Gartner Identifies the Top 5 Trends

Gartner recently asked more than 500 HR managers in 40 countries about their priorities and challenges for 2024. The majority of them put the development of executives and managers at the top of their agenda. However, HR technology and change management are also highly relevant for many HR managers. The main drivers of the latter are increased pressure for operational efficiency (productivity, efficiency and margin as profitability drivers) and the increasing impact of AI and other advanced technologies on the organization and workforce. In this article, we would therefore like to focus on how the use of technology and the topic of change management will impact the work of HR departments.

Dealing with constantly changing environmental conditions puts organizations and HR managers under literal stress. It’s no wonder that 77 percent of them say that constant change is increasingly fatiguing employees. Additionally, 82 percent of respondents state that their managers are unable to lead the organization through the necessary changes. The extent and pace of change overwhelm employees, as adjustments happen both sporadically and continuously. Despite the adverse effects of change fatigue on employee well-being and productivity, only eight percent of respondents have a plan to actively manage these changes.

• Their motivation to stay with the company decreases by 42 percent.
• Their contribution to company success is 17 percent lower.
• Their trust in the company is diminished by 30 percent
• Their efforts beyond “just doing their job” decrease by 22 percent.
• They deliver 27 percent less sustainable performance.
• Their responsiveness is 27 percent lower.

Overall, there is a clear transformation deficit. The need to adapt to changes has increased from two to ten percent, while the willingness to implement and shape this change has decreased by almost a third. One approach to closing this gap is undoubtedly the use of advanced technology. Accordingly, this aspect will receive increased attention from HR managers in the coming year.

Regarding the use of HR technology in companies, it is particularly noteworthy that 60 percent of HR managers are uncertain about the impact of evolving technology trends, such as generative AI, on HR and talent management. A challenge in this context is that 56 percent of them state that their HR technology solutions and strategy do not align with their current and future business requirements, such as digital transformation. HR managers must manage an increasingly complex technology portfolio to meet their management’s demand for more agility and flexibility. Uncertain working and economic conditions further increase the urgency to introduce innovative solutions to support flexible HR strategies. At the same time, there is a growing demand for positive experiences for employees and human-centered approaches to work design.

HR executives need a framework to assess the introduction of new technologies. To do this, they should answer key questions to define the strategy and roadmap for implementation. These include criteria such as:

• Who will be responsible for, maintain, and manage the technology?
• Are the key trigger points that could have negative consequences and justify direct intervention to change or abolish the technology easily defined?

• How will the use of technology affect current and future ways of working?
• What are the implications for skills, roles, and responsibilities?

Of course, it’s even easier when planned changes within software can be simulated directly. This capability is available, for example, in Ingentis org.manager. Here, adjustments to organizational structures, to be carried out after prior visualization and analysis, can be literally tried out in a protected sandbox environment.