HR had been the key function in the year 2020. If not for HR, things would have been messy, and the smooth transition would not have been possible. They had to act quickly and come up with strategies that would suit the new normal despite being surrounded by an uncertain future. The huge transformation of workplaces from in-office to remote enabled by technology happened at the beginning of this year.   

However, toward the end of the year, many companies are discussing whether they should go back to their familiar working environment or stick to the new normal or adapt to a hybrid working model. Big companies have adopted working remotely as their future, but how effective it will be is something we should look for in the future. Nevertheless, the experts in the HR space suggest that no matter how things are going to turn out, their focus should be primarily on the following areas to weather any kind of uncertainty.  

1. Employee Engagement  

2. Goal-Setting  

3. Employee Development  

4. Performance Management   

Employee engagement   

Employees’ mental health. With the sudden changes in their personal and professional lives, employees are anxious and have unsettling questions about their future. These kinds of chaotic thoughts within the employees will have a greater impact on the business, affecting productivity, efficiency, quality, and innovation. In addition to that, changing work environments and rapid business decisions again can affect their mental health further.  

Therefore, HR should take the concerns of employees seriously and address them. Taking action on the issues among the employees reassure them, and they will know that their company values them.  

Sentiment Analysis in Feedback. Sentiment analysis technology leverages Natural Language Processing (NLP) through AI to analyze the emotion and sentiment in the continuous feedback, 360 degree feedback, and surveys. HR can use the qualitative data and actionable insights to address the concerns of the employees, strengthen the manager-employee relations, and improve the employee engagement rate.  

Employee experience. Giving the best experience to customers has always been the top priority of businesses. When it comes to HR, employee experience makes to the list of top five priorities. Because today, people value experience more and consider it as important as the product. In 2019, Gartner reported that employee experience was the key initiative of HR leaders, and recently, its significance has increased with the sudden turn of events.  

HR should figure out a way to stage the best employee experience. According to the report by McKinsey, flexible work shifts in remote working has increased employee engagement rate and well-being levels among the US workforce. Another report suggests that the remote working and pandemic situation have impacted the mental health of employees negatively. These reports do not take all the companies and employees into consideration.  

Therefore, analyze your business and employee needs and tailor a solution that suits your company to give the best employee experience to your workforce.   

Goal-Setting   

The only framework that best serves the purpose of effective Goal-Setting is OKR (Objectives and Key Results). A goal-setting methodology should be able to be applied to all walks of life, both personal and professional. Then, that implies it is an easy tool to use and understand. Also, OKRs are agile and promote a transparent and open culture. HR should create awareness about an effective Goal-Setting process within the organization in 2021.   

HRs should leverage the power of OKRs to achieve stretch goals and make Goal-Setting easier even in unprecedented times.   

Employee Development    

According to a collated report “Accelerating the journey to HR 3.0,” by Josh Bersin and IBM, “Leadership in HR 3.0 focuses on collaboration, listening, and the ability to navigate uncertainty. Leaders put the team first and exhibit behavioral traits such as agility, communication and adaptability. They are seen as coaches, empowering their teams to innovate.“  

When HR 3.0 is achieved or if the leaders envisioned by great HR experts are born in 2021, employees’ professional growth in terms of learning and acquiring new knowledge and skill will happen seamlessly. Employee development plans and training programs will become a part of the performance management system.   

Performance management   

Data-driven Insights with Technology. The annual appraisal based on recent achievements and vague feedback has become obsolete. The traditional methods have already been abandoned by many organizations. According to a Gartner’s report in 2018, more than 50% of organizations use different non-traditional techniques to track and monitor employee performance. The non-traditional methods rely more on technology as the demand for data has increased.  

Data is the new currency and fuel in today’s economy. Based on the data, all-important business decisions are being taken. Even a meeting does not happen without data. Therefore, all systems and processes are being digitized and automated.  

According to KPMG, 77% of business leaders say that they will “build on their use of collaboration and communication tools.”  

Continuous Check-ins and 360 degree feedback. With employees returning to offices or continuing work from home, adopting technology to carry out business processes like continuous check-ins and 360 degree feedback would be the best option. The data are always undisturbed and can always be referred to. Continuous check-ins will be carried out to know more about what the employees are thinking and the reasons behind their behavior if there is something to be concerned about.   

360 degree feedback promotes collaboration and helps employees to build a strong personality by learning their strengths and weaknesses. And also, employees can compare the data from pre-COVID and post-COVID to identify where things have gone wrong and rectify them. Meanwhile, the data would be helpful to the HR team to help employees with their anxieties.   

Rewards and recognition. Recognizing employees will always be a never-fading trend for HR because expecting recognition for the hard work is human nature. Companies should use human nature to their advantage, and it is mutually beneficial too. The companies will have motivated employees, and the employees will work happily with no mental stress. Effective reward and recognition plan is a must-have policy from start-ups to global organizations.   

HR leaders, be prepared to give a successful year to your company. Good luck!