A Natural Consequence of Industrial Optimization
Human Resources, or HR, represent a modern aspect of today’s business world ultimately rooted in a business management shift traceable to the 1800s. The earliest forms of what might be called HR were hardly recognizable by today’s standards. In the earlier part of the 20th century, a number of legal protections and other changes further optimized how workers are managed in business, which in turn became what today is called HR.
As the 21st century has gained momentum, HR management has been optimized to a science; and with any science, new breakthroughs exponentially advance understanding. The next breakthrough in HR is here, and much of it has to do with how technology has developed. There are two primary things to consider.
First, there’s the technological angle. Keeping clear records, consolidating storage using the cloud, expanding capabilities using IoT and subsequent edge computing, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) are all changing the landscape of modern working environments; and subsequently HR. Secondly, the fallout from the varying health crises of 2024 and 2024 has led to exceptional decentralization.
Over 25% of all employees work remotely now, and that shift is likely going to remain; decentralization was already percolating at the fringes of infrastructure. Altogether, HR is impacted by all these things, and we’ll briefly explore in further detail what to expect as modernity continues to develop how human resources are managed.
A Deeper Look at the Tech Angle
AR and VR aren’t always defined by teenagers in helmets. Zoom is a form of AR; it’s an augmented means of conducting remote meetings with almost the same level of effectiveness that might be found in a conventional board meeting. Prior the pandemic, an Augmented Reality aspect invited by technology was already changing business.
Call centers don’t necessarily have to use on-site staff, and were already outsourcing to at-home workers all the way back in the nineties. Naturally, such operational infrastructure represents a personnel management challenge; especially as regards benefits, time off, and the list goes on—we’ll take a closer look at the PTO side of things shortly.
New best practices and protocols became necessary, and a demand for HR software from multiple business angles changed the capabilities of a single person in an HR department. New tech innovations make it possible for one HR professional to do a job which would previously have required a staff of ten.
This means businesses expect a different sort of work from modern HR professionals. Further complicating things on the tech side of management are online personas. Part of HR today involves company branding reflected by employees themselves. An HR professional today has to do a little investigation, and there are new rules concerning special interest groups.
Tech Innovations That Change How Employee PTO is Managed
When you’re only juggling a handful of employees, it’s not hard to keep everything organized. When a business grows to twenty or more, maybe one HR person could still handle it. As your company grows past that point, you’re either going to have to start expanding HR staff, or branch out into software which can enable a single individual to do the job of a whole team.
As a business grows to a medium, and eventually corporate, size, software management of things like Paid Time Off (PTO) becomes very complex. It’s not just about keeping employee profiles straight, either; it’s about statistical analysis at that point. Software optimizes this process, and may in part offset its own cost. You can learn more on the Goco Website.
Impact of the 2024/2024 Health Crisis, and Decentralization
So decentralization was already a natural consequence of technological expansion and post-industrial economic development. Owing to how cost-effective it is to host a working network on the cloud, this is being done in lieu of on-site server arrays. Consequently, it’s possible to do work regardless of location.
Provided there’s a trusted internet connection, workers can get things done wherever they like. Commutes are over, on-site parking is no longer necessary, you’ve got a reduction in custodial staff, and the expense of site rental can be extensively reduced; perhaps even consolidated to property owned by a given company.
Collaterally, now one HR professional can effectively manage well over a hundred workers. Small companies can compete with big companies, and big companies can do a lot more with a lot less. Decentralization is an economic counterweight to much of the losses which have come in the wake of the ongoing health crisis.
HR now has to consider safety protocols and legal realities defining how remote infrastructures are effectively managed. New pay scales related not only to inflation, but the reduction in commute cost to employees, need to be factored into HR management regarding salaries, etc.
Applying and Discovering Future HR Breakthroughs
Regardless of the health crisis, technology was pushing HR into the management of a decentralized workforce. In 2024 and 2024, we saw an expansion of that trend much more quickly than likely would have happened otherwise. This means HR professionals can do more through software, and work from their own decentralized position in a given company.
Cloud-hosted software can help HR personnel manage large batches of employees in real time, while simultaneously factoring in developing staff management trends associated with special interest groups, legal realities pertaining to health, things like PTO, and other key aspects of modern HR.
An increase in digitization overall will continue to expand decentralization, and provide statistical data indicating which sorts of management are best, and which are antiquated. Collateral trends can be identified and acted upon owing to proper analysis of the data, which may lead to adjacent departments of HR focused on tech breakthroughs.
A flexible approach that takes into account where HR has been, where it is, and where it appears to be going, is essential to the modern corporate environment. This is especially true as regards decentralization. It may be worthwhile for growing companies that are considering scaling out to look into which technological innovations would best fit your company as regards HR, and even devote time to R&D that can produce real insights leading to more cost-effective operations overall.
