2015 was the year employees stepped into the spotlight. With talent wars developing into a knockout, drag out fight, HR organizations now have a more prominent seat at the executive table—proving the point that employees are the lifeblood of a business and need internal services that make their job easier, without obstacles.

The transformation means that HR professionals are no longer just tasked with staffing, payroll and benefits; they’re being asked to align their activities to key business initiatives and corporate priorities. Employees’ frustrations with the overall HR experience were heard loud and clear. HR is now enabling richer work experiences, better ways to bring people together and reduce burdensome time associated with administrative activities.

There are three trends in the social collaboration space that are making the transformation possible:

The Experience Hub: a place filled with rich, mobile, accessible content and tools that send the message to employees that they are supported anywhere, anytime
Contextual Quests: These make new hire pre and post on-boarding not just easier, but a delightful experience
Rewards: Encourage employees not to just show up to work, but to become brand advocates inside and out of the company

As for 2016? Expect employee and user-to-users’ relationships to become a top KPI for businesses.

What do you think about HR’s biggest trend in 2015? Do you have a prediction for 2016? We want to know in Jive Community.

In our upcoming post, Jive’s Vice President of Customer Support, Kevin Williams, discusses trends related to the speed of efficiency of support departments in 2015, but has a warning for companies that don’t “delight” customers in 2016.