There was a time when human resources departments took an active part in managing the career path of their employees most of whom were expected to stay with the company for many years if not till their professional retirement. The times have changed dramatically and even though the human resources departments still provide career counseling but their major resources go towards developing the most promising talent. Many career paths that were considered safe bet do not remain safe career choices anymore due to vast advancements in internet and information technology. The demand remains strong for specialized skills many of whom require face-to-face interaction with the customers but most of the standard businesses operating tasks that can be delivered through internet technology have been outsourced. The human capital of the world has become more mobile than it has ever been.

The human resources departments have become more attuned to labor rights and laws due to increased workplace protection for the workers. The employee lawsuits not only have the potential to cost considerable financial resources but they may also damage the corporate image that the customers increasingly care about. The human resources departments are also faced with certain other social and legal challenges due to the changing composition of the workforce. Older employees are retiring later, the workplace is increasingly becoming diversified, and the significant generational differences between the baby boomers and the Y-Gen are giving birth to dilemmas never faced before. In addition, digital technology raises unique questions governing the company-employee relationship. These trends means the human resources department are burdened with greater responsibilities such as accommodating differing cultural needs, developing company’s technology use policies, and devoting more resources to workplace employee rights.

The companies are also scaling back the size of retirement benefits and giving employees more options to design their retirement plans from the available benefits pool. The companies are also more likely to use temporary employees and contract employees that often do not need to be paid employment benefits such as insurance and paid vacations to reduce costs. Companies are also taking advantage of the technology to give employees the option of working from homes and have been taking steps to introduce flexible work schedules to accommodate rising women participation in the workforce.

Due to the growing intensity of competition, there is a greater pressure on the workforce to learn new skills and update their existing skills on an on-going basis. Fortunately for the employees, more and more employees are encouraging learning new skills by compensating them for college costs and sending them to professional conferences. Employees face more uncertain career path today which has a direct impact on organizational loyalty. Organizations realize this and are finding ways to keep employees motivated such as performance based compensation plans and profit-sharing. The management are also involving employees more in developing the companies’ strategic plans and seeking their input to improve day to day operations. The companies are also giving employees more leeway in performing their tasks.

Companies have also become more careful in selection and hiring process and employees now have to go through more hiring phases to ensure they are a good fit within the company. Communication skills have significantly grown in importance due to the rise of workplace diversity and growth of the services sector and rank on top of the skills requirements of many employers.