Human resource trends change just as frequently as technology and the global marketplace. Because the industry is constantly evolving, regulations regularly adapting, and employees changing as well, so business have to be flexible enough to keep up with them. Whether you have a larger human resources department or you are handling all of the HR work yourself, you can get a step ahead by familiarizing yourself with these emerging human resource trends in 2015. Here I have discussed the views of global HR leaders and research groups. At the end of my presentation I will highlight the trends in perspective of IT-BPM industry.

Introduction

Speed will be Key

2015 will be the year of agile innovation, learning and careers. Speed will be the single largest determinant of success, and businesses will have to deal with increasing levels of complexity in the race to grab market share. Such business environments demand people who have deep expertise and who can continue to learn by listening to early signals.

Rise of the specialists: As markets get more fragmented, the need for creating niche products and services will raise the demand for specialists. This will mean creating more specialist career tracks. With millennials as a growing percentage of the workforce, expect to see specialists in managing millennial careers.

Grow your own talent: When firms operate in a volatile and ambiguous environment, they cannot rely on buying out talent. No matter who is hired, the person will need to learn and reinvent himself or herself continuously. Many millennials are products of an education system that is lagging behind the pace of the real world. The need to make them employable will increase. Firms will need to develop a culture of mentoring. The learning and development department will be a major source of competitive advantage.

Sunrise sectors: The early days of IT & ITeS saw innovations in talent management. They were forced to take bets on people who were not a 100% ready, and hired people from unconventional backgrounds. History repeats itself. In business schools and engineering colleges, the buzzword is ecommerce. As the impatient millennials join this sector in droves, they will force employers to create agile careers that look more like a series of projects. 2015 will be the year of the ecommerce sector to chart new practices of talent management.

More Focus on Experience, Competence

2015 will see prevalent trends getting accentuated.

Experience counts: The competitive market dynamics and a more evolved talent acquisition approach will see a greater emphasis on experience and competence.

Cultural fit: Cultural sustenance is likely to occupy a fair share of management bandwidth in Asian markets given the abundance of a younger workforce and the dynamics involved. An increasing focus on the cultural fit and looking at how people find and achieve their individual purpose through working with an organisation and aligning to the organisation's higher purpose will be very important thus building a connect, and driving engagement for the long term.

Low-cost models: Business performance pressures will continue to challenge the status quo and constantly demand more innovative and cost effective delivery models. This in turn will demand redefining the profile and structure of the talent pool. We will see new hybrid, low-cost, remote based models emerge which will further change the talent landscape.

Data Analytics to be Chief HR Driver

With the growing proliferation of data analytics in the corporate world, many organisations are using reliable data to make strategic decisions. One key trend we see is enterprises leveraging HR analytics for measuring productivity and employee effectiveness. Intuitive technologies based on analytics are enabling HR teams to make more informed and accurate decisions in a shorter amount of time, which is why we will see continue to see this trend grow at an accelerated pace.

Multigenerational workforce: The workforce is becoming multigenerational, as the average age of the workforce is steadily decreasing. A good mix of demographically diverse employees across the organisation helps to inject fresh thinking which is imperative in today's competitive business environment and creates a fun work environment.

Gender diversity: Gender diversity is another strong trend that is steadily being established across organisations, and will become even more prevalent in 2015.

Social media: Social media has become an integral part of our lives, and has influenced the HR industry. It is not only a tool for acquiring the right talent, but also effective for employee engagement.

Millennials Move Into Leadership Roles

The Millennials will now be moving into leadership positions. According to a study by Elance oDesk, 27 percent of Millennials already work in managerial positions, and in ten years that number will increase to 47 percent. But Millennials may not be adequately trained to handle the tasks. So, if you plan to promote Millennials into higher positions, start training them for their new roles in 2015.

Employees Treasure Honesty Most

Compensation and job security are both very important, but another emerging human resource trend in 2015 will be employees having a sense of loyalty to small businesses that are honest with them. An open-door policy and transparency will keep your employees from jumping ship and moving on to the competition. So, start sharing with your employees, discussing issues with them, and getting their input.

Retention Rates Drop

Due to the generational changes coming in 2015, small businesses will notice that it's harder to retain their best talent. In fact, it's estimated that 86 percent of employees will already be looking for a new position while they're working in their current one. To keep your employees from doing the same, you need to create a culture that allows employees to create friendships, socialize, and feel attached to their job.

Social Media Becomes a Recruitment Medium

In 2014, social media was already becoming popular for recruitment, but this is a human resource trend that will increase in 2015. More small businesses will be using blog posts and social media updates to stand out and help them attract the top talent. In fact, it's estimated that 58 percent of employees are more likely to apply to a company that uses social media. So, if your small business has yet to create a compelling social media presence, now is the time to do so. There are many emerging human resource trends predicted for 2015. Most have to do with retention and attracting new talent. As a small business, you can remain competitive in 2015 just by understanding the different generations, working hard to attract the best employees and, of course, keeping your existing ones from searching for a new job.

Generation Z Has Arrived

You've heard about Generation X and Generation Y, but now you need to know about Generation Z. These individuals were born between 1995 and 2010, and many are likely to be seniors in college by the end of 2015. Generation Z workers will start to enter the workforce as interns and entry-level employees, and they are going to go fast. You may want to get in on the action by snatching up highly talented college seniors before competitors hire them.

The IT-BPM industry remains the largest private sector employer in India, directly hiring 3.1 million people in FY 2014. Playing home to a multi-faceted, young and specialized talent pool, the IT-BPM industry is expected to hire more people in FY 15 than last year, with smaller firms boosting the trend.

According to a NASSCOM survey, going forward, the HR landscape within the IT-BPM industry will be marked by: Higher attrition levels that will force firms to spend more on employee retention through wage hikes and innovative incentive schemes Greater use of non-traditional methods such as online job portals, social media and referrals for recruitment Increase in need for domain knowledge and niche skills which will drive lateral hiring Employee diversity, which will remain a growth catalyst

The research indicates that today, the priorities of HR within IT-BPM organizations are to: Actively engage with employees to build a strong entrepreneurial culture, Focus on the 'right job, right candidate' to fulfil the need for domain specialists and soft skill experts Embrace multiple solutions to meet niche skills needs Emerge as a strategic business partner that is tuned to new business imperatives, that helps develop a leadership pipeline and is preparing the organization for a digital future NASSCOM also points to the fact that increased use of technology by HR is leading to improved employee satisfaction and other benefits such as clarity and transparency in HR policies and better two-way communication between the department and staff.