The People Effect: How Will Workforce Trends Impact Your People?
Part of a series | 2024 HR Trends Series
Business leaders and HR professionals looking to the future are asking how emerging workforce trends will affect their businesses. Another essential question leaders may consider is how emerging workforce trends will affect their people.
The experts listed below joined forces in an on-demand webinar to discuss the impact of workforce trends, such as the use of generative AI, and more:
- Helena Almeida, ADP's VP managing counsel
- Tiffany Davis, ADP's chief inclusion and diversity officer
- Amy Leschke-Kahle, ADP's VP of talent insights and innovation
- Roberto Masiero, SVP, ADP Innovation Labs
- Vipul Nagrath, ADP's SVP and head of product development for Major Account Services and Human Resources Outsourcing
Launch the on-demand webinar here: HR trends and opportunities in 2024
The impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI)
Because of its accessibility and ability to speed up work, some business owners and leaders have already incorporated generative AI into their business processes. At the same time, the technology has contributed to fears of job elimination for some employees.
This could create a problem for employers because when employees are afraid, it can hinder their ability to learn. Fear and anxiety about generative AI can lead to avoidance behavior, which could deter employees from learning how to use generative AI to make their jobs easier.
According to Masiero, generative AI is more likely to function as a decision-making aid rather than a replacement for people. "It's another tool that can help us be better informed and ultimately make better decisions," he says. "I believe that generative AI is a long way from replacing the empathetic touch of a human if it ever gets there. In my opinion, there's still work to do when it comes to understanding and processing emotions — the key to ensuring human connection is not compromised."
Education is one of the best ways to address employees' anxiety and fears about generative AI. It's important to create a safe and supportive learning environment when educating employees on the power and limitations of generative AI. This can help dispel any fears and anxieties employees might have and help them understand the potential value this tool could provide them on an individual and personal level.
Updated HR technology does the most for practitioners
Along with the advancements of generative AI, the HR technologies available to leaders and HR professionals are being enhanced with optimizations and new features. These upgrades are helping make everyday tasks quicker, easier and more automatic.
As business leaders and HR professionals analyze how these upgrades can impact their companies, it's important to thoughtfully consider the impact on HR staff if they no longer have to spend loads of time and mental energy on repetitive or tedious HR tasks. How could employers encourage HR staff to use that time for more value-adding initiatives? Think: connecting more with employees, working on larger projects that benefit the company or even professional development through training or certificate courses.
Undergirding diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) with generative AI
Generative AI can promote DE&I in the workplace in several ways, including helping reduce bias in the recruiting, hiring and promotion processes. While this could have a massive impact on your company in helping diversify your talent pipeline and get more qualified employees through your doors, it also directly impacts individual recruiters and managers.
Davis addresses ways that removing subconscious bias in the review process can help recruiters and managers. "Simply by having a generative AI tool review resumes and provide a recommendation can help remove the subconscious bias that may happen when reviewers read a candidate's name and infer gender, race, religion, etc."
Education is key for ensuring recruiters and managers utilize the tool to its fullest potential and don't accidentally introduce bias into the process as they use it.
A new approach to supporting talent development
The evolution of non-traditional career paths is a workforce trend many companies are dealing with. While this trend impacts companies and their staff and causes them to redefine their approach to employee development, it's important to consider how these changes affect your individual employees.
Leschke-Kahle says there are two ways we can make development personal for employees. "First, we need to find ways to collect simpler data around how employees are doing today and what they want to do in the near-term future. Then we need to create a more non-traditional approach to helping employees do great work wherever they are today and helping them get to where they want to be tomorrow."
As leaders consider new ways to make development attainable for employees who are not interested in climbing the traditional corporate ladder, they can consider individual and personal support a big part of the equation. Being transparent about career progression and offering flexible work arrangements so employees can balance their personal and professional lives are great ways to help nurture a personal manager-to-employee relationship.
Building a culture of trust through compliance
As states propose and enact new employment laws, employer obligations for organizations with a multi-state or remote workforce continue to become more complex. Employers with remote employees must take the time to understand the state laws — like unemployment insurance laws, tax laws, required leave laws, worker's compensation laws and more — of states where their remote employees are located, even if they do not have an office there. While, for the most part, increased state compliance requirements affect companies on a macro level, it's important to consider how compliance affects employees individually.
Nagrath encourages employers to take a more personal approach to compliance and consider how complying with state and local laws can inspire loyalty and trust as individuals see the organization doing right by their employees. "There are some real advantages to being the kind of employer that does the right thing no matter who's watching, and that's something individual employees who work across state lines can see very clearly," he says. "Companies that fulfill their legal obligations to employees inspire confidence in their workforce both on a broader level and an individual level."
The wrap-up
Changing times, legislation and technology are all leaving their mark on the workforce. It's likely that your employees have already begun to feel the effects of these trends, so it's up to you as an employer to prepare and adapt. Tune into the on-demand webcast — 2024 HR trends and opportunities — for all the details on how you can prepare.
