What’s Next for HR in 2024?

• Generative AI, particularly large language models like ChatGPT, will become a larger part of everyday processes, from recruitment itself to automated administrative tasks. HR professionals will be tasked with balancing artificial intelligence and human inputs.
• Several states are updating FMLA policies in 2024. This employee-centric trend should reverberate in both HR departments themselves and the culture they cultivate.
• As recruitment becomes a smaller niche, knowledge and specialization will help HR professionals stand out as experts in their field.

In 2023, we saw the confirmation of trends that were born from necessity during COVID-19. Nontraditional workstyles, employee-centric culture, and a renewed focus on consumer experience reiterated what many experts embraced years ago: the working world is changing.

Along with the social and cultural changes, the introduction of generative AI tools stands to completely shift the way countless professionals handle their day-to-day activities in 2024.

For HR professionals in particular, past reskilling and a recruitment industry that continues to call for further specialization may make 2024 a year that calls for immediate adaptation for those who wish to stay competitive.

To help you stay educated and prepared, here are some HR trends that you should keep in mind moving into the new year.

Familiarizing yourself with generative AI

Since the introduction of GenAI and the resulting large language models (a subset of generative AI), like ChatGPT, artificial intelligence has quickly entrenched itself in several industries and recruitment is no different. Although technology makes countless day-to-day tasks easier through automation, it’s also being used more heavily to assist in the recruitment process.

Companies like IBM Watson and Microsoft are utilizing generative AI in the recruitment process and some states are already introducing laws to regulate AI hiring.

Some HR professionals may assume that this is an indication that their jobs are becoming obsolete, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, HR professionals need to focus on becoming as knowledgeable as possible with both AI and their specialized field.

But what does this mean in practice?

AI is being used to assist in sourcing and screening candidates, conducting pre-employment interviews and assessments, and analyzing resumes and job applications. This makes it imperative for HR professionals to develop a method of not only ensuring the cultural fit of winning applicants but also ensuring that good candidates aren’t getting thrown out because of keyword misinterpretation or other logistic issues.

Yes, generative AI has changed the way HR professionals work, but many individuals vastly overestimate just how much current AI is capable of.

In its current state, the tech needs regular human intervention for something as subjective as recruitment. This is why HR professionals need to develop specializations and understand how to work with GenAI. The technology isn’t going anywhere, and no one knows where AI will be in a few or even a single year. 

Despite this, AI is being used in countless industries for things as simple as streamlining daily tasks to processes as delicate as recruitment. For HR professionals, spending the time now to become comfortable using AI tooling could result in higher compensation and other benefits in the short to long term.

Employee-centric culture

Employee-centric culture launched into popularity during the waning stages of the pandemic, but concreted itself during the last year.

Policies that are beneficial for employees are proliferating in some areas: States like Colorado, Delaware, and others are updating their family and medical leave policies in January 2024, hybrid workstyles are more popular than in-person or wholly remote positions, and the once-popular authoritarian management styles have fallen to a more collaborative approach.

Not only does this employee-centered culture affect the hiring process itself, but it also affects the environment for HR professionals. Collaborative management requires some level of cultural assimilation because collaboration requires employees to work together to complete common goals.

HR professionals in 2024 will be expected to leverage their understanding of their company’s culture to ensure that AI-assisted recruitment processes aren’t eliminating good fits for the business. Although HR professionals will need to spend time educating themselves in these areas, HR leaders also need to ensure that employees have access to training and the tools they need to grow.

Specialization is more important than ever

Although human resources — like any industry — has evolved in recent years, many individuals are under the impression that technology is all that has changed in HR.

Yes, HR tasks were once largely paper-based, but in addition, HR departments are no longer solely administrative and compliance-focused. Now, HR departments take on a more involved role, dealing with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, or DEIB.

Not to mention (outside of taking on these cultural roles) specific specialization within the HR department is quickly becoming the norm.

Employee compensation, labor relations, HR compliance, AI proficiencies, recruiting, and training and development are only some of the areas of expertise.

To help HR employees better stand out, picking one area and focusing your time and effort on becoming an expert in that field is an excellent way to further an HR career in 2024.

Though the future is uncertain, human resources employees can feel confident in the continued use of generative AI tooling, the regularity of employee-centered working environments, and the continued importance of becoming a specialist in one’s field.