Gazing into the Future: Key predictions for HR in 2021

2020 had been a challenging yet interesting year for most businesses. Almost all business and HR leaders were forced to take quick yet high-impact decisions on navigating the increasingly uncertain and volatile work environment caused by the pandemic. As research reports from various quarters pour in, 2021 seems to be even more interesting, challenging and shaping the future of work in ways that were not thought of before. Most of the research converges on similar findings, the key take-aways being

• HR to become a center of innovation with enhanced use of technology and data-driven insights
• Learning and upskilling continues to be a top priority and acquires a strategic focus across industries
• Employee experience needs to be reimagined by weaving in cross-functional exposure, well-being, connectedness and authentic communication

 IBM’s report talks about a complete re-haul of the HR function and makes a case for HR 3.0 with the key focus being employee experience, dynamic upskilling and use of design thinking to come up with new ways of working (snapshot below). Gartner (Top 5 priorities for HR Leaders in 2021) also points out building skills and competencies to be the most critical focus for 2021 while aligning organizational needs with employees’ aspirations. It talks about building “targeted skill accelerators”, something that organizations should definitely take heed of. In the same breath, Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2021 report suggests moving from a “survive” mindset to a “thrive” mindset by building agility and proactively creating new norms and practices, with employee experience and learning again being a prominent focus area. In a nutshell, almost entire industry is talking about the need for HR to continue on its journey to reinvent itself in previously unimagined ways. Similar trends have been predicted in the research reports published by Insight 22 and Josh Bersin Academy.

Across industries and geographies, not only does learning and development take center stage, it is becoming increasingly accepted that the next-level leap in performance shall hinge on right-skilling and delivering it in ways that are meaningful to employees. It is getting increasing acknowledgement that a delightful customer experience will only be achieved by ensuring that employee experience doesn’t fall short. --The need to reimagine workplaces with seamlessly connected hybrid workforce, knitting diversity, equity and inclusion in the cultural fabric and ensuring that HR is listening to employees' voices is going to acquire a key focus in times to come.

The future seems to be full of possibilities and now the intent is going to be to build on the momentum gained during the last year.