2010 Trends: The future of HR is Hybrid

ByAnita Lettink

The recession has redrawn the blueprints of the business world, and nowhere more so have these changes been felt than in the HR department. A new flexible ‘hybrid HR’ approach is crucial for HR to succeed in this new decade.

Traditional HR models offered the choice between OnPremise, OnDemand and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Hybrid HR combines every available delivery option to provide HR services in real-time and to allow for maximum flexibility – HR services can be delivered to anyone, anywhere, via any device at any time.

2010 will be the year that hybrid HR translates from rhetoric into reality, because of these trends:

  1. Fading boundaries of time and place – HR managers are expected to react in real-time and use different tools to engage with employees, across locations and time zones worldwide
  2. Engagement with employees – self-service should be integrated and personalised, to bring HR services close to the people to whom they matter the most
  3. Flexible workforce – contractors and temporary arrangements help maintain flexibility in the workforce as companies recover from recession. At the same time, more people will freelance to suit their work-life balance. HR must accommodate these changes and design new contract terms and reward policies
  4. Hybrid talent management – performance management, recruitment and leadership development should not be seen as separate items; it is important to integrate organisational and personnel life cycles
  5. Accommodating multiple generations – living longer, extended retirement ages and pressures on pension funds require different labour contracts, as well as flexibility in the way the workforce accesses HR services
  6. Geographical distances – people working on the same team might never interact face-to-face, as they are scattered all over the globe. Collaboration and social media tools will help to capture and preserve knowledge from workers. HR leaders need to incorporate these in their strategy and policies
  7. Think global, act local – global HR services need to be customised to suit local laws and regulations

You can find a complete overview in my whitepaper titled: Crossing boundaries to create Hybrid HR.