HR Trends in 2024: A Roadmap for Success
It’s the time of year when we look back on the past year as a whole and forward to the 2024 trends in HR to see what shifts and strategies to focus on in the coming year. So what are the upcoming HR trends for 2024?
To best prepare for the upcoming year, let’s explore the top 5 HR trends set to define the year ahead, from the transformative power of AI and the strategic use of data to enhance employee and candidate experiences.
5 HR Trends for 2024
- AI in HR: Artificial Intelligence is transforming HR by automating routine tasks, improving candidate sourcing, and enhancing employee engagement through chatbots and predictive analytics. And this is just the beginning. With the acceleration of AI, it’s time to look into your functions and identify where AI can make processes more efficient and insightful.
- Data-Based Talent Decisions: HR is increasingly relying on data-driven insights to make strategic decisions, from hiring to performance evaluations, enabling more precise and effective talent management. Each year the volume and accessibility of data is expected to grow and evolve, making it imperative for HR professionals to harness this information to make proactive and well-informed talent management decisions.
- Employee Experience: Fostering a positive workplace experience is crucial for talent retention and productivity. It encompasses everything from onboarding to career development and work-life balance. In 2024, as the competition for top talent intensifies, HR’s role in creating a satisfying and supportive employee journey becomes even more pivotal.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I): Prioritizing DE&I enhances innovation, company culture, employee morale, and more. It’s central to HR’s role in creating inclusive workplaces, and in 2024, this trend will continue to gain momentum as organizations hone into its direct link to long-term success, reputation, retention, and workforce diversity.
- Compliance: Staying compliant with evolving labor laws and regulations is essential for organizations to succeed. HR plays a critical role in ensuring that organizations adhere to these standards while promoting fair and ethical practices. HR’s focus on compliance is a trend to focus on in 2024 as legal requirements continue to evolve, making it a crucial part of risk management and ethical leadership.
Now, let’s see what some of the top HR organizations and influencers are predicting will be 2024 HR trends.
9 Organizations’ and Influencers’ Takes on 2024 HR Trends
Paychex, Trends in HR Technology for 2024
“Technology trends in HR point to solutions that significantly enhance business operations. Since the role of HR continues to expand in many workplaces, HR technology can help automate much of the work involved in areas such as applicant tracking, new-hire training, and benefits administration.” shared Paychex, on what to expect for HR trends in 2024.
“For 2024 and beyond, future HR and technology trends point toward:
- “Improving the entire employee experience.
- “Retaining employees with upskilling, reskilling, and ongoing learning.
- “Supporting different work models (e.g., remote and hybrid work models).
- “Demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- “Using AI strategically.
- “Making data-driven decisions.
- “Adopting cloud-based HR systems.”
AIHR, 11 HR Trends for 2024: Elevating Work
“As technology integrates further into workplaces, it calls for reevaluating how we leverage this technology to boost worker productivity, include workers who have long been hidden, and increase HR’s potential impact, asserts AIHR”
In preparing for the HR trends in 2024, AIHR continues, “2024 is the year in which HR isn’t just adapting but spearheading the charge toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and business-focused future.”
Here are 11 top trends AIHR predicts you should focus on for elevating work in 2024:
1. “Resolving the productivity paradox
2. “Tapping into the hidden workforce
3. “The point of no return for DEIB
4. “HR driving climate change adaptation
5. “From silos to solutions
6. “HR leans in
7. “HR meets PR
8. “AI-empowered workforce evolution
9. “Shifting work-life balance to work-life fit
10. ”The end of BS jobs
11. “From talent acquisition to talent access”
Gartner announces three macro trends for 2024 to keep a close eye on. They are:
- “Generative AI hype will serve as a larger tipping point to determine how best to use AI in recruitment.
- “Amplified regulations will lead organizations to be more vigilant.
- “Elongated buying cycles will heighten the need for HR to be more cautious about vendors.”
“This year, recruiting has been focused on leveraging new technology investments for talent attraction and engagement, enabling more streamlined worker transitions, and slowly consolidating technology market,” shares Gartner “As we look to 2024, while these trends will evolve, we see new macro trends emerging that HR leaders will need to address.”
HiringThing, Top HR Tech Trends for 2024
“HR has truly evolved into a dynamic, strategic department shaping organizations’ success and the world of work at large. HR tech played—and will continue to play—a pivotal role in this evolution. Today’s HR tech is reshaping how businesses attract, retain, engage, and nurture their talent in ways that drive revenue and other business goals,” shares HiringThing on technology’s growing impact on HR.
