4 Key Factors to Help HR Succeed in 2020

The last year has seen vast changes in the work landscape and it seems that this year will be no different. 2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year for HR, and there’s no better way to kick things off than to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward.

We’ve outlined 4 key factors to help you ensure that your HR team is ready to elevate its practices and see the results you deserve in 2020 and beyond.

Content
Be Prepared for Gen Z
Review Your Onboarding Practices to Improve Retention
Continue to Evolve the Role of HR
Stay on Top of Trends
Ready for 2020?

Be Prepared for Gen Z

In recent years, there’s been an influx of interest and research surrounding millennials and their workplace practices, requirements and habits. But workplace demographics are continuing to shift, and in 2020, there will be more “Gen Zers” entering the workforce than ever before.

Along with evolving trends, advances in technology and many other factors, Gen Z will be having a huge impact in the workplace and beyond, and it’s something HR must be preparing for.

Like millennials, Gen Z places a lot of value on quality, communicative leadership, and flexible working. Unsurprisingly, technology plays an important role in their work, with 91% of Gen Z-ers surveyed confirming that the technology available to them would influence their decision when accepting a job. 

HR Business Partner
Resource Library

Download our free PDF and get access to essential reports, articles & videos that'll help you become a successful & future-proof HR Business Partner.

Get the PDF

Gen Z also insists on receiving feedback; two-thirds stated that they actually require regular feedback from their supervisor (classified as at least every few weeks) in order to stay in their jobs.

One of the best ways for HR departments to prepare for this shift is to initiate conversations more often. Like millennials, Gen Z places importance on people enablement; being valued as individuals on their own career paths and having a sense of autonomy at work. Gen Z employees, and new hires in particular, will likely be more than happy to be asked their opinions on how things should move forward and offer suggestions to help shape your company’s future. Collaboration and autonomy are key.

Review Your Onboarding Practices to Improve Retention

It’s clear that career paths and turnover rates will never be the same as they were in years past. We know that millennials and Gen Z tend to incur a higher turnover rate, often choosing new opportunities and personal progression over following a path within one specific company or field.

However, there are strategies you can implement to reduce turnover rates and make sure employees grow alongside your organization. One way to do this is to review your employee onboarding practices. Whilst, of course, finding and hiring the right candidate is incredibly important, the next steps are just as valuable.

The support and onboarding new hires receive can have a huge impact. Research by Glassdoor has established that organizations with strong onboarding processes can improve new hire retention by 82%. And the benefits don’t end there. Productivity also improves by over 70% compared to those with poor or non-existing onboarding practices.

For HR, there are simple ways to go about this in the coming year. Ensure you’re providing new starters with welcome packs containing company structure, key information and a breakdown of their role, make sure they are fully trained in the appropriate software, introduce them to other teams and departments, and perhaps assign them a mentor, or make sure their line manager has regular check-ins with them for the first few months. Although this may seem like an expense in time and energy, it is far less so than the alternative option of people leaving early on, and the resulting repetition of the recruitment process.

Continue to Evolve the Role of HR

It goes without saying that advances in technology have changed the way we work, and HR is no exception. Innovative tools and solutions have allowed HR professionals to free up time which would previously have been spent on more menial tasks. The ways we refer to HR are evolving and the very way that HR professionals and their responsibilities are viewed by companies is rapidly changing.

It’s never been a more exciting time to be in HR. The days where Human Resources departments were viewed simply as the people in charge of recruitment, onboarding and payroll are slowly fading away. In recent years, HR has been able to bring much more to the table. We are starting to see HR departments brought into senior leadership discussions and decisions (as they should be!) and become strategic business partners, ensuring that processes contribute directly to business objectives.

The key takeaway for HR professionals working alongside upper management is to aim towards establishing business strategies that benefit employees across the organization.

If your company hasn’t yet given HR the seat at the table that they deserve, 2020 is the time to drive these changes forward. The benefits will reach far and wide.

Stay On Top Of Trends

It goes without saying that HR professionals have enough on their plates to keep them busy all year round. The nature of the role is so varied, and the demands are ever-growing. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the everyday rush and lose perspective on what’s happening outside of your office space.

However, increased awareness of the industry at large and what is currently at play is key to finding inspiration and improving current practices. It’s important to keep up with HR as an industry and stay up to date with current trends, practices, and solutions.

Whilst we like to reflect at the beginning and end of each year on the most impactful trends for HR, it’s great to keep that awareness up all year-round to ensure you’re not left behind.

Staying on top of current trends and hot topics has never been easier. There is a wide array of articles, guides, and resources and of course HR tech conferences available for HR, no matter the size of your team or the nature of your company.

HR 2025
Competency Assessment

Do you have the competencies needed to remain relevant? Take the 5 minute assessment to find out!

Start Free Assessment

Ready for 2020?

With employee demographics and demands shifting, new trends and focuses are ever emerging. The very definition and meaning of HR have already been and will continue to be reshaped. It is without a doubt a very exciting time for employees, management and HR professionals everywhere.