HR priorities for 2022.
Work today is more different than we could have ever envisaged, and that comes with both challenges and opportunities for HR professionals. Adaptation and planning for various futures will continue to be the name of the game as we ride out the ongoing disruption of the past few years. However, from the stormy seas, there is no doubt opportunity ahead as we start to see blue sky, opportunity to create more productive, flexible, engaging and inclusive workplaces.
Here are the top HR priorities to consider as you plan for a steadier 2022.
Working hybrid and remote.
While working remotely was required during the pandemic for most, it is here to stay. In what has been the single biggest shift in the modern workplace in decades, most employers will allow employees remain remote or choose their own version of hybrid. Now we know it works, in some cases even more effectively than being office bound, HR leaders will need to adapt to the workforce of the present being mostly online.
With many of the HR team also remote or hybrid, the challenge will be to manage all the people processes through portals. Hiring, on-boarding, learning, career development, communication, recognition and engagement need to now be delivered online - between people who may never have met in person, who may never meet in person.
HR and technology leaders need to bed in online tools that will underpin the streamlined engagement of their people.
Understanding next gen employees.
Companies across pretty much every industry, and the HR team itself, will need to build an understanding of the next gen employees who are starting out their careers. Yep, Gen Z are graduating and will be on the job hunt as we go into 2022.
While Millennials will continue to make up a large part of the workforce, HR executives will need to develop an understanding of what this newer generation prioritises when it comes to their professional life. They want more flexibility around where they work, but also more flexibility around their schedule. As a generation, they see the value in true work-life balance and will look to fit work into life, not the other way around.
They love autonomy and being trusted but really value collaborating and a team environment. They want to be deeply aligned from a values perspective with those they work alongside and those they work for, and they want regular, meaningful contact and feedback with their managers.
Gen Z are shaping up to be future powerhouses but HR leaders will need to balance this out with the old guard – who may be more affronted by their preferences than inspired.
Finding talent within.
With so many employees making sea-change, tree-change and desk-change decisions, there will be a forced focus on critical skills in the coming year. And one way to tackle that is by finding those skills within. It’s important that employees know they can grow with you, in the way they want to grow. Rather than looking externally for a role that satisfies their needs, there is huge benefit in helping employees find those roles within.
The experts agree. Talent leaders who responded to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends 2020 report, stated:
81% agree that hiring internally improves retention
69% agree that it accelerates new hire productivity
63% agree that it accelerates the hiring process
The coming year will see drastic growth of talent, with a predicted prioritisation of future-proofing through Learning & Development initiatives. L&D will take on a greater priority than it did even pre-COVID and this will see an increase in internal mobility - and that’s a good thing.
LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report 2021 found that companies with high internal mobility experience twice the length of tenure as low mobility organisations – 5.4 years vs 2.9 years. With the incoming turbulence around talent, these stats tell us it’s time to focus on your career development plans and really pave the way for up-and-coming talent to grow with you.
Paying for ability, not address.
Remote working brings with it incredible options to hire for ability or qualification, no matter where an employee is based. There is a whole new sense of opportunity as teams can now be located anywhere, working on projects everywhere. Future hires will be those best qualified to bring knowledge and innovation, not just those who can turn up to the office.
Meeting talent where they are opens up some challenging HR conversations though. Some companies have pay employees based on location to not disadvantage those living inner city and close to the heart of the operation. But when the heart is now where the team are – closer to the beach, some in the mountains, others nomadic – is there still a place for location based pay?
There’s no doubt it’s a multi-faceted question and there is no right-wrong answer on this one, but it’s certainly something that HR teams will need to prioritise as they look to attract and retain the best talent.
Shifting from DE&I to true belonging.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) has been through a rapid transformation over the past few years and will continue to be a key focus. Gartner tell us that just 9% of HR leaders plan to reduce DE&I budgets, with 45% planning to increase their spend in this area. Inclusivity is simply a non-negotiable from the boardroom to the bench.
One of the benefits of hiring from anywhere is that it’s now simpler for companies to expand to a more diverse and qualified workforce. Companies can more easily access and engage with talent from a huge range of backgrounds, so those expanded DE&I budgets can be put to great use.
Even companies that are diverse, equitable and inclusive are finding they are still failing though when it comes to longevity of employees from some backgrounds. And while it’s easy to lump it in with the Great Resignation, or any other reason employees leave, the reality is that employees from diverse groups leave because they don’t feel like they belong.
