What will the year 2021 be like? What will the company and the HR departments deal with, which topics determine the discussion? A forecast by the editorial staff of the personal magazine.
What will the year 2021 be like? What will the company and the HR departments deal with, which topics determine the discussion? A forecast by the editorial staff of the personal magazine.
The outbreak of the corona pandemic halted many developments in 2020 and operational activities were reassessed. This development will also determine the coming year, but the variety of topics will be greater in 2021 than this year.
Outlook: what will be occupying companies and HR departments in 2021?
1. Workforce Transformation: The economic recovery after the Corona crisis will probably start in the second quarter. With the expiry of the state subsidy programs, the enormous need for restructuring of many companies becomes apparent. Companies then have to master the triad “dismantling, rebuilding and building up”.
2. New Work: In 2021, it is not about office design that promotes innovation, but about fundamental issues such as workplace autonomy, working time autonomy and the compatibility of work and family. The corporate cultures of the companies are diverging; for some, home office becomes an integral part of a hybrid work culture, for others it remains the exception.
3. Performance Management: The economic situation of the companies remains tense, so that cost and efficiency issues are gaining in importance. While before the crisis the focus was solely on employee experience, there is a renaissance in performance and results orientation.
4. Digitization: HR will continue to digitize administrative processes, and increasingly management processes too. The driver is the issue of efficiency. The topic of artificial intelligence remains a research and marketing topic, a broad transfer into practice is not yet expected. Hopefully, works council work via video conference will have a legal basis.
5. Health management: The pandemic will continue to shape operations and the everyday lives of employees. The subject of vaccination strategy comes on the agenda. Medical topics are becoming an integral part of company health management.
6. Diversity: The proposed legislation to introduce a quota for women on the board of large companies sends out a signal that strengthens diversity initiatives in companies. In the case of purely male management teams or working groups, companies are increasingly struggling with legitimation problems.
7. Further training: Further training activities that both companies and employees have suspended will be ramped up, but have not yet reached the pre-crisis level. Hybrid and digital formats of learning are establishing themselves across the board of companies, but will not permanently replace face-to-face training, which will start again in 2021.
8. Recruiting: Before Corona, recruiting was the dominant HR topic, in 2021 it will develop very differently depending on the industry. In health care, medical technology or IT, this remains at the top of the agenda; in other sectors, recruiting will only start again when the economy has recovered. The number of applicants on the job market is increasing, and the issue of selection and filling is receiving more attention in companies.
9. Sustainability: Due to pressure from investors and the public, the topic of sustainability becomes part of the business strategy, which is then also reflected in the HR strategy. “Green HR” is gaining in importance, but initially remains a focus on profiling and innovation.
10. Trade fairs and events: The longing for face-to-face exchange is great, but big events will still have a hard time in 2021. Hybrid and digital events are becoming even more professional. Smaller events will increasingly take place in real life.
All relevant HR topics for the turn of the year 2020-2021 can be found in this overview.
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