What if we told you everything you knew about human resources is wrong?

Shocking, right?

Okay, maybe not wrong. 

But it is changing. 

The nature of work as you know it has taken a 360° turn. You’ve probably seen this yourself, too. 

For instance, we’ve gone from traditional offices with cubicles and wearing suits to a more stylish work environment. Offices with bean bags as chairs and support pets running around the office. 

Guess what?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg of changes that have happened. 

As an HR professional, it’s important for you to always be ahead of the curve, so you can lead your team through the ever-evolving world of work.

That’s why we created this guide. 

To help you understand the changes coming in 2024 and get your team prepared for what’s to come. 

Without further ado, let’s get to it.

Table of Contents

Trend #1: Building Asynchronous Cultures

Trend #2: Prioritizing Employee Well-Being

Trend #3: Embracing Generative AI

Trend #4: Upskilling and Reskilling for the Future of Work

Trend #5: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Trend #6: Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Trend #7: Gig Economy and Freelance Work

Trend #8: Embracing the Global Workforce

Trend #9: Data-Driven Talent Management

Trend #10: The Rise of Hyper-Personalization

Bonus Trend: The “Great Resignation” Hangover

Trend #1: Building Asynchronous Cultures

In 2021, Nathan Barry, the CEO of ConvertKit, tweeted about the importance of building asynchronous cultures. 

He described how companies can connect with their team in the face of hybrid work. According to him, “This will save so many meetings, avoid people feeling left out if they weren’t in the meeting, and protect focused work.”

Fast forward to 2023, Daphnée Laforest, an operations expert, talked about how asynchronous work is a culture shift. 

Here’s what she said about async cultures: “Asynchronous work isn’t just a trend; it is a transformative methodology that can leverage global talent and foster an innovative and efficient organizational culture.“

Bottom line?

It’s no coincidence people are still talking about this concept after a few years.  

According to a survey of over 1K IT professionals in different organizations, 51% of them prefer to use messaging apps (e.g., Slack or Teams) instead of email.

So, what is it really?

Well, in an asynchronous culture, teammates collaborate without being immediately available or physically present. 

Wondering how that’s a good thing?

Well, it gives workers more flexible working arrangements. They choose their work schedule. They also get to:

• Cut down on the time spent on meetings.
• Create a trusting environment for workers.
• Work with global talent easily.
• Create a more transparent work culture. 

And more. Sounds interesting, right?

But it’s not without its drawbacks. 

One of them, according to Rita J. Varga, an HR consultant and coach, is delayed decision-making. 

“Without real-time interactions, decision-making processes may take longer, especially if multiple team members need to be involved.”

Varga also says that an async culture can also lead to an overload of information. You know, with different communication apps being used. 

But that’s not a big deal. 

You just need to streamline how you communicate important information. 

Maybe dedicate a single channel to such information. So everyone knows. 

And whenever you need to make important decisions with colleagues, set a meeting so everyone can join in.

Trend #2: Prioritizing Employee Well-Being

Another top HR trend that’s been on the rise is employee well-being. 

According to a popular Gallup report, 76% of employees experience occasional burnout in their jobs. 

The report went on to indicate that employees in this category are 2.6x more likely to look for a new job. 

That’s not the kind of company culture you want to have. 

Here’s something else that’s quite interesting. 

In a conversation with Chris Capossela on LinkedIn, Russ Glass the CEO of Headspace had some things to say about employee well-being. 

“Before the pandemic, companies were starting to think about mental health as something important, but it was still on the fringes. Now we’re supporting over 3,300 enterprises around the world and the acceleration of growth is driven by employees saying, ‘I might leave my job due to mental health issues.’

When you see demand like that, it flips from being a nice-to-have to a must-have.”

So, what does all this tell you?

Paying attention to how your employees are faring is a big deal now. 

It can cost you between 15 and 20% of payroll in turnover costs on average, according to Gallup. 

Now, how do you tackle this occupational phenomenon, as WHO describes it?