A sense of belonging is a fundamental need for all humans. Belonging certainly applies to employees if you want them to bring their whole selves to work. Employees who really feel part of the company can speak up, challenge ideas, bring new thinking to a project, contribute from a different point of view knowing they will be valued for who they are. This sense of unquestionable belonging brings a deep sense of psychological safety. It extends the DE&I work, moving to an inclusive community that all employees are an intrinsic part of.
The work done to date on diversity, equity and inclusion has been vital. Now it’s time to extend this to real belonging.
Employees as well beings.
While each of us experienced the pandemic in different ways, there is one thing that unites us all – it was stressful. Whether stressors were about safety of family, inability to work, home-schooling kids, high workloads or being confined for months on end, it has affected every person in your organisation to a different degree.
Employee wellness will be a key priority for HR in the year ahead. HR teams will need to implement programs that support ‘whole of person’ health, covering everything from movement to mindfulness, physicality to psychology. Key to this will be the mental health initiatives HR leaders can put in place to specifically support the ongoing effects of long lockdowns and periods of instability.
The remote nature of teams throws up a new challenge for employee wellbeing. Serious consideration needs to be given to detection of and support for vulnerable individual when employees not working side by side. Given the deeply personal nature of mental (and physical) health issues, early detection and the right support model should be an absolute priority to help employees get back to thriving.
More transparent, real-time connection.
With employees now indefinitely geographically dispersed, and feeling less connected than usual, it’s important to keep them connected in real time and keep celebrating the great work being delivered.
We are all Zoom-fatigued and Teams-tired so we are not talking about Friday night drinks online. We’ve done enough of that. The year ahead needs a more strategic approach to keeping team connected and supported with the longer term hybrid working model now likely our indefinite reality.
The best way to do this, and share company-wide celebrations, is through a recognition platform that seamlessly integrates into other work tools. Recognition software allows your team to stay connected and supporting each other, allows managers to see the everyday actions that are driving success and let’s everyone show their appreciation for the moments that matter. It builds connection, positivity and a belonging no matter where employees are located.
Re-thinking perks.
Work life has changed for good and so has perk life. HR teams need to revisit what a perk really is so employees feel the benefits. A latte with a manager may work for the worksite team but what about those at home? A gym membership might be like a golden ticket for some but others may a. not be near said gym anymore and b. not feel comfortable about that level of sweating in a confined space with others yet – or for a while.
Overhauling perks can be something that is done collaboratively. Ask your team what they want, what benefits they want and which are so pre-pandemic for them they just wouldn’t use them. If you have a modern, streamlined way to deliver work perks, a system that is configurable and flexible, you should be able to update your offers and tick this one off the list.
Aligning for impact.
HR budgets will be trimmed up in the new year with Gartner’s 2021 HR Budget and Staffing Survey revealing that 34% of HR leaders are planning to decrease their HR budget – a doubling from the 17% who decreased in 2020.
30% are planning to slash the recruitment budget
25% will cut L&D spend
37% plan to increase their L&D budget
While across all facets of the HR function there are some who will slash and some who spend (you can apply those L&D variances to other areas too), it’s important to focus on the impact HR can have to protect your budget. Aligning HR initiatives with overall business goals for the coming 12 months is the best way to ensure that your value is seen and noticed, and your spend kept off the chopping block.
SAGE research found that there is still (always?) work to be done with senior leadership’s perceived value of HR.
Despite 81% of C-suite executives stating HR priorities are aligned to the overall business goals, 59% said HR are not playing a key role in delivering on them
94% of business decision makers have access to people data from the HR team, 68% of leaders are not fully reliant on them
62% of HR leaders admit to not informing business-related decision with actionable insights from people analytics
There needs to be a renewed focus on deepening C-suite reliance on and trust in the HR function, and HR providing valuable insights and analysis back to the business. This will allow HR to better align with and help achieve overall business objectives.
Being human.
It can be easy with all the tech updates to lose the human element of HR but there has never been a more important time for the people people to be empathetic, understanding and caring.
Every individual’s circumstance is unique, some impacted by COVID and others not related. Some love working from home, others feel trapped and uncomfortable with it. Some can’t wait to get back to socialising, others still shudder at the idea of even a small crowd. Some have dealt with significant life moments without the support of their usual community, others feel relatively unscathed.
It is fundamental to HR success in 2022 to stay human. Retaining the human factor, the ability to listen and care deeply, to solve people challenges while delivering on the company objectives should be the number one priority for 2022.
We predict that HR will be incredibly exciting and fast paced in the year ahead, with huge challenges that we have not had to consider before. Here’s to keeping employees motivated, engaged and healthy in 2022!
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