A number of HR professionals are on the top of their game, shepherding in the latest transformation of their industry, according to Engagedly's Top 100 HR Influencers of 2018. Why is it important for HR professionals to be "in the know" on the latest trends? Because demographics and technology are dramatically changing both the nature and the needs of the workforce – and HR professionals need to keep up, says Sri Chellappa, president of Engagedly Inc. Related: 4 steps to becoming a world-class HR organization For one, HR needs to adapt to the differing needs of millennials and Gen Zers coming into the workforce, who are much more digitally inclined and whose expectations from the workforce are markedly different than those of older generations, Chellappa says. "At the same time, baby boomers are retiring, resulting in a dramatic shift in management and how organizations are handling these changes," he says. "It's very important for HR to understand that things that worked in the past are not going to work in the future." For example, people just don't work at one place for 15, 20, or 30 years any more, so organizations have got to make sure they fully engage their workers if they want them to stay, Chellappa says. "For many younger people, it's more about finding meaning within the workplace and how organizations can provide workers with an environment where they feel fulfilled in their role," he says. HR professionals also need to recognize the younger generations' pervasive use of technology and how that impacts their learning and training needs, Chellappa says. For instance, younger people don't want to watch hour-long training webinars. Instead, they are much more receptive to short videos and other types of micro-learning. Learning tools need to be more agile and just-in-time. They also want real-time feedback about how well they did, as well as coaching more frequently, instead of just once every six months or year. "There are a lot of dynamics causing the dramatic changes in the workforce, which is why HR professionals need to be at the top of their game – so they can transform their organization to succeed in that environment," he says. To select the Top 100 Influencers, Engagedly considered more than 250 HR professionals, including many nominated by colleagues. Scores were based on their social media following, blogging activity, presence at conferences, work in academia and innovative contributions. Emphasis was placed on recency, frequency and relevance of engagement over the past year.