As a reminder, in my last blog post I covered predications 1 through 5 from Bersin by Deloitte’s 66-page report on 10 predictions for 2014 that focus on Talent, Leadership, and HR Technology.  I am concluding the review with Predictions 6 through ten.

The predictions indicate organizations will move away from cost reduction and focus on employee retention and engagement.  It sees technology continuing to bring the world to our doorstep and that will pressure companies to create or revise their employment brand in order to be the most competitive. Data will dominate as businesses are looking to understand how to best manage their people and strong leadership will continue to be in short supply.  The biggest impact is in HR; these teams have a persistent struggle finding innovative ways to attract, retain and engage employees in an effort to stay ahead of the competition.  The report is also calling this year, “The Year of the Employee.” Companies that cut spending and restructured due to the lagging economy have pushed employees to work harder.  The result? High-performing employees will have the control in the workforce.  As key skills remain in short supply, employees with those skills can write their future.

Change The Way You HR

Prediction # 6 calls for the “redesign of HR” as it becomes a dramatically changing market.  The prediction even says if you aren’t reinvesting in HR, you will likely fall behind.  Depending on how you look at it, this predication is already true.  Just like the increasingly diverse workforce and rapidly changing job market so is the role of HR.  The role no longer addresses the traditional personnel issues; today’s HR is involved in solving core business issues while balancing the allocation of talent resources.  With a growing HR Technology market that is providing integrated tools that can drive value, a tech savvy HR can get a leg up on the competition.

Acquiring Talent

We all know finding the right talent is a challenge.  Prediction #7 vies “talent acquisition” as a rapidly changing market thanks to new social recruiting tactics, talent networks, Big Data and recruiting platforms.  This is where your employment brand will come in handy. Wait, you don’t have one?  Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  As many companies create a brand for their product, they forget about creating a brand that will attract highly skilled people to come and work. Prediction # 7 rings true - your ability to recruit is directly dependent on your engagement and retention strategy – what your employees experience is what is communicated to the outside world.

Growing HR Technology and Content Markets

The research points out in Prediction #8 that while HR Technology is not the only answer to many of today’s challenges, adopting some technology into the workforce will be key in 2014 and beyond. Most large HR departments use several systems to get their information, and that need may never go away.  However, organizations that can find an integrated solution offering the right analytics, recruiting management and learning tools could be of great value. It seems logical that combining and integrating tools to help HR business challenges would be a smart investment, but only if these solutions are simple to use and are the right fit for your business market.

Know your Talent

Talent analytics, as Prediction #9 reports, is “red hot.” This is where Big Data and technology combine to give HR the insight into workforce performance.  Wouldn’t you want to know the correlations between business performance and talent characteristics so you can focus on business solutions and not just better reports? I am compelled to say yes – I personally see it as cutting out the middleman or the general perception and using facts. Deloitte shares that companies who excel in talent analytics have improved their recruiting by 2X, leadership pipeline by 3X, and financial performance as well. While it is at least five years away from becoming a major part of the HR role, the trend toward data-driven thinking and integrated data might just become part of doing business. 

The New HR

According to the final Predication (#10), HR leadership is ready to see a shake-up and its called High-Impact HR. Human Resources has dramatically changed over the past 30 years.  It has become a more complex and strategic role than an administrative one and morphed into a position that is involved in finding the solutions to some of the most challenging business decisions. As a result, this new trend is demanding an integrated team of highly trained specialists that consult and operate within a network of expertise and managed by business-driven leadership.

The bottom line…

Like the start to any new year there are lofty predications or resolutions, and 2014 looks to be the same.   It will be an exciting and important year for businesses, and specifically in the field of HR. As the economy recovers and technology continues to bring the world closer, the demand for detailed skills needed to make business more competitive and successful will continue to grow. With that need comes new investing strategies that will keep businesses ahead of the completion, but not broke.