HR Tech in the Future
Over the last few years, HR technology has been booming. Experts estimate that the industry will be worth more than $12 billion by 2022. The global HR technology market size is expected to grow from USD 42.12 billion in 2019 to USD 147.89 billion by 2027, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.2% during 2020–2027. The growth is driven by factors such as the increasing demand for cloud-based services and the growing emphasis on improving organizational productivity and efficiency.
It is natural to wonder if you need to worry about your job security with all the talk about the future of HR Technology which is about to be shaped by the widespread implementation of automation software in human resources departments. Technical progress — machine learning, blockchain, synthetic intelligence — is happening at an unprecedented pace. A future that might have been dominated by shiny, metal robots is being taken over by data-driven artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and automation brought forth from the cloud. It’s hard to predict what the future will bring us but as a rule of thumb, we are looking at an increasingly automated post-digital era.
Getting automation right in a fast-paced world poses several challenges:
The real challenge for many organizations is how to achieve this when the rate of change in technology is so fast – what worked five years ago may no longer work today. The HR of tomorrow needs to look at the future of work, and consider how they can build a sustainable talent pool that will be agile enough to meet future challenges.
What we need are flexible technologies that adapt quickly to respond to rapidly changing environments, and which are able to handle complex situations in real-time.
However, no one can predict the future of HR technology. Technology adoption and integration into existing systems will determine its evolution just as much as the creation of new technologies to replace obsolete ones. However, don’t be alarmed – there are a lot of opportunities in this area for humans.
Automation vs. Humans
HR Automation is no longer just about automating payroll processes or time tracking software. In fact, it can be used to automate almost every aspect of your business: from onboarding employees to managing benefits programs and even recruiting candidates!
And undoubtedly automation will likely affect HR tech in the future aggressively. With more jobs being automated, organizations may need fewer HR personnel.
But before you start looking for a new job, know that many experts predict that HR tech will include humans as well as robots. It is predicted that there will be a shortage of qualified candidates in the near future and some companies may not be able to find employees with experience in AI or robotics.
What does this mean for HR technology in the future? We don’t know yet. It is a fact that HR technology is evolving rapidly, and there are plenty of opportunities for both humans and robots in this growing field.
What does the future hold for HR?
AI-based chatbots are among the most promising new HR tech fields. The bots answer customer questions on websites and apps 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, simulating a conversation between humans and computers. It will be extremely helpful to have chatbots in HR, as humans will not be required to answer simple questions about company policies and procedures resulting in a significant reduction in employee work, enabling the workforce to be utilized more effectively in areas requiring human judgment & expertise.
As well as assisting with simple tasks, chatbots can also help with more complex tasks, such as scheduling shifts for employees or updating employee records in HR systems. Through chatbots, scheduling tasks can be completed much faster by checking availability across multiple calendars before sending invitations, also helping with data entry, chatbots can handle tasks such as typing in information from paper documents one at a time, or repeatedly entering data into the same fields. Users can interact with chatbots through voice commands, text commands, or even by scanning images with the bot’s camera. Because each piece of information is not typed individually, they can fill out forms very quickly.
These technologies allow us to remain connected across time zones and seamlessly collaborate with colleagues and clients around the globe. It also provides us with insight into the real-time health of our business, products, and processes.
In this “new normal,” maintaining a competitive advantage is increasingly dependent on the ability to adapt quickly and effectively to change & Despite the continual evolution of HR technology, not everything will be automated. Humans will continue to play a significant role in this emerging field.
Conclusion
Today, businesses are striving to become more efficient and optimize their employees’ performance. For many, automating difficult or time-consuming tasks is something facilitated by technology.
However, is that really the best course of action?
Human resources will continue to be impacted by technology, but automation will not be the only factor. Humans will still be indispensable in many HR functions, even if they are assisted by robots.
As the future of HR will be increasingly automated, so it is imperative to pay more attention to the HR departments that work with people.
But it’s tough to say what will happen for sure as we can only speculate on the future of HR technology. But don’t underestimate the power of HR technologies; these tools represent the key to human capital management in the digital age, and their influence on tomorrow’s workforce is sure to be significant.
