The Future Of HR? It’s Getting Back Into The People Business

Editor’s Note: As I wind up my stint as Editor of TLNT — I’m leaving the end of April — I wanted to share a few of my favorite TLNT posts. Here’s one from June 2013.

I often get asked what are the big trends I see today in HR, and I found myself getting asked that question a lot at the 65th SHRM Annual Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.

So, I’ll tell you what I told all of them.

Here are three big trends I’m seeing right now:

There is a non-stop push for more rules and regulations coming out of Washington from all manner of federal agencies and departments — NLRB, EEOC, Department of Labor, OSHA, and others. This is largely due to the activist nature of the current administration, and, the complete and total abdication by Congress to do anything except argue, bicker, and play politics. Businesses and organizations are having to spend a disproportionate amount of time on the defensive, reacting to the tsunami of regulations, and it shows no sign of slowing any time soon.
Social media is becoming a huge factor in the workplace, as both laws and technology try to get a handle on how it can be better leveraged to improve business results for all manner of organizations.
The debate over the future of HR — where it is going and what its proper role and focus should be— is intensifying as the tired, old “seat at the table” talk is replaced by a much more interesting discussion about the essential value of human resources in the larger organizational structure.