In December, I was quoted among industry thought leaders in a piece for HR.com titled, “6 Changes In Store for HR Technology in 2013.”  This query emerged a few times last year and clearly is a point of interest. As it should be. Technology will be used in all sorts of ways to increase efficiencies, streamline resources and work differently.

I shared the following in expectation of the new year: “In the New Year, HR will begin to leverage consumer tech to optimize employee performance, with technology serving as a performance enhancer for professionals within an organization. From a performance management standpoint, rather than old top down performance process, HR will begin to leverage consumer tech (the Facebook “Like”) to support information dissemination regarding progress on work, and to help teams with collaboration, knowledge transfer, and concept development.”

As we begin the New Year, HR leaders across all industries will find value in what’s right in front of them—the unleveraged potential in free social networks as a means to extract feedback from employees and gain a better understanding of what’s really going on day-to-day. I used the example of the Facebook “Like” button. Consider how an organization’s HR team could use a similar feature in making important company decisions:

Implement engagement surveys modeled in the form of “Like” or “Dislike” buttons with thumbs up and thumbs down graphics to gauge employee’s thoughts and opinion. No need to complicate things! Today’s professionals are used to communicating and making decisions quickly, so the less clutter within the outreach, the more likely they will respond. 

In the same article, here a couple more predictions I thought worth sharing.

Matt Hendrickson of the social recruiting platform, Ascendify, says, “Career sites will be transformed into active talent communities as employers learn to connect with top talent on the candidate’s terms. The best talent expects respect, transparency, and ease as they make critical career decisions. Only those employers that deliver an outstanding candidate experience at the career website will capture the best talent.”

While Joanna Riley Weidenmiller of job proposal innovator, 1-Page, anticipates, “As we move into a free agency world, the role of job seeker will shift. Rather than applying to open job descriptions written by companies, job seekers will be much more like the roles of a sales person, providing solutions to companies that are facing challenging problems and opportunities.”

I agree with them both. The workforce as we know it is shifting from a static entity to one that adapts to the needs and requirements of the individuals within. Their influences are significant and no longer dictated by the institution. As another year approaches, HR leaders will be embracing the role that social technology will play in recruiting and retaining talent. It’s a shift in the way we do business for sure. What are your predictions for HR technology in 2013? Are you experiencing the ones presented here? Where do you think this will take us next? 

Cindy Lubitz is Managing Director of inTalent Consulting Group.