How will HR technology develop in 2018?

The past year has been a busy and full one. Many companies completed transformations and moved their HRMS to the cloud. Others have embraced self-service and mobile technology. As we look forward to 2018 there are a lot of things to get excited about. Here are key areas to look out for as we move into the new year.

1. Predictive analytics will make an impact

Once you have the basics of HRMS right, predictive analytics is where you can bring value to your organization. Sierra-Cedar found in their 2017 Annual Survey that 76% of companies rate predictive analytics as ‘valuable’ or ‘extremely valuable’. Interest in predictive analytics has been increasing each year and many companies have made basic homegrown solutions or manual efforts.

In 2018 we’re going to see more vendor options on the market. The cloud players and their ability to handle vast amounts of data have raised the bar. You can expect to see built-in modules and standalone solutions in this area. Your HRMS will be able to provide valuable insight like reports of high performers who are at a high risk of leaving your company based on data algorithms that use your company’s data. This is the type of information where your HRMS can bring innovative insight to your business colleagues.

2. Artificial Intelligence will become more of a standard tool

Artificial intelligence has previously been seen as a space age ideal with nothing to offer to the HR community. Early adopters of this technology may change your mind in 2018.

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Recruiters have been defining and using this technology this year with great results. What if you could post a job and the HRMS would do extensive background checking and vetting of candidates to whittle down your short list to the top candidates? Wouldn’t it be great if the system could parse through work samples and examples to highlight the candidates who truly knew their trade? Artificial intelligence is now becoming a practical solution to process large amounts of data and identify future talent so that your recruiters can focus their time on the best options.

3. The gig workforce will drive HRMS innovation

Current statistics state that the gig economy constitutes 34% of the workforce and is expected to rise to over 40% by 2020. Companies are actively pushing HRMS vendors on the topic of freelance, contingents and temps as this group is a rich source of skills and talent. Many vendors offer the ability to track temporary workers but it is often based on the employee data model which isn’t a match for this population.

I recently consulted with a company who was struggling with the question of whether to include their freelance population in their new HRMS. Their HRMS was the basis for IT access and user security but the data needed to set up a temporary worker was excessive. The deal breaker was the vendor’s licensing fees which were based on the old belief that temps were a long term workforce. In the end the company chose to build and integrate a standalone system for their freelancers. As many companies are making the same decision HRMS vendors are recognizing a market gap and in 2018 we’ll start to see some solutions.