more touch points for employees to foster world-class service. From mobile onboarding apps where employees consume tailor-made content that creates buzz, to 24/7 chat functionality or integrated performance management tools that improve efficiencies, the technology available today allows HR teams to focus on a seamless end-to-end experience. - Chatelle Lynch, McAfee
12. Improving Accuracy And Objectivity
I think many of us are most excited to see the industry leverage new tech to reduce human error found within HR operations without having to sacrifice the human element. By automating HR operations, we should expect a reduction in transactional errors, an increase in self-service options, a better fit for candidate matches and bias removed from many components of the HR decision-making process. - Dr. Timothy J. Giardino, Cantata Health, LLC
