The human resources industry has seen a lot of change this year. The introduction of artificial intelligence, machine learning and software-as-a-service products has made the industry more efficient and productive.
Hiring is easier. Managing expenses is easier. Filling in purchase order requests is easier. And there are a lot of HR blogs (like this one) that have documented the change.
In the coming year, we expect to see automation technologies continue to improve HR, and we expect the best HR bloggers on the internet to keep us in the loop with new and emerging HR trends.
Here are the 12 best HR blogs you need to be following in 2020 so that you can keep up-to-date with the industry.
1. HR bartender
Sharlyn Lauby built the HR bartender to give people a friendly place to discuss work issues. From understanding finance skills to deciphering whether technology will eventually replace people, Sharlyn’s blog has everything you need to read to stay informed about HR.
A few favourites:
- Employee Check-Ins: 6 Essential Components for Success
- Business Growth Depends on Effective Talent Management
- Employees Need to Learn About Happiness
2. Hppy
The Hppy blog is a HR and employee engagement ‘happiness’ community (see what they did with their name?). They write about the interview process, mentoring and workplace happiness, with topics like how to deal with stress at work.
They have a lot of useful resources available, and they even have a page to help you find the right HR consultant for your business.
A few favourites:
- How To Be More Successful At Recruiting
- What Should HR Know About Mental Health?
- Five Skills Modern Brand Managers Need to be Successful
3. The Chief Happiness Officer blog
At Turbine, we have a Chief Happiness Officer. It’s Liz’s job to make sure we’re all, well, happy at work. This blog, then, particularly resonates with us.
There are some interesting reads on how to motivate employees. They also run surveys about happiness at the workplace and offer advice on how to deal with bad bosses.
A few favourites:
- Top 10 reasons why constant complaining is so toxic in the workplace
- Five weird tips for great meetings
- How not to let annoying people annoy you
4. The Namely blog
The Namely blog is a great read if you’re looking to keep up-to-date with breaking news in the HR industry, especially if you’re wanting to learn more about payroll, compliance and benefits.
They’re an American company, so a lot of what they write is about American HR problems (like how to support voting time off on election day), but they do have some interesting things to say about HR in 2020 already.
A few favourites:
- Is Gambling at Work Legal?
- How to Use College Recruiting to Build a Diverse Talent Pipeline
- HR’s Guide to Pre-Boarding: 10 To-Dos Before an Employee’s First Day
5. Workology
Workology’s blog is essential reading if you’re looking to develop your HR skills. They have white papers on how to pass your Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) certification, and write on everything from how SEO can be used to deepen your talent pools, to why quitting is the secret to ultimate productivity. We thoroughly recommend it if you’re after a little lunchtime reading.
A few favourites:
- Stop Using Management as a Reward
- Lessening the Impact of Employee Turnover
- How Employers Should Support Women Who Breastfeed
6. Evil HR Lady
The Evil HR Lady is an entertaining blog. The slogan for this blog is 'demystifying your human resources department', and the Evil HR Lady does just that. The site itself is basic, but once you're in the swing of things, you soon realise why it's so beloved.
A few favourites:
- Can My Employer Change Me from Hourly to Salary?
- Applying for New Jobs While on FMLA
- How to Get Your Boss Fired
7. The HR Capitalist
The blog comes from America, so expect lots of HR news updates that affect the United States specifically (like this piece on Bernie Sanders...).
But, we've added The HR Capitalist for one good reason: it's a darn good read. They take current and relevant topics and explore them in a 'how will this impact the HR industry' sort of way.
A few favourites:
- How to Respond to Negative Glassdoor Reviews...
- The Complex Relationship of A.I. and Labor's Share of GDP in the USA...
- Are HR Leaders Ready to Hire Candidates with Criminal Histories? #SHRM19
8. Laurie Ruettimann
A personable blog this time. Laurie is a human resources industry leader, and her blog shares some deep insights into some important hard truths about the HR industry. We need not say more about her work. Go and read for yourself.
A few favourites:
- HR professionals are experience brokers
- The cardinal rule of writing a job description
- The obstacles of data-informed decision-making
9. Good & Co
We've included Good & Co in this list because of their name. We like people named things like 'good' and 'happiness'. HR doesn't have to be as corporate as it sounds...
On a serious note, Good & Co publish some high quality blogs around company culture, recruiting and leadership. Check it out:
A few favourites:
- Your Employees Will Leave if You Don’t Invest in Them
- Felt Cute…Might Find The Perfect Job Later
- Entrepreneurial Personality Traits — Do You Have What It Takes?
10. The TINYpulse blog
TINYpulse is a company designed to improve employee engagement. They have useful blog posts explaining technical things like how to calculate employee turnover, to more blue sky pieces like 7 icebreaker games your team will love.
A few favourites:
11. The Work.bot blog
Work.bot is a rival to TINYpulse, and while a new startup, their blog is full of useful blogs around employee engagement, data-driven HR and building culture. Plus, they have a really user-friendly website that makes the reading experience that much better.
A few favourites:
Learning from the HR community
I’ve feared for the safety of my job for a few years now. I hear stories of how AI robots can write better blog posts than humans, and how, eventually, the human blogger will die and the robot blogger will take over.
But the truth of the matter is vastly different. HR blogs will continue to be run by humans, for humans, and the industry will continue to hire human employees instead of robots. Reading HR blogs and supporting the HR community, then, is essential. At least, that’s what we here at Turbine believe. For more on HR, check out our blog here.
