Human Resource Technology Trends 2024

Did you know that according to research firm Gartner, 89% of HR leaders are planning to increase or maintain their HR technology budgets in 2024? This information is indicative of the fact that HR tech is still quite significant in the organizational priority list across industries. After all, given how dynamic the work environment has been recently, with several changes reshaping both physical workplaces and virtual work arenas globally, HR technology has become more important than ever before.

If you want to maximize the potential of HR technologies and align them with strategic business outcomes, you need to be aware of the top trends in the HR technology space. Last year, we unveiled emerging trends in HR technologies, including digitized workplaces, hyper-personalization, data literacy, unified employee apps and soft skills. So, what technological innovations can HR professionals expect this year?

Read on and explore the top 5 HR Technology trends of 2024!
 

Trend 1: HR Professionals Will Increasingly Use Artificial Intelligence

You saw this one coming, right? The integration of AI, especially Generative AI, has been growing across industries and verticals. Soon, HR-centric tools and platforms will boast AI features and will be leveraged for various purposes, including talent acquisition, employee engagement, predictive analytics, workforce planning, etc.

AI has dominated news cycles in 2023 as the technology has continued to evolve and its influence on the workplace is expected to grow in 2024. The Paychex Pulse Survey reported that over 75% of HR leaders in businesses with 20 or more employees said they'll be using AI technologies within the next 12 months. This AI adoption is driven by the fact that it can automate processes, offering HR professionals improved scalability and efficiency.

For instance, by gathering data on employees, such as their strong skills, day-to-day performance, productive time, etc., AI algorithms will soon deliver HR teams with valuable insights. Moreover, we will see more enterprise apps featuring AI chatbots to help HR teams automate employee outreach and uncover their concerns much faster.

Evelyn McMullen, a research manager specializing in talent acquisition for Nucleus Research, validates, "AI-driven skills graphs and other means of identifying employees' soft and hard skills are at a point where they can be adopted by HR." Hence, AI technologies will assist HR teams in assessing skills gaps and productivity, among other metrics, in the workplace.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Everyone wants a slice of the AI pie! To do this, HR teams must implement generative AI solutions that analyze individual preferences/ behavior and deliver personalized experiences through tailored training programs, communication strategies, etc., for higher engagement and satisfaction. Moreover, HR professionals must leverage AI to automate the hiring processes by analyzing vast datasets of potential candidates efficiently. Using AI for talent assessment can help gain actionable insights into candidate profiles, optimize recruitment strategies and enhance decision-making for HR professionals. Finally, HR teams must identify areas where AI can be implemented, allowing them to focus on strategic and creative aspects to improve overall efficiency, reduce errors and enhance the employee experience.
 

Trend 2: HR Technologies Will Help Businesses Support Their Hybrid Workforce

Although it’s 2024, there’s still a significant disparity between remote and on-premises work. While major business and thought leaders are demanding that employees return to the offices, work-from-home (WFH) very much remains in effect. Hence, in 2024, HR teams will leverage technology to support both sets of employees.

According to Gartner, 75% of employees expect more options for flexible work heading into 2024 – no surprise there, right? So, with remote and hybrid work models set to remain, HR teams will strive to adopt and implement a consistent work environment that keeps both sets of workers connected, engaged and productive. This will include implementing digital solutions that foster communication and collaboration, provide training and guidance, etc., to ease employee-HR and employee-employee interactions.

For instance, Joanna Campa, Marketing Director of HiringThing, a recruiting and onboarding platform as a service vendor, is leveraging this trend by offering new features within their HR platforms. She explains, “When we saw that remote work was increasing—even before the pandemic—we started adding more video interview integration options to our recruiting software. It’s the same reason we just debuted a self-scheduling feature.” Thus, most HR teams will look to realign their HR technology stack for hybrid workforce strategies in 2024 and beyond.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: If your business has a hybrid model, even for a few employees, here’s what you must do. The most important step for HR professionals managing hybrid workforces is to foster transparent communication channels that help bridge the gap between in-office and remote employees. To do this, they must leverage hybrid work-friendly tools to ensure seamless collaboration, interactions and engagement across diverse work environments. Next, HR professionals must develop flexible HR policies that accommodate the hybrid work model, based on the employees' and business's needs. Having an inclusive framework can support employee well-being as well as productivity, regardless of whether it’s an on-premises or a remote worker. Lastly, HR teams must integrate and promote hybrid work-friendly tools, such as virtual meeting platforms, collaborative project management tools, employee engagement platforms, etc. to enhance the connectivity between employees in a hybrid work world.
 

Trend 3: HR Teams Will Use Technology To Attract Top Talent

Hiring the best available talent and retaining them is an ever-present concern for HR professionals. No wonder that it will remain one of the major challenges for HR teams in 2024. However, this year, attracting, hiring and retaining high-quality candidates will be given a boost by the latest HR technology solutions.

Did you know that 70% of companies that invested in HR technologies in 2023 said they wanted to improve the quality of their hires? Moving ahead, we will see major adoption of HR technology solutions that enhance the onboarding process and increase the chances of attracting talent. Studies by Gallup, a workplace consulting research firm, show that seamless and personalized onboarding increases employee retention by 82%. However, roughly 88% of companies surveyed admitted that they cannot execute a solid onboarding experience. Hence, HR teams will shift focus toward HR technologies to revamp their onboarding process, including the use of AI-driven tools and chatbots (Trend 1).

