Trends that will shape the future of human resources

Technological revolution made lots of changes to everyone's lifestyles. Internet, social media, artificial intelligence, robotics, etc, are influencing a lot for the transformation of the world. 

How organizations are reacting to the major challenge of the technological change. Following are the challenges that will shape the eventual fate of organizations and HR divisions around the world:

A dynamic, modern and network organization 

Many organizations are making progress toward a more adaptable and dynamic revamping, and deserting the past hierarchical structures to have the capacity to react rapidly to changes in the market. Organizations are being organized around small work groups or teams which are set up rapidly, cooperate for maybe a couple years and afterward proceed onward to different tasks or projects inside the organization. As businesses make this change, they find that smaller groups are a distinctive path for people to work".

Employees are learning all the time 

An employee's career may last 3 to 4 decades. Anyhow, considering the speed of technological change, how are we going to get ready for coming decades? The best and appropriate solution is learning continuously. We can no longer content ourselves with going to campus and constructing our future profession on what we learn during those years; our career has turned into a journey of consistent learning. 

Talent acquisition 

In a knowledge and human capital-based economy, talent acquisition is vital for any company. Immersed in the great technological revolution, companies are constantly on the look-out for professionals specialized in new areas of economic activity that emerge almost overnight. 

To recruit (and then retain) the right people, human resources leaders are using social networking, new cognitive technologies and big data. The use of videos (with platforms such as HireVue), online forms, social networks (not just LinkedIn) and Skype interviews (the last step) has spread like wildfire, speeding up recruitment and reducing costs. 

Enhancing the employee experience in the company 

Human resources leaders are striving to maintain the corporate culture of companies, improve employee motivation and engagement, stay abreast of the demands of the new Millennials and offer better learning opportunities to employees. The quest to enhance the employee experience (from recruitment through the career journey) aims to increase employee satisfaction, improve companies’ reputations (in an increasingly demanding environment) and facilitate the transition towards a more dynamic, agile and flexible organizational model. 

 

New ways of appraising employee performance 

The way to achieve a promotion within the company or a raise is changing. Experience, seniority and examinations are no longer the primary method of appraisal and there has been a shift towards a faster and more flexible model. Human resources departments are looking for new appraisal models based on well-defined targets and continuous feedback; hundreds of companies (including Adobe, IBM and Goldman Sachs) have been successfully experimenting with new ways to appraise and reward employee performance. 

New leaders 

And if times are changing, so too are the leaders. Companies around the globe are looking for a new type of leader, one that can adapt to the economic and social changes taking place. The trend is towards younger and more diverse leaders who can run businesses the digital way. Their ability to manage small, agile and dynamic teams is in high demand by companies, together with an interest in continuous learning and development throughout their career. While the quest to find new leadership should involve the entire company, human resources leaders also play a key role in steering their company in the right direction. 

Digital human resources 

As the organization becomes digital, human resources departments must also follow suit. The department’s responsibility is to roll out new digital initiatives to the entire workplace, implement new mobile applications (Slack, Workplace, Microsoft Teams, Gamelearn, etc.), software and tools that help change the way the company works.

On this point, even chatbox services that use artificial intelligence for recruitment have found a niche in the most innovative companies. This shift is happening rapidly, as HR leaders are being pushed to take on a larger role in helping to drive the organization to ‘be digital’, not just ‘do digital’. 

Big Data at the service of human resources 

Today, more than ever, numbers are power. And human resources are not being left behind in the big data revolution. More and more, companies are using data about their employees to improve staff recruitment processes, increase company productivity and detect logistics errors. These new trends have led to the coining of the popular term “people analytics”: the intensive use of data to make decisions that affect people at work (who to hire, who to promote, etc.). 

Promoting diversity and inclusion 

As companies strive to become more global, digital and transparent, the issue of diversity and inclusion cannot be overlooked. Employees attach increasing importance to these principles, and consumers (and the public in general) have become more exacting in their demands for respect for cultural diversity and gender equality. Promotion by the human resources department of a policy that fosters diversity and inclusion among employees will not only make companies more efficient, innovative and productive, but it will also improve their brand image and reputation. 

Striking a balance between machines and workers 

New technologies pose a new challenge for all employees, and for human resources leaders. What kind of jobs can be replaced by machines and what ones should be performed only by people? The answer to this question calls for a redesign of jobs, the organization of companies and, indeed, the future of the company itself. 

Source:

https://www.game-learn.com/10-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-human-resources/ 

Hiring Expatriates - Pros and Cons

An expat or expatriate is a person who permanently or temporarily moves to the foreign countries to work in their new branches or sometimes new offices to fulfil assignments. There are three types of employees involved in the multi-national corporation's (MNC) international business pattern. They are Parent Country Nationals, Host-Country Nationals, and Third-Country Nationals. For HR department, hiring local employees can be tricky and difficult at times. The new offices in the foreign countries can face limited local talent pool issue. The chances are that the locals may or may not have the requisite skills and talents the company is looking for. The ones who have these skills and qualities usually demand higher salaries. Hence, organizations prefer hiring expatriates. But, hiring them has both, benefits and challenges (Internations, 2016).

HR best practices can support a good expat experience. Guiding your staff before and during their assignment is an effective preparation for the new country. HR people should make sure:

• Address the need for the employee to develop language fluency in international assignments.
• Psychological screening is given to evaluate the willingness of international assignments, including individual openness to international experience.
• Should set clear expectations before or during the foreign assignment and providing strong support by giving proper feedback.
• Self-assessment tool should be provided to employees to help set realistic expectations to adjust the host country.
• Providing some mentorship in the host country through a former or current employee.
• Manages attachments between the expatriate and the home-based organizations (Shrm, 2016).

