HR trends of the year 2020

At the end of 2019, the following can be named as the main HR trends for 2020: Employee Engagement, New Work, HR Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. These topics are not new, but what was previously considered to be rather dispensable is likely to be rated higher in terms of implementation in view of the digital transformation. In this respect, besides digitalization, new forms of company collaboration are also important.

Employee commitment / further training

Committed employees are profitable for companies because they develop new ideas, perform better and are therefore an important factor for success. Keeping committed employees should therefore be a matter of course. A successful transformation requires the "taking along" of the employees of a company. The Gallup Engagement Index 2019 shows that this is often not the case in reality: more than two-thirds of employees (69%) have only a slight emotional attachment to their own workplace, and 16% even no emotional attachment at all, i.e. around 25.6 million employees are not fully committed to their work and around 6 million have already internally resigned.

Companies often leave their employees alone during digitisation. Less than one third feel fully supported. Almost one in two employees is not supported by their employer in their digital training. Generation X in particular would like to see more support for continuing education, which greatly enhances emotional employee loyalty overall. What is needed is a culture of learning that also promotes individual, self-organized knowledge acquisition for all areas and career levels.

Recommendations for action can be mentioned:

• In the age of digitalisation, companies should pay attention to the emotional needs of their employees.
• Companies should develop a training and further education strategy derived from their digital strategy.
• Companies have a great opportunity and can significantly increase the emotional loyalty of their employees through a culture of further education and training.
• Further education and training impulses should be a "matter for the boss".

It is therefore important for companies to focus more on their employees and their needs. Further training offers are an important part of promoting employee commitment and thus increasing the attractiveness of the employer at the same time.

New Work / New Leadership

For Millennials and Generation Z, working models, communication structures, distribution of power and corporate purpose are important. Younger employees in particular expect flexibility, transparent communication and higher social values. Their ideas are shaped by the gig economy with its freedoms and uncertainties.

According to the Trendence Trend Report "Flexwork in Germany", nine out of ten young professionals find that flexible working makes it easier to combine work and private life. The 40-hour week is rather out. On average, the respondents only want to work 34.8 hours a week.

The top 7 results - from a survey of 600 young professionals from different industries and with different study backgrounds throughout Germany - are

• On a scale of 1 (inflexible) to 5 (flexible), respondents rated the flexibility of their work at 3.3.
• 94.2 percent: flexible working makes it easier to combine professional and private life.
• 58.2 percent: working hours based on trust lead to more overtime.
• 79 percent: yes, my employer already offers the option of a home office.
• 36.7 percent: yes, my employer does not offer the possibility of remote work.
• 51.3 percent: remote working does not have a negative effect on the team.
• 64.9 percent: I work more productively in my home office.

All generations of employees today tend to strive for a self-determined working method at eye level.

HR Analytics / People Analytics

The systematic evaluation of data with the help of digital HR solutions helps HR departments to have a better overview of all HR-relevant issues in the company. Problematic developments are better identified in advance and decisions are made based on valid data instead of vague assumptions. This also strengthens the reputation and position of the HR department within the company.

This is confirmed by the "HR Analytics 2025" study by Cornerstone and the F.A.Z. publishing house. According to this study, HR Analytics will play a significant role in two thirds of companies by 2025 at the latest. The core topic is initially the selection of the most suitable technologies to automate HR processes and relieve HR employees as well as to sustainably increase efficiency in HR management. Among the companies surveyed that already use at least one of the four main HR analytics instruments (simple reporting, business intelligence, predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics), personnel controlling is the most popular area of application.

Among the biggest hurdles to the faster dissemination of targeted data analyses in the HR sector are a lack of know-how and fear of contact on the part of employees.

Working with HR analytics requires new skills on the part of employees. In addition to analytical skills, a feeling must be developed for which business processes can be standardized by HR Analytics and for which decisions depend on skills that cannot be represented by algorithms. The motivation of employees should be kept high and they should be given a secure and positive feeling when using HR analytics.

Artificial Intelligence / Automation

Numerous routine processes - including those in the HR sector itself - can be made more efficient through artificial intelligence (AI). However, German companies use AI comparatively seldom in their everyday work. Based on a "Study on digitization and artificial intelligence in the world of work", the Dale Carnegie Global HR Expert Forum 2019 also focused on what companies and their HR departments should focus on in order to attract their employees to use AI:

• Building trust in technology by corporate leaders.
• Transparency in communication about the use and meaning of artificial intelligence, so that employees work efficiently and impartially with the new technologies.
• Providing all employees with the necessary support and training to ensure they are best prepared for the digital transformation.

For further questions we are at your disposal.

Please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Your contact person

Thomas Behncke

Managing Partner

Phone: +49 (0)212 2327 40 55

Mobile: +49 177 42 10 482

Email: thomas.behncke@insecogo.com