For instance, some HR teams are debuting AR/VR-based immersive hiring experiences during onboarding to simulate real workplace scenarios and to give virtual walkthroughs. Joanna Campa, the Director of Marketing at HiringThing, says, “Adding or integrating talent solutions to their suites of solutions is of paramount importance for competitive HR tech platforms, but one thing we’ve seen is that many HR tech vendors focus on recruiting and hiring, and forget that dedicated onboarding resources are a key part of the talent equation. The market research we’ve been doing indicates that onboarding can be the key to setting platforms apart from competitors.” Hence, HR teams will aim to redesign their onboarding strategies to not just attract but impress and retain top talent in the competitive business landscape this year.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: The key here is to realize that HR technologies can improve your onboarding and retention strategies. First of all, business leaders must invest in user-friendly digital onboarding platforms to help their HR teams streamline paperwork, reduce manual processes and automate the onboarding experience efficiently. Next, HR teams must tailor their onboarding plans to individual roles and employee needs, including immersive experiences such as virtual tours or interactive orientation sessions using AR/VR, to engage and incentivize new hires. Finally, it is crucial to establish a continuous feedback loop for the onboarding processes, as with any technology or software, end-to-end feedback will help iterate and improve the onboarding experience.
 

Trend 4: Businesses Will Focus On Improving HR Well-being With Health Apps

Chances are you’ve encountered a stressful situation at work that was resolved immediately by a supportive HR professional. However, what about HR themselves? Well, in 2024, we will see businesses prioritize the mental and physical well-being of HR professionals by adopting health and wellness apps.

According to the findings of Virgin Pulse's 2023 Global Survey on Workplace Health and Wellbeing Priorities, employee health and well-being have emerged as the top concerns for HR leaders in 2024. With the focus on well-being within the workplace increasing, HR technologies are also starting to incorporate features to support the mental and physical health of HR professionals. This includes wellness apps, stress management tools, work-life balance features, among others.

Consider this: wellness apps will be integrated within common HR platforms to offer resources for stress management and mental health support. Moreover, such apps will be compatible with enterprise-provided wearables that can help HR professionals with fitness tracking, maintaining work-life balance and staying productive without being overworked. David Hassell, the CEO and co-founder of 15Five, a performance management technology platform, validates this trend, saying, “With record-breaking burnout and phenomena like quiet quitting, skilled management is today's success-defining element.” Hence, in 2024, it is expected to see more HR professionals adopting wellness and health apps, leading to better work-life balance for themselves and consequently employees.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: HR leaders across industries are looking to leverage health technology tools to promote employee well-being in 2024. To do this, they can integrate wellness apps on common enterprise platforms to encourage physical activity, mindfulness and overall healthcare, fostering a productive but stress-free work environment. Next, business leaders should establish transparent communication about workload and expectations, helping HR professionals manage their workload, stress, monthly targets, etc. while achieving a more sustainable work-life balance. Finally, businesses can monitor their HR teams’ well-being through frequent surveys, polls and quizzes, as well as using gamified wellbeing apps to beat burnout and day-to-day stress.
 

Trend 5: Unified HR Technology Suites Will Optimize The HR Experience In Workplaces

Have you ever heard of “too much of something is a bad thing?” Well, average office workers, including HR professionals, use 6 to 8 apps to perform a single process and toggle between various apps and websites each day. Hence, this year, we will see businesses prioritize the streamlining and optimizing of their HR technology stack for better workplace experiences.

HR technology thought leader Josh Bersin recently addressed how there might be too much technology at play for HR teams, explaining it by saying, “The average large company has 80+ HR tools and many global companies have twice that.” Moreover, a study by PwC found that 82% of the end-users of HR technologies struggle to use the technology and in most cases, only half of the HR-centric apps are used regularly. In 2024, HR leaders will focus on streamlining their technology stack to ease processes on a day-to-day level.

For instance, most applicant tracking system (ATS) users feel limited by their platform’s features and wish it had more functionality. This is driving HR professionals to replace their traditional HR solutions with modern consolidated ones, leading to a higher focus on Employee Experience Platforms (EXPs) for HR professionals.

This trend is helping improve the overall HR experience by integrating various functionalities, such as onboarding, learning and development, performance management, employee engagement, etc., into a single unified platform. The Director of Partner Development at HiringThing, Tevis Paxton, validates, “Today’s customers aren’t looking to piecemeal their operations. They’re looking for broader platforms and solutions that can support their customers throughout the entire talent lifecycle.” Thus, HR teams will look to consolidate their day-to-day workflow and create a seamless HR experience by investing in a unified HR technology suite in 2024.

TechDogs’ Takeaway: Streamlining HR processes will be key in 2024 and here’s how you can do that. Businesses should initially assess their existing HR technology stack to identify gaps that will help them set up a unified suite to enable a holistic view and eliminate data silos. This will be critical in enhancing the efficiency and data accuracy across HR workflows. The next priority for HR teams should be to enhance the HR experience by selecting the correct set of HR tools. Opting for intuitive solutions that require minimal training will lead to quicker adoption, better access, user-friendly experiences and a streamlined HR technology stack. Moreover, HR leaders should consolidate disparate tools into a unified HR platform for a cohesive experience in the workplace. Such an integration can minimize data complexity and enhance visibility, leading to a more streamlined and effective HR experience in the workplace.
 

Summing It Up

In the ever-evolving world of HR technology, staying ahead is not just wise — it's essential. As your organization grows towards new heights, it is critical to keep updating your HR technologies, giving your HR teams the superpowers (AKA HR tech) needed to do their superhero tasks!
So, in 2024, embrace the transformative power of AI, elevate HR experiences in the workplace, focus on HR health and wellbeing, optimize onboarding with new technologies and adapt for hybrid work to redefine your workplace. Hope this helps you drive your business towards success, HR folks!