Employees have always been the most valuable asset of a company, no matter if it’s a small or large business. With the pandemic and unexpected changes of 2021, employers have become more attentive toward issues regarding employees’ mental health and wellness, team engagement, cybersecurity, productivity, data privacy, and more. They have realized that their business can’t survive without this vital resource. Hence, companies are trying their best to support their workforce to adapt to changes and a new way of working. Organizations are implementing HR software solutions to manage their employees and keep pace with transformation.
The world’s socio-economic situation has compelled businesses to make huge transformations to their internal processes and daily operations. To achieve success, it is important for them to stay updated with and monitor the current workplace trends and respond accordingly. It’s time that they start thinking about sudden changes and rethink their approach to modern employment. To make sure that you don’t miss out on any latest opportunities, we have listed rising trends of 2021 for the modern workforce. Trust us that you can delay them but can never escape them if you want to keep pace with the constant changes, enhance your company growth, and improve operational efficiency. Here’s what to expect in 2021:
Need for ESS Platforms
Today’s workforce comprises gen X and millennials that are inclined toward the digital workplace. With companies embracing remote work and a modern workforce, they must implement unified HR software. This sophisticated and highly intuitive system is used to train, engage, manage, and retain tech-savvy employees. There was a time when only big and established enterprises could afford such modern and advanced apps but now, these software systems have become a need of the hour for small and medium companies. They seek enterprise software development services to get an all-inclusive system to excel in their industry. Also, these apps are much more economical than before and allow companies to digitally manage all aspects of HR, employee management, daily tasks, and internal operations.
Some of the key features included in the software are:
Training & Onboarding: Attract, hire, onboard, and engage your employees. Allow them to access and update their information anytime using a mobile app. Also, it helps them stay updated and comply with regulations effortlessly.
Communication: Remove communication gap, improve employee retention, and save time by deploying a common platform for the workforce.
Workflow & Operations: A digital time clock to track their working hours, schedule, and attendance. Allot daily tasks and deadlines via an all-inclusive platform that will save a lot of time for managers to delegate tasks daily.
This will reduce paperwork for HR professionals, employers, and employees and streamline all the operations and workflows.
Rise of Remote Working
As the pandemic hit the world, offices were shut down and employees were asked to work from home. Remote work became a new normal. Of course, there were some concerns and challenges initially and people took time to adapt to the change but soon they accepted it and workflow was once again hassle-free. Companies witnessed a significant improvement in the productivity and efficiency of employees. Now, people have become comfortable with remote working as they get the flexibility to deliver their targets and it’s convenient for them in every way. A survey recently revealed that almost 47% of employers intend to allow employees to work remotely for a long time. Moreover, for many organizations, flexible time is the new norm as 43% of companies agreed that they grant flex days to employees while 42% agreed for flex hours.
Also, employees have a great desire to continue working from their homes, doubling the number of workers who are given some degree of workplace flexibility over the past decade. Research has proved that it is a trusted and effective tool to expand the talent pool. To ensure smooth workflow, enhanced communication, and timely deliverables, you must implement employee management software.
Upskill and Training
We are talking about the modern workforce in this ever-evolving environment. The competition is fierce with companies waiting desperately to hire a great pool of talent. They are updating their hiring and recruiting methods, adopting advanced software systems, and offering attractive salaries and benefits to hire skilled workers. Young and knowledgeable people are getting hired within no time and you have to be really attentive and focused to ensure that you get the top people on board. Even after sparing no efforts and offering the best salaries, there is no guarantee that you will get the skills and experience you want.
So, rather than spending time and resources to find perfect and suitable candidates for open positions, it’s time that companies start training and upskilling their existing employees. The focus should be more on educating the staff members and honing their skills so that they can accomplish their goals efficiently. You must divert attention toward capable employees to learn something new using an online learning platform that offers all the technology and tools required to upskill them. It also adds to their engagement, productivity, and morale.
Focus on Employees’ Healthcare
Employee health has always been a primary concern for employers and in the past year, it has become a top priority. Companies are not only worried about their workers’ physical wellbeing but mental health as well. A recent poll concluded that more than eight months into the coronavirus in the US, the country’s report of mental health has got much worse than a year before that. Also, close to 40% of employers keep their staff members’ health as a top concern and more than 42% of employees reported increasing levels of personal stress while juggling childcare, work, fear toward coronavirus, and more. With this, business leaders have become aware of their employees’ wellness, making it a forefront issue.
To deal with the situation and support their employees’ health, employers are guiding on wellness issues, offering benefits, paid time offs, employee assistance programs, and other schemes. They are also making reasonable adjustments to their job and schedules to accommodate other problems. Management and administration are allowing flexible working hours and interesting online activities to keep them motivated and positive. It’s time that employers understand the direct correlation between employees’ mental health and productivity, contributing to their business success.
Unlocking Flexibility & Agility
One of the immediate steps as soon as the pandemic hit the world was remote working. Companies put the policy of work from home in place, allowing flexibility to employees to complete their tasks at their own accord. Business Owners took drastic measures to formalize remote work to bring potential permanence as the modern workforce navigated through this change. Companies offered dynamic support to the workers to ensure that this new way of work gives the best results. Considering this trend, 44% of employers have now officially issued flexible working policies. The majority of business leaders are reshaping the workforce with a focus on delivering flexible models, new technology, and financial stability. Also, 65% of employees are really positive about this approach that offers more opportunities in the future. This also provides access to talented and skilled people and reduced operational costs.
To drive transformation, companies are diverting attention to people, making sure that they have all the resources and technologies to deliver their targets. When the pandemic started, the key concern was to keep business running smoothly while supporting employees and clients consistently. With time, employers and employees adapt to the changes and now their revenues are gradually returning to pre-covid levels.
Final Thoughts
A study has revealed that all companies, irrespective of their size, need to make adjustments to their business model to suit the modern workforce. To attain success and set goals, a cultural shift is a key along with the digital transformation. Yes, there will be a few stumbling blocks while you integrate these trends but the journey would be exciting. So, if you still haven’t taken a step toward the transition to accommodate the modern workforce, it’s time to kick start the process and strive for new possibilities.
Author’s Bio: Scarlett works with the editorial team of Accomplish EP, a leading company offering benefits administration software. Exploring the latest technologies, reading about them, and writing her views have always been her passion. She seeks new opportunities to express her opinions, explore technological advancements, and document the details. You can always find her enjoying books or articles about varied topics or jotting down her ideas in a notebook.