1.  Healthcare Costs Continue to Rise.  Employers can expect a 9% - 11% increase in healthcare costs next year.  Given the state of the economy, workers may be more likely to use their current coverage for fear that they may soon lose their coverage. 

In response, companies are looking at changes to their approach and current plan including:

2.  World Business.  With a global economy, more businesses will be open around the clock to serve customers in foreign time zones.  Business practices may also become more uniform or may need to expand.  For example, American companies may need to scale back “snooping” on employees’ e-mail to make this practice more in-line with that of European businesses where this activity can be illegal.

On the other hand, American workers may seek the more liberal vacation policies and parental leave benefits of their foreign counterparts.

Staff scheduling may become more challenging and companies may need to provide services they do not currently provide (e.g., nighttime child care) to meet the needs of their staff.

3.  Changes in Technology.  It may become more difficult to send an e-mail unless you are on the approved sender list, but this will significantly reduce the junk e-mails people currently receive.  There is also a growing trend toward the integration of communications so that employees will be able to check their e-mail, voicemail and mobile messaging by looking in just one inbox.

More significantly, computers will play an increasing role in making decisions based on an analysis of tremendous amounts of data.  Predicting customer behavior, projecting equipment failure and maximizing the efficiency of things such as truck fleets and network resources will become increasingly more common.

Security will continue to be a priority, though privacy will be a concern as companies will be able to monitor nearly every aspect of their employees’ activities at work.

4.  Hiring Will Increase.  As the recession ends, hiring is likely to increase.  However, with the abundance of candidates and a reduced HR staff making sure the right candidate is selected, the process is likely to be more time consuming.  Understanding the requirements of a position, clearly posting the necessary, desired skills and qualifications, and utilizing a selection approach that combines assessments, behavioral interviewing and reference checks will ensure the right candidate is selected for the company.

2010 may provide an excellent opportunity for companies to add quality employees to their reduced staff.  But selecting the right people for the job and company takes careful planning and a systematic approach.  Those who are ahead of the rehiring game will benefit from the abundance of available talent.

5.  More Background Screening.  Background checks will become increasingly important as more and more companies use temporary labor to meet their staffing needs, and as companies return to pre-recession employment levels.  Screening services will provide companies with a more efficient and cost-effective selection process. 

This is especially important as desperate workers may be more likely to misrepresent themselves on their resumés in order to get a job.  Companies may be tempted to utilize credit reports and information gathered from social networks, but caution is advised as this approach may be viewed as discriminatory or may violate privacy laws.

6.  The Future Workplace Environment.  Given the large number of people who have been adversely impacted by all the downsizing, returning employees may be even less loyal to the company then they were before.  To motivate and retain staff, HR needs to better understand its people, focus on what drives employee satisfaction and demonstrate that employees are valued within the organization. 

There is also a trend away from private offices toward shared work spaces as companies strive to increase employee collaboration. 

7.  Non-healthcare Benefit Changes.  Attracting top-notch staff may require companies to provide a guaranteed benefit plan to eliminate the risk employees have faced with the standard defined contribution plans. 

8.  Tele-work.  Working from outside the office will continue to be more accepted and common.  Advances in technology will make it easier and less expensive to work from home, but people are unlikely to work exclusively from home.  They will need to come in on a regular basis to stay connected.  As described above, the open work environment will provide space when people come into the office; corporate office buildings are likely to be much smaller in the future.

9.  The Future of HR.  The outsourcing of HR services will continue and providers will expand their services, enabling a one-stop shop.  Although it does not seem probable in this day and age, a labor/skill shortage is predicted to occur over the next decade with the convergence of declining births, retiring baby boomers and expected business growth.  HR will be called upon to fill the labor gap by paying more attention to the older worker.  Providing so-called soft benefits (e.g., more time off and flexible schedules) along with traditional hard benefits (e.g., healthcare insurance and pension benefits) will be necessary to entice this group to continue working.  With corporate mergers and acquisitions likely to continue, another HR challenge will be to manage the people involved in corporate mergers.  Too often mergers fail because of the incompatibility of the two cultures.  HR can play a pivotal role in this process by helping each organization recognize and adjust to the working ways of other organizations.