New Imperatives of Human Resource Management

When COVID shook the world in 2020, we were all baffled and forced to adapt to drastic changes in work and also in our personal lives. Everyone was caught unprepared. Some people lost their jobs while others were forced to learn to work from home. That changed almost everything about organizations and work. The demand for digitalization soars high and people start to be dependent on electronic gadgets, online products and services, and online exchanges of money and goods.

Things were never the same again, even when the pandemic alert level was lifted and we were back to normal state. Some people got used to work from home, they never want to go back to the office again. Many have settled in their hometowns and provinces, got used to that kind of living and remote work, and does not want to change back again. What adds up to the problems is the new batch of graduates and new entrants to the labor force, who also got used to home schooling and internet-based learnings and schoolwork, does not want to apply for jobs that require office work setups.

The impact of this situation to the economy may not be accurately measured at present, but we can feel that lagging growth and the instability of income, prices of basic goods, jobs, and demand for products and services. All these changes that’s happening all over the world has likewise created new imperatives for organizations and workplaces to evolve, transform, and adapt to new growing trends.

Megan M. Biro, founder and CEO of TalentCulture, mentioned in her Forbes article, five (5) major HR trends in 2024, namely; Generative AI, compensation issues associated with quiet quitting, growing importance of employee/employer relationship, the increasing relevance of HR systems and platforms, and employee upskilling through learning and development.

Megan, however, does not advice HR to react quickly to new shifts in trends by automatically changing strategies and directions. Rather, the best strategy is to set up HR programs and systems that promote transparency, communication, relationships, and data driven reporting.