Walmart has adopted Facebook's enterprise-level social network, Workplace, with an unspecified number of employees using the platform. Facebook says Walmart is its biggest US user and will become a paying customer after its free trial.

Consider a hybrid recruitment model and hire consultants who will work when you need them, help you train new employees and offer fresh ideas, writes Steve Collins, commercial director at CVM People. "Granted, hybrid is not a model that can be switched on overnight, but it is one that can be used to plug skills gaps and keep innovation going," he writes.

If your company wants to allow employees to donate vacation days to co-workers, decide which employees are eligible to donate, establish a maximum number of days and track requests and donations.

Autonomous vehicles and drones would create issues for HR, with employees now on the clock during their commutes and drones raising privacy concerns, write Ryan Lessmann and Stephanie Lewis. Cars that don't require drivers could affect pre-hire background checks and workplace accommodations for disability or religious reasons.

To advance your HR career, understand your business thoroughly, network with others and gain international experience, HR executives in Asia say. "I feel that continuous improvement is an important mindset to have and one should always look for opportunities to improve themselves," says Shahzad Umar, HR director for Nestle in Malaysia and Singapore.