HiringThing shares these top HR trends 2024 to get familiar with going into the new year:
- “Optimize The User Experience
- “Help Customers Attract and Retain High-Quality Talent
- “Navigate the Remote/Hybrid Argument
- “Engage and Retain Employees Via Wellness and Benefits”
Sage, The Changing Face of HR
Sage conducted research that revealed how HR leaders and the C-suite really feel, sharing “HR leaders love working in HR, but the enormous challenges they’re facing today are coming at a severe personal cost. Our polling of over 1000 HR and c-suite execs reveals the secret thoughts they have about the sector.”
Some of their key findings include:
- “91% of HR leaders are excited about the future of HR—but 66 % are also concerned about what the future holds
- “57% of HR leaders say they love working in HR, yet 62 % are considering leaving HR
- “91% of HR leaders say the profession has changed dramatically over the last five years; but only 32% believe changes will continue”
Lever, 2024 Recruiting Trends All Talent Teams Should Know
“How companies adapt to the (likely continual) uncertain business climate in 2024 will vary,” predicts Lever “But talent teams must closely monitor recruiting trends as they arise to ensure they’re prepared to meet their org’s headcount and growth needs in the year ahead.”
Lever shares the following 5 2024 HR trends that will impact employers:
- “Retention will be a primary focus for companies amid economic uncertainty
- “Workers who quit during The Great Resignation will return to the workforce
- “Enhancing their DEI initiatives will help employers stand out
- “Mental health remains top of mind among executives — including TA leaders
- “Talent leaders will ensure their voices are heard and team needs met”
RobertHalf, Human Resources Salaries and Hiring Trends 2024 Salary Guide
RobertHalf shares the upcoming HR trends for 2024, specifically when it comes to salaries:
- “Demand high for compensation and benefits administrators. Workers in all fields are attracted to a comprehensive benefits package, increasing the need for HR professionals with experience as compensation and benefits administrators. Candidates knowledgeable in workforce management software are in high demand. Meanwhile, companies are bringing in contract HR professionals skilled in a variety of areas to help overburdened staff cope with heavy workloads.
- “Skills managers say they increase salaries for:
- HR Strategy
- Recruitment
- Compensation and benefits management
- Employee relations
- Human resource management
- “Employers need to hire quickly. Some employers are taking longer to make hiring decisions. This gives firms that can move quickly the ability to secure their top-choice HR candidates before competitors can act. Managers who can’t find the help they need often engage talent solutions firms to recruit candidates for permanent roles and provide contract professionals who can support core staff.”
HR Morning, A New Era of Lifestyle Benefits: What’s in Store for 2024?
HR Morning predicts 2024 will be the year of flexibility, but with different generations comes different needs. They share, “Employers are going to be looking at how they can help each of their unique employees in whatever stage of their lifetime – or lifestyle – they are currently in. As more employers are requiring employees to return to the office, the lifestyle benefit budget for at-home offices provided by employers may begin to dwindle.
“But with that, the budget for commuter benefits is set to take off. During the pandemic, employees noticed huge savings when they switched to remote work, eliminating the cost of gas, parking and work clothes, and are now accustomed to having that extra money. In addition, employees now understand they can work from anywhere and, many times, they’re more productive when working from home,” explains HR Morning.
“To combat this, employers are now brainstorming ways to incentivize the return to the office and offset these re-added costs. By offering commuter benefits, like pre-tax debit cards for parking or public transportation, child- and pet-care stipends and in-office perks like free meals, gift cards or team-building events, employers hope to encourage in-office collaboration.”
Recruiter Flow, Recruitment Trends 2024
Recruiter Flow shares its expertise with these predictions for HR trends for the upcoming year, “2024 will be an era of proactive rather than reactive recruitment. Creating and managing talent pipelines even before job vacancies materialize will be a salient feature. Recruiters and employers, both will engage in skill-based candidate sourcing that they expect to be of need to the business in the future.”
Here are the 14 recruitment trends to buckle up for as we prepare for the HR trends 2024, according to Recruiter Flow:
- “Hybrid work model
- “Proactive candidate engagement
- “Use of recruiting automation
- “Diversity and inclusion
- “Branding
- “Data-centric recruiting
- “Gen Z entering the workforce
- “Transformation of recruiters into business leaders
- “Gig work and gig economy
- “Pay Transparency
- “Fear of recession
- “The Great Resignation continues
- “Preparing workforce for Generative AI and automation
- “Shift from candidate-driven market to employer-employee driven market”
15 Resources to Help You Get Ahead in 2024
Start getting ahead of these trends for 2024 now to reach your goals and set your organization up for success. Check out Cangrade’s resources below on each of the top HR trends in 2024 to boost your HR and talent strategies today:
- Employee experience and internal mobility
- AI in HR
- Upskilling
- Data-based talent decisions
- DE&I
- Compliance
To learn how you can integrate HR tech into your day-to-day for better hiring efficiency, accuracy, and DE&I, book a demo with our team now.