Begin by talking about it. Discuss what’s causing stress and burnout with employees. Here’s what Russ Glass recommends: 

“One of the pieces of advice that I give leaders is that while it might be too hard to talk about your current mental health struggles, it can be easier to talk about struggles you’ve had in the past. Talk about moments in your career where you’ve had some anxiety, or you’ve felt like the stress was too much. And then talk about, what were the things you went through to help get better?

It’s a positive message, and it still creates the kind of normalization that allows others to have those conversations also.” 

Other solutions you can implement are to: 

• Promote time off. Yup, that’s right. Let your employees know that it’s okay to rest when they’re feeling down. They don’t have to come to work every day. The goal is for them to hit their milestones. 
• Acknowledge hard work and reward it. 
• Invest in development opportunities. 
• Create opportunities for leisure-based activities like aerobics, and yoga. That’s a WHO recommendation.

Trend #3: Embracing Generative AI

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT have become quite popular in the last few years. 

AI is changing the way many industries work. And that includes human resources. 

You can now use AI in HR technology to carry out several tasks, including

• Talent acquisition. With machine learning, you can go through hundreds of resumes to discover candidates that match your job description. It ensures your recruitment process is fair, supports diversity, and an inclusive workspace. 
• Employee onboarding. Chatbots and virtual assistants help new employees get through the early stages of their employment. That means less work for HR. 
• Employee well-being and engagement. Remember the employee health we just spoke about? Well, AI can help you track employee engagement at work. You’ll get insights into how workers are performing and come up with measures to tackle any issues. 
• Talent development. AI algorithms can monitor skill gaps in your workforce and recommend opportunities to improve. 
• Workforce planning. AI can also analyze current and past workforce needs and predict future ones. This way, you can prepare to fill talent gaps. 

Overall, AI in HR helps with the automation of administrative tasks. It frees up time for other tasks. 

But even though there are a lot of opportunities for AI to assist HR, there are also some challenges. 

For instance, privacy concerns. 

If you’re going to use AI to ascertain employees’ well-being or track their performance, you have to be careful about the data shared with AI. 

Let workers know it has been shared, for transparency. 

Another challenge with using AI is that you may have to scrap certain job roles. And then train workers to fit into a new role. 

In a nutshell, when using this trend, it’s good practice to let employees and stakeholders know AI is being used.

Trend #4: Upskilling and Reskilling for the Future of Work

As mentioned in the introduction, the nature of work is changing. 

Case in point, the AI revolution. 

And according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), 50% of employees will need to reskill for the future by 2025. 

It’s up to you as your workforce’s protector to prepare employees for what’s coming. 

So, what can you do?

First, you want to look at your current employees and identify which of them needs to upskill or reskill. 

Upskilling means employees are adding new skills to progress in their current careers.

Reskilling, on the other hand, is employees who perhaps need to transition from one role to another. 

What skills does your team need to prepare for the future of work?

According to WEF, you’ll need to focus on critical thinking, analytical thinking, creativity, empathy, upward leadership, and quality control. 

Those are future-proof skills. 

Other skills that seem to be increasing the fastest according to the WEF report include: 

• AI
• Big data
• Social influence
• Design and user experience
• Marketing and media
• Network and cybersecurity

But the key to this is understanding individual skill shortages within your company. 

Then you can create a personalized learning plan for each person that aligns with their career goals and learning style. 

Four in every five of the companies surveyed in the report are committed to investing in learning and on-the-job training in the next five years. 

From the survey, it’s a trend many companies are hopping onto. 

So you should consider joining that train too.

Trend #5: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

In this new year, DEI is taking a new turn in the workplace. 

In previous years, reports showed that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns over their respective national industry medians.

That shows how profitable DEI can be for companies, right?

Now, the process of hiring with DEI in mind used to be somewhat direct. Companies could turn to universities as their hiring pool to recruit and ensure their companies fulfilled their DEI commitments. 

But in August 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court passed a ruling that brought race-conscious admission decisions to a halt. In other words, colleges were told to admit people based on their qualifications. 

Shouldn’t be a problem, right? 

Well, it kinda is because colleges were one place companies used to rely on for seamless DEI hiring.

In addition to that, some republican attorney generals sent a letter to corporate America that the Supreme Court’s decision could apply to it as well. 

What are we driving at here?

