Changing Trends in Human Resource Management

Changing Trends in Human Resource Management

The world of work is rapidly changing. As a part of organization, Human Resource Management (HRM) must be prepared to deal with effects of changing world of work. For the HR people it means understanding the implications of globalization.

Historically HRM has been described as being responsible for the attracting, recruiting, selecting, training, assessment and compensation of employees while ensuring compliance with employment and labour laws. More recently HRM has also become involved in succession planning, business continuity planning, workforce diversity, labour relations and some aspects of mergers and acquisitions.  Work force diversity, changing skill requirements, corporate downsizing, continuous improvement initiatives, re-engineering, the contingent work force, decentralized work sites and employee involvement for which all and more have the financial implication to organization.

Certified Human Resource Business Partner, Rutaihwa Aristides Andrew in his latest publications on May 2016, has found 14 new trends in HRM which is listed bellow;

1.       Globalization and its implications

Business today doesn’t have national boundaries it reaches around the world. The rise of multinational corporations places new requirements on human resource managers. The HR department needs to ensure that the appropriate mix of employees in terms of knowledge, skills and cultural adaptability is available to handle global assignments.

2.      Work-force Diversity

Today’s work force comprises of people of different gender, age, social class sexual orientation, values, personality characteristics, ethnicity, religion, education, language, physical appearance, marital status, lifestyle, beliefs, ideologies and background characteristics such as geographic origin, tenure with the organization, and economic status and the list could go on. Diversity is critically linked to the organization’s strategic direction.

  

3.      Changing skill requirements

Recruiting and developing skilled labor is important for any company concerned about competitiveness, productivity, quality and managing a diverse work force effectively.

4. Corporate downsizing.

Whenever an organization attempts to delayer, it is attempting to create greater efficiency. The premise of downsizing is to reduce the number of workers employed by the organization.

5. Continuous improvement programs

Continuous improvement programs focus on the long term well-being of the organization.  It is a process whereby an organization focuses on quality and builds a better foundation to serve its customers

6. Re-engineering work processes for improved productivity

Although continuous improvement initiatives are positive starts in many of our organizations, they typically focus on ongoing incremental change. Such action is intuitively appealing – the constant and permanent search to make things better.

7. Contingent workforce

A very substantial part of the modern day workforce is the contingent workers. Contingent workers are individuals who are typically hired for shorter periods of time. They perform specific tasks that often require special job skills and are employed when an organization is experiencing significant deviations in its workflow.

8. Mass Customization

There is a lot going on already within HR concerning mass customization, the optimal combination of mass production with customization. There are companies basing employment arrangements on learning styles and personalities, allowing employees to choose between lower base pay and higher bonuses vs. higher base pay and lower bonuses, and changing from career ladders with a straight shot to the top to career lattices where a sideways move is considered a good career move.

9. Decentralized work sites

Work sites are getting more and more decentralized. Telecommuting capabilities that exist today have made it possible for the employees to be located anywhere on the globe

10. Employee involvement

For today’s organization’s to be successful there are a number of employee involvement concepts that appear to be accepted. These are delegation, participative management, work teams, goal setting, employee training and empowering of employees. 

11. Technology

With the current technological advancement and its projection in the future, it has brought in new eyes in the face of HRM. A number of computerized systems have been invented to help in the HRM of which they are seen as simplifier of HR functions in companies.

12. Health

With the emergence of the wellness clubs and fitness centers together with the need for having healthy workforce, it has emerged that HRM has to move to another step like having to subscribe for its employees to such clubs, paying health insurance services for the staff. This is not only a productivity strategy but also a strategy used to attract and retain valuable employees.

13. Family work life balance

Over a long time now in HRM history it has been a big debate about family life work balance. Employees have been on toes of the employers to see if there could be justice done and on the other hand employers have been keen to minimize the effect of the same. The fact is a happy family is equal to a happy workforce.

14. Confidentiality

The current trends have been seen as new challenges in the terms of costs especially in the short run but for organization to strive well in this competitive market to together with the labour mobility it is imperative important to rethink the HRM in terms of the current trends at all levels.

Rutaihwa Aristides Andrew, 14 Current Trends in Human Resource Management,( May 2016).

Under mention external factors also have an impact on changing the environment on HRM;

• Political
• Social
• Technological
• Economic

Political

Increasing demands for transparency in government and organizations, dispersal of national power, narrowing of gaps in national power between developed and developing nations and increase in the power of non-state actors (businesses, organizations such as the World Bank)

Social

Increased government involvement in economic growth, gap between rich and poor individuals, rapidly increasing national debt to GDP ratios, growth and increasing instability of sovereign wealth funds and Increase in state capitalism

Technological

International and internal migrations, increased interconnectivity of people. Changing family structure, Increasing power of women, aging population and its growth, increasing social freedom, accelerated pace of life and urbanization.

Economic

Pace of technological innovation is increasing, breakthrough or transformative technologies, social, economic and cultural connectivity.

Emerging trends in Human Resources Management Robert C. Myrtle, Director, executive master of leadership Professor of public administration, and Professor of gerontology.

Conclusion

There is no clear defined human resource management strategies in organizations, there are definitely a difficulties boiling in the same organization or an explosion is bound to happen. With the current trend in managing the most valued organization resource, organizations have to dig deeper to maintain them.

References

Current Trends in Human Resource Management, Anonymos, (2013).

Emerging trends in Human Resources Management Robert C. Myrtle, Director, executive master of leadership Professor of public administration, and Professor of gerontology.

14 new trends in HRM, Rutaihwa Aristides Andrew, (2016),  Certified Human Resource Business Partner