There is perhaps no facet of HR that went untouched by a tumultuous 2020. An unabating pandemic drove job cuts, accelerated tech trends and changed the face of hiring. And protests for racial justice gave the diversity and inclusion field unprecedented momentum.

Those effects and others will be felt well into 2021 and beyond, experts told HR Dive, with HR professionals focusing on the whole employee. Among other things, employers may continue to hire from a wider labor pool than before, voluntarily sticking with newly adopted remote work practices. Benefits became more holistic as employers had to address mental health and caregiver needs more directly than in the past, and that shift also may be here to stay as employers focus on retention and inclusion, sources said. And advances in employee learning are unlikely to wane any time soon.

While no one knows exactly what the new year will bring, it's clear that HR professionals will feel 2020's effects for some time. Experts dig deep into six HR subfields and their 2021 outlook in the stories below.