Let's look at the pros and cons of hiring expatriates.

PROS:

They follow a uniform management system

The head office has better management strategies and standards than other international branches. Expats who have worked in the head office know the rules and regulations, disciplinary activities and standards. They can share and help them maintain the same standards and rules across other branches, thus following a unified work and management style.

They are motivated

Only the best performers will be relocated to new international markets. So if you choose the best people to source and lead your overseas operations, they will show the tremendous impetus to organisation's development.

They share information

Foreign employees have been at the head office for a long time, so they have a better understanding of the business and experience. Local staff are not familiar with this information. Foreigners can share the general situation and technical knowledge to enhance the business performance of contractors.

CONS:

They are the expensive hires

The cost of hiring foreign workers may be 2-3 times more expensive than recruiting local staff. They demand higher salaries than their local employees. Their relocation costs, lodging, taxes, insurance, etc. must be the responsibility of the local company. If they have a family, their expenses must also be borne by the company.

Their burnout rate is high
Expatriates often perform very demanding and boring jobs. They may leave the local company at any time due to pressure. Their burnout rates can be high for several reasons. Some of the main causes include being away from family and friends, being alone, a coworker's bad behaviour, cultural differences and internal politics.

They can misunderstand (or create misunderstandings)

Expats may not understand the work culture of the local company. The rules and regulations of the host company or branch may differ from those of the parent company. These differences can cause misunderstandings and lead to harsh conditions (Hrexchangenetwork, 2015).

Reference:

Internations, (2016). What’s an Expat Anyway? [online]. Available at: https://www.internations.org/guide/global/what-s-an-expat-anyway-15272. [Accessed 12 December 2017].

Hrexchangenetwork, (2015). The Pros and Cons of Hiring Expats. [online]. Available at: https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/hr-talent-management/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-hiring-expats. [Accessed 14 December 2017].

Shrm (2016). HR Best Practices Can Lead to a Better Expat Experience. [online]. Available at: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/global-hr/pages/hr-best-practices-can-lead-to-better-expat-experience.aspx. [Accessed 11 December 2017].

Applying Herzberg's theory of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs

In the global business context, motivational factors play an important role in increasing employee job satisfaction. This will result in improving organizational performance. High productivity is a long term benefits of employee motivation. Motivated employee is a valuable asset who creates value for an organization in strengthening the business and revenue growth. Motivation is going to work if the right person with suitable skills is made responsible for the job or otherwise it will be the wastage of resources and time, and will lead to job dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's theory of motivators and hygiene factors 

Herzberg (1959) constructed a two-dimensional paradigm of factors affecting people's attitudes about work. He concluded that such factors as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary are hygiene factors rather than motivators.

According to the theory, the absence of hygiene factors can create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate or create satisfaction. In contrast, he determined from the data that the motivators were elements that enriched a person's job; he found five factors that were strong determiners of job satisfaction: achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement. These motivators (satisfiers) were associated with long-term positive effects in job performance while the hygiene factors (dissatisfiers)consistently produced only short-term changes in job attitudes and performance, which quickly fell back to its previous level. In summary, satisfiers describe a person's relationship with what she or he does, many related to the tasks being performed. Dissatisfiers, on the other hand, have to do with a person's relationship to the context or environment in which she or he performs the job. The satisfiers relate to what a person does while the dissatisfiers relate to the situation in which the person does what he or she does.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

In 1954, Maslow first published Motivation and Personality, which introduced his theory about how people satisfy various personal needs in the context of their work. He postulated, based on his observations as a humanistic psychologist, that there is a general pattern of needs recognition and satisfaction that people follow in generally the same sequence. He also theorized that a person could not recognize or pursue the next higher need in the hierarchy until her or his currently recognized need was substantially or completely satisfied, a concept called prepotency.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is shown in below diagram. It is often illustrated as a pyramid with the survival need at the broad-based bottom and the self-actualization need at the narrow top.

Physiological Needs

The basic physiological needs are probably fairly apparent—these include the things that are vital to our survival. 

Some examples of the physiological needs include:

• Food 
• Water 
• Breating etc.

Security and Safety Needs

At this level, the needs for security and safety become primary. People want control and order in their lives, so this need for safety and security contributes largely to behaviors at this level.

Some of the basic security and safety needs include

• Financial security
• Heath and wellness
• Safety against accidents and injury

Social Needs

The social needs in Maslow’s hierarchy include such things as love, acceptance and belonging. At this level, the need for emotional relationships drives human behavior. Some of the things that satisfy this need include:

• Friendships
• Romantic attachments
• Family
• Social groups
• Community groups
• Churches and religious organizations

Esteem Needs

At the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy is the need for appreciation and respect. When the needs at the bottom three levels have been satisfied, the esteem needs begin to play a more prominent role in motivating behavior.

Self-Actualization Needs

At the very peak of Maslow’s hierarchy are the self-actualization needs. "What a man can be, he must be," Maslow explained, referring to the need people have to achieve their full potential as human beings.

According to Maslow’s definition of self-actualization:

"It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing... They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they capable."

References
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/herzberg-true-motivators-vs-hygiene-factors/
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The Motivation to Work (2nd ed.). NewYork: John Wiley & Sons.
Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). NewYork: Harper and Row.