The way companies approach DEI has been disrupted. 

Now, even before the court’s ruling, a 2022 Gartner report showed that 44% of employees claimed a growing number of their colleagues feel alienated by their organization’s DEI efforts.

That tells you it’s been a long time coming. 

And on the flip side, you need to create a workplace where everyone feels they belong. 

The benefit of this is that employees put in their best, improve their productivity metrics, and increase the company’s profit. 

Hmm … so how do I create a fair workplace?

Here are some options:

• Shift your focus to individual merit when hiring. 
• Do a blind resume review to limit unconscious bias. 
• Carry out unconscious bias training for your workers. Perhaps including real-life scenarios to help them understand how bias can affect daily interactions.
• Organize hangouts where everyone can connect, have fun, and share experiences. 
• Communicate why it’s important to employees and stakeholders.

Trend #6: Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

EVP refers to the benefits employees stand to receive in return for their contributions to your company. 

Here’s how Ankur Warikoo describes it:

“Why should anyone join you, as against someplace else?”

He further explained… 

“Most founders, in their naivety, think it is money, designation, growth, cool office, great brand. It could be. But don’t assume it to be. Define it. And then see if you find enough takers. If not, go back and redefine it.”

You see employees in this AI age are constantly breaking away from what’s normal. 

And creating their new normal.

Gone are the days when workers were stuck with a work model because it paid their bills. 

They want a job that gives them a sense of belonging, great work-life balance, competitive growth, and purpose. 

Michele Parmelee, Deloitte’s Chief People Officer said it correctly in Deloitte’s 2023 Gen Z and Millennial survey: 

“Gen Zs and millennials are striving for better work/life balance. They are also values-driven and concerned about the environment, the state of the world, and the future they see developing ahead of them. They’re looking for employers who can help empower them to make a difference.”

See what we mean?

So, how do I craft a really catchy EVP?

• Start with your current team. What made them fall in love with your company? Take it a step further and ask for their needs and aspirations. 
• Outline your company’s story. Your journey. What brought you to where you are today? What values made that happen?
• Live those values. 
• Measure your EVP’s impact so you know if you’ve kept your side of the bargain.

Trend #7: Gig Economy and Freelance Work

From the good ol’ days of Fiverr, the gig economy and freelance work have come a long way. 

And it doesn’t seem like it’s stopping anytime soon. 

According to research by Statista, the number of freelancers in the U.S. has consistently gone up since 2017.  

It’s predicted to grow to 86.5 million in 2027, making up about half of the U.S. workforce. 

The reason is just like Michele from the Deloitte report said… People are striving for better work-life balance. 

Freelancing gives them that balance. They get to choose when to work. How much they’d like to be paid. 

Essentially, they get more control over their work life. 

The question is, are you prepared to work with talents that fall into this category?

Because more people are going to join that train, as reports have shown. 

Wondering how to prepare for this trend?

Here are some ideas:

• Identify tasks that align with the gig model. Consider factors like how long it’ll take and the skills needed.
• Create job descriptions highlighting the responsibilities. 
• Be very open about the task’s timeline, payment terms, quality expectations, etc. 
• Select an online platform for seamless communication. 
• Create an onboarding process for freelancers you hire. 
• Make freelancers feel part of the team by inviting them to meetings, virtual hangouts, etc. 
• Have a legal counsel to advise on different laws guiding freelancers and your company. 

This is a good place to start when developing a diverse workforce.

Trend #8: Embracing the Global Workforce

Here’s another trend we’re going to see more of in 2024. 

It began during the pandemic and gathered momentum afterward. 

When it became clear to companies that remote work was the way forward in the labor market. Not just from your region but from anywhere in the world. 

Now, there are digital companies everywhere, with employees across different demographics around the globe. 

And guess what? 

They are thriving. 

And if you do join the global workforce train, here’s what you’ll get:

• Significant slash in payroll costs. In a way, it’s a little bit cheaper to hire talent abroad because of the exchange rates. Not in all cases, though. But aside from that, you will likely reduce the cost paid in taxes too.
• Diverse talent pool. You can tap into a pool of professionals that may not be available to you locally. 

