The end of the year is at the door and the new year is waiting for us with its promise of new challenges.
What new trends should HR expect? What are the projects that need to be started right away? What are the new expectations of employees?
We sent our best detectives into the future and they came back with a taste of it.
Most of 2023 forecasts point in the same direction: “People first” would be a good summary, but the arguments behind can be very different depending on the sector.
A Gartner survey of HR leaders found that 47% cite employee experience as a top priority for 2023.
Employees are expecting companies to focus on four areas:
• Putting people first: The employee experience needs to be individualized to their personal and professional circumstances.
• Flexibility: One-size does not fit all and employees need flexible hours and benefits that fit their lifestyles. In Luxembourg, with the housing and mobility crisis, this point would be one of the most sensitive. Hybrid work will become a must when doable.
• Shared purpose: Employees are more and more seeking out organizations that align with their ethics and values. It is one of the core ingredients of engagement.
• Overall well-being: Employees look for companies that take a holistic approach to mental, physical and emotional health. It might be the most complicated goal to achieve… as the limit between private and professional might be threatened. Someone has to set the border between care and intrusion… but Who?
Onboarding and engagement
Engagement will be more than ever the priority, considering the evolution of the labour market. And the good news is that engagement does not only boost the productivity, it also gives a lot of additional competitive advantages to the company. If you don’t know how to start with engagement: follow the guide.
The focus in 2023 should of course be in line with the 2022 priorities. For instance, the ones who focused on hiring in 2022 should focus on retaining in 2023. Spoiler alert: onboarding is the key.
Hybrid workplace will certainly be a hot topic… Not just in terms of productivity. Hybrid workplace is much more a cultural issue as it makes it more difficult to track the “morale” and the fact that some employees might feel “disconnected” from their company. Opportunities to give feedback, discuss about development and career arise less often and management must find ways to compensate.
The expectations of employees are at the same time material and immaterial. They want transparency about pay. According to Lattice, the team’s performance is highly related to pay equality. Linking pay and performance is on 2nd position. Training programs and clear employee growth path come in 3rd position. To ensure the fairness of your pay policy, it is a good practice to run calibration sessions.
Diversity
It’s in the air: Diversity and Inclusion should be a must for every company and on the HR agenda. Gentle reminder: Discriminating or allowing discrimination is in most cases simply illegal. Treating minorities well and giving them as much of an opportunity as others is not only a good deed, but also contributes greatly to the well-being at work and the commitment of employees.
The question of skills and upskilling of managers is also on the dashboard of HR for 2023. When the change pace accelerate, the need to align our skills to the business needs is also higher.
Last but not least: HR IS. Don’t let us be misunderstood: the solutions to HR problems are not in the IT. But when managers and employees can do their HR transactions smoothly and flexibly, it reduces manual work and free up time to focus on other priorities. And if the system is smart and helps them in their everyday tasks, life becomes really good.
VISTIM will be at your side in 2023 for a successful year.