10 disruptive HR tech trends to look out for in 2016

Increasingly, firms are addressing their HR priorities – such as creating a strong company brand, attracting the brightest talent and competitively paying staff  – by investing in technology.

As we enter the final months of 2015, Bersin by Deloitte has unveiled a new report noting the 10 big disruptions on the horizon of HR tech we need to be aware of:

1.  Consumerised HR TechnologyInstead of designing HR software and applications solely to make the jobs of HR professionals easier, many applications are now designed with the end user in mind - employees, enabling them to learn and collaborate, share feedback, set goals, steer their own careers and even manage other people more effectively.

"The HR technology market is bursting with new applications that shift the focus toward more consumer-like experience and away from tools created to streamline the work of HR administration," the report stated.

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2. Mobile is the new platformWith more than 2.1 billion smartphone users on the planet, it is unsurprising that HR is starting to leverage on mobile as its new platform.

Some breakthrough areas of in the coming year is likely to include engagement and feedback systems.

3. The emergence of ERP vendorsThese vendors are quickly catching up as credible, effective providers of comprehensive talent management technologies to support processes such as recruiting, learning, and a range of people management tools.

4. Redefining HR functions with built-for-the-cloud providersThis "third wave" of talent solution providers come with consumer-like products, built for mobile and the cloud. They are thought to have a huge effect on several areas including payroll, learning technology, and employee engagement.

5. Feedback and culture management as new software categoriesBringing together the world of performance management with feedback, employee check-ins and development planning. Providers are expected to release feedback apps that could enable meetings and conference calls more useful and productive.

6. The new way of managing performance and goalsAs organisations do away with ratings and simplify their performance management processes, gaps in user needs left by traditional performance management software are filled by making use of feedback and check-ins.

7. Integrated content from everywhereWith the growing need for skills development and expanding training marketplace, learning experience middleware is expected to bring various content together into an integrated learning experience.

READ MORE:Is HR really using data effectively?7 reasons why firms are still struggling with HR analytics

8. The growth of predictive analytics: more vendors, more solutionsA range emerging vendors are offering the whole predictive analytics package, from identifying employee flight risks to determining whether a new office layout is working or not.

9. Cloud computing does not make technology services obsoleteOrganisations that buy new cloud-based HR systems still experience challenges especially during the transition. To cope with these challenges, the selection of vendors is crucial. These vendors should be able to deliver high levels of service, have open-programming interfaces, experience in the buyer's particular industry, and fit the business culture.

10. Employee engagement is criticalEven in the "third wave" of HR tech (moving from licensed software to cloud-based systems to mobile technologies), employee engagement is crucial. This wave is all about engaging employees in a simple, compelling way and the success of HR technologies should be evaluated by employees' engagement with the systems.

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