'The Future of HR': New Industry Report Predicts Dramatic Changes for Human Resources Leaders in the Post-Pandemic Era

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HR leaders are poised for a "a bigger seat at the table for strategic decision making" in the remote-first world

LONDON and SAN FRANCISCO, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oyster®, the company that makes hiring talented people around the world compliant, human, and delightful, today released a new industry report which finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the roles and responsibilities of HR leaders across industries. The report—titled The Future of HR: Preparing for a New World of Distributed Work—predicts that HR leaders in the post-pandemic era will carry new responsibilities for maintaining compliance in a remote-first world, spend more time supporting globally distributed workforces, and ultimately, have an outsized impact on shaping the working experience at their companies long into the future.

"The world of work has changed forever, and as companies adapt to the new expectations of employees and candidates, human resources leaders have a never-before-seen opportunity to shape the future of work — not only for their companies, but for organizations everywhere," said Jack Mardack, Co-founder of Oyster. "Employers who have embraced distributed work are already seeing the benefits. They're more competitive, more nimble, and more responsive to the opportunities presented by the post-pandemic era. Now, the HR business function must evolve in line with the sweeping changes taking place and prepare to play a more active role in determining how organizations hire, collaborate, and create value from talent."

The following findings of The Future of HR: Preparing for a New World of Distributed Work, which was created by 451 Research and commissioned by Oyster, illustrate the impact of the pandemic on HR leaders' priorities:

• 48% of HR leaders say they're thinking more deeply about flexible work arrangements as a direct result of the pandemic
• 46% report that maintaining compliance (e.g. workplace safety, labor standards, employee data privacy & security, anti-discrimination) is a new priority

Accompanying these new areas of focus are new challenges facing HR leaders. Today's report finds that:

• 46% of HR leaders report a lack of visibility of their entire workforce as the top missing feature they'd like added to their HR software
• Employee engagement is the area of the HR function in greatest need of improvement, according to HR leaders

These statistics suggest that despite the opportunities for greater impact in the remote-first world, HR leaders need the ability to make investments in new systems, technology, and training in order to thrive in the era of distributed workforces.

Other findings from today's report include:

• 42% of HR respondents anticipate that full-time hiring will be the biggest change their organization sees in 2021
• 47% list the ability to support internal and external recruitment as the missing feature they'd most like to see added by their candidate recruitment vendor
• 45% cite diversity of workforce as the most important theme when communicating corporate values to employees and customers, second only to employee benefits and wellness initiatives (55%)

"As the world settles into its new normal post-pandemic, we expect the preemptive hiring freezes and worker furloughs to lift," wrote Conner Forrest, Senior Research Analyst at 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence. "This will make recruitment a top priority for HR departments and people functions, but their approach will have to accommodate the new normalcy of distributed work. To mitigate potential friction in this shift, companies must anticipate obstacles and respond with investment in company culture, brand identity, employee engagement and the proper HR tech tools to equip their teams for the future of work."

The findings outlined in the 451 Pathfinder Report are drawn from 451 Research's recently conducted 'Voice of the Enterprise Workforce Productivity & Collaboration Employee Lifecycle and HR 2021 Survey' of more than 560 global workforce employees, including more than 95 human resource executives.

The report's release follows Oyster's official launch of Oyster Academy, the release of a free suite of Distributed HR tools, and the announcement of a series of new partnerships with industry-leading HR service providers. It also comes amid the inaugural Ascent by Oyster, a first-of-its-kind virtual conference on the future of work to help globally distributed companies thrive on the world stage. The second day of the event takes place today, July 15.

To learn more about how Oyster is unlocking the world's talent, visit Oyster.

About Oyster

Oyster is the HR platform for globally distributed companies. It enables growing companies to give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches or expense. Oyster empowers hiring anywhere in the world with reliable, compliant payroll and great local benefits and perks. Founded in January 2020 by Tony Jamous and Jack Mardack, Oyster is itself a fully remote company with a diverse, globally distributed team.

If you're looking for your next career opportunity, check out Oyster. We're hiring!

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