Important Concepts and Recent

trends in HRM
Objectives of HRM
Societal objectives
To be ethically & socially responsible to the needs of the society while minimizing the
negative impact of such demands upon the organization
Organizational objectives
To recognize the role of HRM in bringing about organizational effectiveness
Functional objectives
To maintain the department’s contribution at a level appropriate to the organization’s needs
Personal objectives
To assist employees in achieving their personal goals in a manner that their personal goals
enhance the individual’s contribution to the organization
 Important Employee Behaviours
Employee Productivity
◦ A performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness

Absenteeism
◦ The failure to report to work when expected

Turnover
◦ The voluntary or involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization

Job Satisfaction
◦ The individual’s general attitude toward his or her job
 Psychological Factors
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
◦ Discretionary behavior that is not a part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but which promotes the effective functioning
of the organization.
Job Involvement
◦ The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance to
be important to his or her self-worth.
◦ High levels of involvement are related to fewer absences and lower resignation rates.

Organizational Commitment
◦ Is the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in
the organization.
◦ Leads to lower levels of both absenteeism and turnover.
◦ Could be becoming an outmoded measure as the number of workers who change employers increases.
Perceived Organizational Support
◦ Is the general belief of employees that their organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.
◦ Represents the commitment of the organization to the employee.
◦ Providing high levels of support increases job satisfaction and lower turnover.
Important Employee Behaviours
Workplace Misbehavior
◦ Any intentional employee behavior that has negative consequences for the
organization or individuals within the organization.
◦ Types of Misbehavior
◦ Deviance
◦ Aggression
◦ Antisocial behavior
◦ Violence
Issues affecting HRM
High Quality Standards:
➢ To remain competitive in today’s economy, organizations need to provide
high-quality products and services.
➢ Total quality management (TQM) refers to a company-wide effort to
continuously improve the ways people, machines, and systems accomplish
work.
➢ TQM has several core values.
Mergers and Acquisitions:
➢Mergers: Two companies becoming one.
➢Acquisitions: One company buying another.
➢HR professionals have to sort out the differences in the two companies’
practices with regards to compensation, performance appraisal, and other HR
systems.
Downsizing:
➢Downsizing presents a number of challenges and opportunities for HRM.
➢All employees should be informed:
▪ Why the downsizing is necessary
▪ What costs are to be cut
▪ How long the downsizing will last
▪ What strategies the organization intends to pursue
▪ HRM can provide downsized employees with outplacement services to help them find new
jobs
Expanding into Global Markets:
In order to meet challenges, companies must
➢Develop global markets
➢Keep up with competition from overseas
➢Hire from an international labor pool
➢Prepare employees for global assignments
➢Employees who take assignments in other countries are called expatriates
Reengineering:
➢Reengineering is a complete review of the organization’s critical work processes
to make them more efficient and able to deliver higher quality.

➢Reengineering affects HRM in two ways:

