As we are edging towards 2018, HR and recruitment professionals are well aware of how important it is to keep track of the latest trends in the industry. HR and recruitment professionals have already started to plan for 2018 and here we have listed three major trends that will play an important role in the coming year!

1. A.I. is here to stay! Throughout 2017, the word A.I. was ringing in the ears of HR and recruitment professionals. In 2018,   artificial intelligence is here to stay and play a significant role in the industry. Artificial intelligence will address issues like unconscious bias during the candidate selection process as the bots have been programmed to focus on candidates’ skills rather than other aspects like race or age. However, human intervention can never be overlooked, A.I allows recruiters to be more efficient. Modern recruitment technologies backed-up by A.I. will significantly reduce the time it takes to source a candidate and will enhance the quality of talent for recruiters. As mentioned in one of our recent blogs, recruiters will have to up-skill to learn A.I. and ultimately increase their productivity. Usage of A.I. algorithms to analyze big data will definitely help recruiters to source the best quality talent.

2. Working remotely is included in perks! More and more organizations are offering remote working as one of their perks. According to a survey from FlexJobs, 85% of millennials would prefer to work remotely full-time; while 54% would prefer a flexible schedule. A majority of startups are hiring remote workers which enables them to work from the comfort of their home.  With the aid of technologies like video conferencing and augmented reality, the distances don’t really matter much now. There are both pros and cons of working remotely. On one hand it significantly improves work-life balance and increases efficiency as one can be free from distractions, but on the other hand, working remotely can affect the well-being of an employee due to missing team comradery, which you don’t experience while working from home. But it seems the pros of working remotely have outweighed the cons and hence this trend is becoming very popular.

3. Continuous upskilling is the key! Gone are the days where organizations wholly rely on their employees’ university degrees. Today, the market is very dynamic and as an individual, group or organization, enhancing your skillset is the key to success. The trend of continuous learning is on the rise and HR managers are well aware and recognize the need to upskill and train their fellow employees. In the coming year, technology will be dominating most of the L&D projects and employees must be well equipped with their skillsets. Hence, it is very important for the workers to continuously develop their skills and knowledge which will enable them to adapt to the changes in their role or organization.