But you may experience some drawbacks too — compliance issues, legal concerns, unfamiliar taxation systems, etc. 

Your best solution will be to just work with professionals who handle HR services and payroll on a global scale.

Now if you want to embrace the global workforce trend, here are some things you must do: 

• Create a business strategy to onboard remote workers. 
• Organize a training program to help your existing employees navigate working with the newbies. 
• Remember to collaborate with global HR departments or other HR experts. 

And you’re good to go.

Trend #9: Data-Driven Talent Management

You know one of the crucial tasks for human resource professionals is recruiting and managing talent. 

In the past, you probably used to do things manually and based on feelings.

You waited for a talent gap to arise and then tried to fill it. 

But did you know you could be more productive using data?

Yup, with data analytics, you can improve your talent-management process. 

When asked how they leverage data analytics for HR functions, here’s what recruiter, Kristen Wach said:

“As a Corporate Recruiter, I rely on data and analytics to make informed talent-management decisions. We collect and analyze data on various aspects of the recruitment process, such as time-to-hire, source of hire, candidate conversion rates, and employee retention rates. 

Data helps us identify trends, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement. Analytics also assists in predicting future talent needs based on historical data, allowing us to proactively source and engage with potential candidates….”

And in speaking about the benefits of using data analytics, Tim Freestone, CEO of Alooba, said this…

“Almost any process in any domain can be improved by progressing from a purely feelings-based approach, to a data-driven approach. [In] candidate selection, for example, … Traditional approaches like ‘cultural fit’ interviews tend to be subjective and immeasurable. 

By instead focusing on objective, measurable criteria — like skills — you can help to reduce bias in the hiring process.”

From both professionals, you can see how beneficial data analytics can be.

Furthermore, you can use data to analyze internal career paths, identify employees for new openings, and more. 

So if you’ve been doing things the traditional way, this is your cue to start using data.

Trend #10: The Rise of Hyper-Personalization

You know for employees looking for jobs that give them a sense of purpose, going the one-size-fits-all HR route won’t cut it anymore. 

They need a different approach.

One that makes them feel you understand them personally. 

Introducing hyper-personalization. 

So, how can you incorporate this concept into your HR processes?

• Personalized benefits packages. Offer employees benefits that meet their needs. It could be free therapy sessions or paying for a babysitter. 
• Career coaching. You can assign workers to mentors, and organize skills training for them to scale up. 
• Personalized performance management. Step away from traditional performance reviews to individualized plans so you can improve their productivity. 

Essentially, have a more personal interaction with them so you can improve employees’ experience. 

In a way that shows you’ve got their back.

Bonus Trend: The “Great Resignation” Hangover

Remember what happened after COVID-19?

There was the Great Resignation. Not layoffs but voluntary quitting. 

People felt they weren’t treated fairly at work. Some had had a taste of flexible work and what they’d been missing at home and thought: 

“Surely, there are better ways to make more money than this.”

Well, that was pretty much what led to this phenomenon. 

And so between 2020 and 2022, millions of people resigned from their jobs. 

But is the Great Resignation officially over?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is. 

Resignation has been at an all-time low since 2021. Only 3.47 million people left their jobs as of November 2023. Quite a drop from the record of 4.5 million people per month a few years earlier. 

In a nutshell, things seem back to normal. 

But that’s because employers listened to their workers and improved working conditions. 

In 2024, you can expect that HR teams will focus more on ensuring they retain workers. 

They’ll improve their value proposition. 

Personalize their interactions with employees. Be sensitive to the rising cost of things. Provide all-around health and well-being care. 

And that brings us to the end of this guide.

Learn More About HR of the Future

Structures are changing in the HR world. 

There will be more companies switching from traditional approaches to managing people to more modern and inclusive approaches. 

Embracing these changes will help you be better at what you do. 

The train is moving. 

And you need to be on it to stay relevant. 

How do you join?

By staying current with new HR trends, culture, and future.

You can learn more when you visit the SwagDrop blog today. We’ve got different resources to help you scale your HR skills. 

You could also subscribe to SwagDrop’s podcast, get access to a plethora of knowledge, and become an HR leader.