What HR trends are coming in 2018

There have been many unique stories that have come out in 2017 that have impacted the way companies manage their workforces. From the role that technology and AI continue to play in making the workforce more digital, the unique approach to health and wellness that companies are implementing and the new ways organizations educate their workers, the people management shifts occurring in the market change the way companies promote and share their employer brand.

What are the coming HR trends in 2018?

Companies will continue to explore how they can optimize technology to enable their workers, find and attract the best millennials in a market where high turnover is a norm and better understand the types of students that are graduating into the workforce to create corresponding management styles for them.

Here are some upcoming HR trends that I will be paying particular attention to.

Learning and development

Companies that are becoming increasingly digitized will have to keep tabs on companies like BrainStation, Bitmaker and HackerYou. As institutions focused on digital innovation, these schools are graduating a new crop of students that have new approaches to problem-solving with skills that, in many cases, are not in the market yet. The more industries focus on digital innovation, the more they will have to be aware of the presence of these types of institutions.

Artificial intelligence

Investment in AI accelerated from $282 million in 2011 to $2.4 billion in 2015, a 746% increase in five years. In 2016, this continued to increase with roughly another $1.5 billion being invested in more than 200 AI-focused companies in 2016.

Tech companies are targeting chatbots and computer algorithms to start conversations with customers who log on to websites. These bots are also used to recruit employees and answer HR questions. A survey of nearly 400 chief human resource officers conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value found that half of the survey sample recognize the power of cognitive computing to transform dimensions of HR, including operations, recruitment and training.

As marketers have discovered the power of chatbots to personalize a shopping experience, HR leaders are starting to pilot chatbots to transform the employee experience. This trend will only increase as technology continues to evolve into our markets.

Internal communication strategy

As individuals are bombarded with the amount of media they consume each day, it is more important than ever for companies to teach employees to be concise and direct in communication. According to our Best People Practices, Google understands that some people want a no-frills, fast and easy way to catch up on what is happening in the company. The organization produces a series of five-minute videos where people can watch the latest changes happening in the company in a bite-sized, easily consumable and engaging way.

What are your main takeaways from 2017 in the field of HR? What does your organization prioritize as important moving into 2018?