▪ The way the HR department accomplishes goals may change
▪ The HR department must help design and implement change
Outsourcing:
➢Outsourcing refers to the practice of having another company
provide services.
➢ HR departments help with a transition to outsourcing and many HR
functions are being outsourced such as:
▪ Payroll administration
▪ Training
▪ Recruitment
▪ Selection
Recent Trends in HRM
1. Automation via AI(Artificial Intelligence) and RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
2. Virtual and augmented reality
3. The Gig Economy
4. Review culture and continuous feedback
5. Use of Online skill assessments and LMS
6. Multigenerational Workforce
 1. Automation Via AI and RPA
The influence of artificial intelligence should come as no surprise — it’s been a hot topic for several years now,
making regular appearances in predictions about future HR trends. However, we still expect it to play a major role
in HR heading into 2020.
One advantage of AI is streamlining redundant, time-heavy tasks. Instead of relying on an HR professional to pour
over hundreds of resumes and cover letters or compile and analyze survey data, businesses can use an AI system to
complete the task quickly.
Another benefit of using AI for such tasks is removing human bias or error from the candidate evaluation process.
However, while great in theory, the idea of unbiased hiring has drawbacks and has been a point of much debate.
Bad data can lead to built-in bias, essentially programming the algorithms with human bias, even if it’s
unintentional. This perpetuates the issue and makes it harder to notice upfront.
Despite shortcomings, AI tools have the ability to support merit-based selection that eliminates conscious or
unconscious bias. With the assistance of AI, HR departments can gain accurate analysis of employees from
application submission to continuing performance reviews.
AI use cases have also moved into other realms of HR as well, including recognition, wellness, digital coaching and
development planning, per a 2019 ISG report. The IBM Watson Career Coach is one such example of how AI can
be a tool that provides ongoing support to employees.
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a catchall that encompasses robotic skills like chatbots, natural language
processing (NPL) and machine learning, as well as AI. It can speed up communications and increase productivity
by providing access to the right data at the right times.
When looking at future trends in human resource management, chatbots are certainly a frontrunner. Many vendors
are already incorporating chatbots into their HR systems to provide answers to employee inquiries, and Chatbot
News Daily predicts that HR chatbots will be implemented at more than 50% of companies by 2022.
In a Forbes article, Jeremy Nunn, who has a Doctorate of Information Technology, says that common queries for
chatbots include “questions related to payment, holiday leaves, social benefits and their [employees’] general
rights.” Having a chatbot to answer simple questions alleviates the burden on HR departments. Nunn continues,
“These bots can act as self-service platforms that allow the HR personnel to focus on responding to more complex
and urgent questions that warrant their attention.”
Other potential uses for chatbots in the HR sphere include assistance with learning initiatives.
“Voice search and AI assistants like Alexa or Google [are] starting to be a core functionality within HCM,” says
Matt Charney of Recruiting Daily. These voice-activated features will, like chatbots, answer employee questions
and reduce the need for HR departments to respond to repetitive inquiries.
 2. Virtual and Augmented Reality
The term “virtual reality” probably brings some common images to mind: hard-core gamers, futuristic headsets,
and science fiction creations.
While it’s easy to assume that human resources is a world apart from the traditional virtual reality domain, the
truth is that VR is one of the latest trends in HR technology.
Both VR and its cousin augmented reality (AR) are gaining traction as viable tools in the HR practitioner’s
toolbox. They aid front-end processes like recruiting and onboarding, with numerous applications:
◦ Setting up a simulated environment that tests a candidate’s job-specific skills
◦ Sharing a virtual tour of your office space
◦ Using VR to bolster recruiting efforts
The British Army is using VR for recruiting. Convincing people to join the military is a hard sell. In order to
boost Army Reserve recruitments, the organization put together four VR experiences, each based on common
trainings, such as combat and tank training. During the first month that the experiences were posted on
YouTube 360, the Army saw a 65% increase in applications.
Virtual and augmented reality also extend to training scenarios, either as part of the onboarding
process or to provide current employees with additional training.
Benefits of virtual environments for corporate training include much higher cost efficiency and
better safety for high-risk industries like construction. Partial or fully virtual environments can
combine real-world tasks with virtual instruction. This allows employees to view learning
prompts as they engage in hands-on activities.
Though VR and AR haven’t seen widespread adoption yet, the significant implications for
recruiting and on-the-job learning make them one of the top HR technology trends to pay
attention to over the next few years.
 3. The Gig Economy
Employees are no longer merely 9-5 workers. Some have side hustles in addition to day jobs. Others, like
freelancers and consultants, work for themselves 100% of the time. The faster that companies acknowledge
this shift and align themselves with it, the more they stand to gain.
Millennials and Gen Zs are particularly open to working in the gig economy according to Deloitte data,
mainly to earn extra income, gain more control over work hours and strike a healthy work/life balance.
This “alternative workforce,” as Deloitte terms it, can bring a lot to the table for organizations as well.
Freelancers, for example, are often experts in their field, allowing companies to access top talent without the
geographic limitations, costs and time of hiring another employee.
A recent Forbes article by Jon Younger suggests that the freelance movement has reached human resources
as well. Many HR professionals are freelancing, providing consulting across a range of HR functions.
4. Review culture and continuous feedback.
One of the most predicted HR trends is the culture of reviews and continuous feedback in the
workplace. The methods that people use to give feedback has changed over the years. As an HR
leader or a manager, you should focus on improving your departments by providing frequent and
constructive feedback. According to several studies, most employees would prefer real-time reviews
or feedback instead of the annual performance reviews. This is because the practice helps them to
know where they might be going wrong, and offer them a chance to correct themselves before the
annual evaluation. They do not have to wait for twelve months to learn where they went wrong.
Continuous feedback will also help the organization grow and avoid significant loses.
5. Use of Online skill assessments and LMS
Online assessments have also become increasingly popular as an effective talent management tool.
Employee assessment is no longer just about complying with an organization’s guidelines. It is now
an integral part of management strategy. In today’s highly competitive global economy, an
organization has to have a grip of what exactly the workforce knows, or doesn’t know. Online
assessments including tests, surveys, quizzes and exams have been used to mitigate the risks or
relying on mere self-assessment.
The need for skills development is important for all your employees no matter which stage of career
they are at the moment. Constant learning is expected to be among the most popular and emerging
HR trends going forward. It is essential for any organization that wants to grow to provide learning
opportunities to all employees. Through learning, your employees can be able to improve their skills
and be able to give the best while working. Your organization can have learning management systems
that will help you to check and track your employees learning process accurately, and also help to
promote collaboration between various departments in your company.
6. Generations in the Workplace
Comparing the Generations
The Way they See the World