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The Future of Human Resources Business Development

September 7, 2015

By Nicole Dominique Le Maire – CEO, New To HR

The Society of Human Resource Management’s Future Insights report predicted that increased competition for skilled talent, the influence of social media on recruitment, the need for a flexible work schedules, new foreign markets and more government legislation are the driving force behind significant changes to business development in HR.

Let’s start with the competition for talent – something every HR Manager knows all too well. Online resume banks and recruitment agencies may have proven useful to us in the past, but they leave us with no exclusivity to the talent pool. LinkedIn has enabled the rise of the online freelancer, and erased the need for talent to send out multiple applications to different companies. The biggest impact comes when one considers that your competitors are using the same sites and research tools that you are.

Another problem for recruitment is the influence of social media – as 91% of hiring managers were found to have looked a candidate up on social media. The same survey found that;

  • 11% of employers turned away candidates due to posts about previous employers or unprofessional photos and comments.
  • 10% said they had rejected candidates due to drug references and 9% for posting about alcohol.

Put this together with the limited specialized talent pools available and this is predicted to cause significant hiring problems in the future.

With new media technologies comes the ability to work remotely from home. We can keep in touch with work whilst we are out-and-about. This may now be seen as an exponential concern to the future of HR business development and while executives may love their staff’s new flexible work process, in time certain risks can begin to play out as remote and virtual working is not for everyone.

This ability to connect to anyone anywhere has indeed brought with it a new world of emerging markets, with many outsourced workers connecting with in-office workers through the digital world on the other side of the world. If used smartly, this can work to the advantage of all people teams, as two distant sides can now work together and remain in contact, solidifying the team and company culture.

Finally, increasing legislation in developed countries to protect profits while sustaining workers is going to be a significant development in HR, as old policies will need to be adjusted and old processes amended!

As the world of business continues to develop, as must the HR function in order to remain effective. Whatever the future may bring, will your team and department be ready?

Nicole is the founder of The People Engine Ltd with the brands Human Resources Global and New To HR. Join Nicole at the HR Summit & Expo in Dubai this November, where she will be facilitating a complimentary workshop on these topic areas.

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