Top 5 HR trends for 2020 and our 2019 retrospective

But before we dive in, let’s take a look back at how accurate we were with our predictions for 2019...

How accurate were our 2019 HR predictions?

We felt we should hold ourselves accountable to the predictions we made at the beginning of last year to see if we actually know what we’re talking about. A bit like being able to go back to your psychic to let them know that you didn’t win the lottery.

So how did we do? Our 2019 predictions were:

Businesses to tackle the presenteeism epidemic

Presenteeism is still a hot topic but an increase in flexible working during 2019 shows that companies are doing more to tackle it. While flexible working isn’t just to solve presenteeism, allowing employees to work from home while ill is one of the best ways to solve it.

The rise of the eco-workplace

You only have to look at the huge response to Extinction Rebellion’s climate strikes to see how seriously people are taking this issue. And whether you agree with them or not, 2019 saw a huge rise in companies making their workplaces more eco-friendly. Look around and see how many of your colleagues have a reusable water bottle as proof!

Establishing a culture of psychological safety

The more abstract of our predictions for last year, focusing on the need for companies to embrace a culture of acceptance. And 2019 was certainly the year when more companies saw the positive link between diversity and business success. Salesforce even included a question about psychological safety in their employee survey.

What are the top HR trends for 2020?

With our confidence high on the back of 2019’s success, we’ve compiled the following HR trends for 2020:

1. Flexibility reigns supreme 

2020 will be a year where we provide even more flexibility in the workplace as it becomes a necessity to attract top talent.

2. Goodbye corporate/startup culture clash

 The corporate vs. startup culture clash will be a thing of the past. Traditionally conflicting organisational cultures will converge to form an ‘employee first’ culture with elements of both.

3. The taming of internal comms 

Communication specialists will be in high demand in an effort to combat workplace communications overload.

4. Analytics for everyone, not just HR

Employers will need to show employees the value of collecting data if they want them to be more involved.

5. The digitalisation of corporate social responsibility

2019 saw an increase in the demand for CSR practices from employees. Advances in technology will make these easier to address for employers in 2020.

How did we come to these conclusions? And how can you use our findings to put yourself ahead of your competitors? We’re glad you asked.

We’ve put all of the findings and learnings into our ‘Top 5 HR trends for 2020’ ebook which you can download here or by clicking on the banner below: