However, over time, HR and business leaders have come to realize that employee engagement, while necessary, is a short-term win. This has led to a greater focus on improving the overall employee experience.

Defined as the "sum of everything an employee experiences throughout his or her connection to the organization — every employee interaction, from the first contact as a potential recruit to the last interaction after the end of employment," the employee experience has now overtaken employee engagement in terms of business importance.

The employee experience is becoming so critical to business growth and success that larger companies are creating entire positions dedicated to the development and improvement of this key HR trend. However, even smaller companies can and should make efforts to improve the overall experiences employees have at work.

2. On-demand learning and development

Today's employees are taking a much more proactive approach to learning and development. Instead of waiting for their careers to progress, employees want to improve upon their current skills and develop new ones that will help with growth and progression.

The eagerness for employee learning and development is a win-win for both employers and employees. This is why companies are enhancing their L&D programs to keep up with the expectations of the modern workforce.

This means providing on-demand learning opportunities to employees, who can access training and development courses whenever and however they choose.

Companies both big and small can consider learning and development software that comes pre-loaded with courses and programs tailored to each employee's department and career interest. This level of personalization is critical to a successful L&D program.

3. Personalized HR and benefits

We touched on the importance of personalization with learning and development. A one-size-fits-all approach to most areas of HR doesn't work with today's workforce and their expectations.

Just like every other aspect of one's life, employees want and expect a more personal experience at work and in their career.

One area that can truly benefit from personalization is employee benefits. More companies are offering multiple benefit plans, while also continuously adding new voluntary benefits that appeal to a wide-range of employees.

Personalization has taken over just about every aspect of one's personal life, and this expectation is now entering professional lives, too. Because of this societal shift, employers need to consider offering some degree of personalization to their employees.

4. Passive job seekers

Recruiting is consistently ranked as one of the biggest business challenges. To succeed in this critical company objective, organizations are spending considerable amount of money and investing in new recruiting resources to better compete in a crowded market.

All this competition has led to a shift in the market, and now job seekers have the upper hand. This means that passive candidates are more important than ever for employers, regardless of size.

According to SHRM, "passive job seekers are individuals who are currently employed and not actively looking for a new job, but who may be open to a good career opportunity if one came along."

Recruiting passive candidates is drastically different than attracting active job seekers, meaning recruiters and TA teams must alter their strategies when targeting this group.

Personalization, employer branding, social media, competitive salaries and benefit offerings, and career development and progression are all key selling points for attracting passive job seekers to your organization.

5. A multi-generational workforce

Today's workforce is more generationally diverse than ever before. Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z are now all in the job market, and each has their own unique ways of approaching their work and career.

With generational changes taking place, employers are shifting their approach to workplace management. This is where personalization becomes important once again. For example, how management communicates with a baby boomer can be significantly different than with a millennial.

Understanding each generation's and each employee's work habits and styles are necessary for managers to get the most out of their team members.

Because of the difficulties associated with this growing HR trend, it's not too surprising to see managing a multi-generational workforce listed at the top of today's business challenges.

It's important for employers today, regardless of size, to keep up with the latest trends and developments in HR. Things like employee happiness and turnover, productivity, recruiting, and overall business success can all be hampered by failing to act on growing HR trends.