Gartner reveals top HR tech trends for 2024 including AI

Gartner has announced the top three trending innovations in HR technology for 2024, which include AI in HR, AI-enabled skills management, and HR virtual assistants.

The Gartner Hype Cycle for HR Technology, 2024 outlines emerging innovations that are predicted to play a significant role in shaping the employee experience and promoting human-centric work environments. The Hype Cycle identifies over 30 emerging innovations that HR leaders should evaluate to differentiate between hype and reality.

Jeff Freyermuth, Director Analyst in the Gartner HR practice, commented: "This year's Hype Cycle reflects limited 'new' innovations as the hype around GenAI has meant that organisations aren't making major investments in other areas. Most of these innovations haven't lived up to their overinflated hype. However, they also require behavioural and cultural changes that take time, meaning HR leaders should take a targeted, agile approach when implementing new technology."

AI in HR continues to be at the forefront of HR technologies, providing predictive insights, recommendations, and offering conversational user interfaces. The latest generation of AI-based tools is changing user expectations, with non-AI HR solutions falling behind in the market. Gartner advises HR leaders to focus AI technology on task automation, experience transformation, or insight provision for employees and management.

AI-enabled skills management has also been identified as a key trend, utilising natural language processing and knowledge graphs to establish dynamic skills data. This innovation can improve how organisations manage and deploy talent, identifying learning needs and career development options. Helen Poitevin, Distinguished Vice President Analyst in the Gartner HR practice, stated: "More dynamic skills data transforms how organisations manage their workforce. In times of uncertainty, HR functions that can effectively leverage AI-enabled skills management technology can adapt more quickly and be more competitive in how they acquire and deploy talent."

Internal Talent Marketplaces (ITMs) have reached the Peak of Inflated Expectations, providing intelligent platforms to match workers with job opportunities and development without HR intervention. The adoption of these platforms, however, faces challenges due to the lack of cultural readiness for more flexible organisational models. Emi Chiba, Senior Principal Analyst in the Gartner HR practice, explained: "ITMs provide valuable insight into skills present in the organisation and provide workers with equitable insight into available growth opportunities. They are key to enabling adaptability, resilience and experiential learning."

HR Virtual Assistants (HRVAs) are shifting from the Peak of Inflated Expectations to the Trough of Disillusionment, as they remain unable to match the usability of consumer applications or advanced chatbots. Despite these challenges, HRVAs can enhance HR process efficiency and the overall employee experience by reducing the time required to complete tasks. To enhance adoption rates, HR leaders are encouraged to develop a unified user interface across multiple HRVAs.

Gartner's findings and insights on the Hype Cycle for HR Technology, 2024 can be further explored by its clients. The discussion of current trends and technologies will continue at the upcoming Gartner ReimagineHR Conference in Sydney, where HR leaders and CHROs can enhance their understanding and engage with the latest research and industry experts.