HR Top 10 – Best Articles of March

The best articles of March focused on several areas including succession planning, remote work relationships, real coaching, the HR digital transformation, and VR and AI in HR.

1. Critical Succession Planning

The current talent environment is one most HR professionals have not seen before.  There are more jobs than there are skilled people to fill those positions.  And it’s forecasted to get worse before it gets better.  Between 2017 and 2027, a talent shortage of 8.2 million US workers could exist according to Manpower.  That makes succession planning all the more important for the HR professionals doing their best to minimize the impact on their respective companies.  The problem is succession planning is not always seen as paramount strategy.  This article dissects the topic of succession planning looking at needed components and the steps necessary for a successful succession strategy.

2. How Technology is Changing Engagement at Work

 “Organizations today understand the true importance of employee engagement.  Increasingly, this is becoming a vital cog in any employee satisfaction and retention strategy.”  In an article for the HR Technologist, Shiradeep BasuMallick discusses five ways technology can help in improving employee engagement.  Some of those include collaboration, gamification, and recognition.  For more, click here.

3. Uniting VR and AI to supercharge HR practices

Innovation Enterprise Channels author Caitlin Stanway-Williams starts out this piece with a keen observation.

“Place a worker from 30 years ago in an office today and they would probably feel like they had been dropped in an alien world.”

Stanway-Williams says this has been driven by the data boom of the past decade.  In fact, data has created a number of solutions that have had an impact on HR practices including artificial intelligence and virtual reality.  She says “88% of companies worldwide use some form of AI in their HR practices.”  Stanway-Williams explains how VR and AI are developing empathy skills and training workers.

4. How growth-minded CEOs operate their talent management systems

“Every organization’s performance is directly related to the way leaders at the top operate” talent management systems.  That’s according to John Lankford.  In his piece for the BizTimes, Lankford looks at nine specific talent management systems that will help the company culture transform into one that attracts the best talent to the organization.  Some of those systems include recruiting, onboarding, accountability and compensation.  To see which others made the list and to read an in-depth description on the ways in which these systems help growth, click here.

5. Why Choosing Real Coaching Really Matters

Coaching is a very confusing word. It’s used to mean a lot of different things and is practiced in many different ways. Regardless of the various expressions, approaches, intentions and styles, all coaching falls into one of two types. There is a vein of truth and transformative power that distinguishes real coaching from the fool’s gold that is faux coaching.  In her latest piece for the HR Exchange Network, benefactor and HR Advisory Board Member Dianna Anderson explains the difference between the two and why it’s important to be able to distinguish one from the other.

6. In the Future of Work, Humans Will Still Be Wanted

There has been some concern over the last few years that machines will replace humans and workers will be put out of jobs.  And there is some truth in that, but not in the way in which it was first conceived to be a threat.  Technologies are certainly automating more and more functions, even within the HR space, but that also means humans are freer to do higher level work and to focus on areas where machines falter.  That’s the case Adi Gaskell makes in his March 4^th Forbes piece.  Gaskell looks at specific statistics that show while automation is increasing, so too is the human workforce.  He also looks at how humans are working with machines and what this means in terms of skills needed.  Read more here.

7. Glassdoor:  Men more likely than women to go after high paying jobs

HR Dive writer Valerie Bolden Barrett looks at a recent study from Glassdoor Economic Research that reveals a "salary confidence gap" between men and women, with "men being more self-confident in the workplace than women."  According to the article, men applied for jobs with base salaries averaging just over $13,000 higher than the average base salaries for which women applied.  Barrett also took a closer look at how the number changes when looking at particular factors.  In addition, the piece looked at what controls Glassdoor took into account as part of the study.

8. Compensation Remains a Top Driver to Attract & Retain Talent in the U.S. Reveals Gartner’s New Study

According to a recent study from Gartner, compensation is still one of the top drivers that attract and retain U.S. workers in their current jobs/roles.  As a result, companies continue to increase pay to hold onto the workers they find of most value to the organization as well as bringing in new employees that fall under the same description.  And there is some justification for that.  The report also found 44% of U.S. employees want to continue in their current roles.  That number was four points lower just last year and it is 11 points higher when compared to the global average.  Read the full article here.

9. Cultivating Strong Remote Relationships

Jenn Koiter is the North America Social Media and Brand Engagement Lead for Talent Acquisition at Dell.  In her first piece published on the HR Exchange Network, Koiter explains what the life of a remote worker is like and she does so from her own perspective.  She also provides what she calls “hard-won” tips about how to stay connected and work remotely.  Click here to read more.

10. Why HR is at the Center of Digital Transformation

“Digital transformation is primarily about mindset, people and processes and not technology.  HR is in the people business and any successful digital transformation relies on significant contributions from HR professionals.”

HR Technologist contributor Ashish Deshpande writes the digital transformation is neither a single project nor a single technology.  Really, it’s about modernizing and bringing a much stronger digital footprint to bear in the organization.  A big piece of that is reliant on the people and business processes at any given company.  Deshpande takes a deep dive into the topic explaining several points including how HR plays a dual role in today’s world and why the digital transformation is crucial for talent acquisition.  Read more here.