Human resources professionals have some of the most fascinating opportunities to wrestle with in the years ahead. In addition to keeping all the standard aspects of HR moving smoothly, teams will continue to focus on fostering a winning culture, finding new ways to measure productivity and performance, and being a key partner in overall business initiatives. Despite the abundance of priorities on the to-do list, here are the top five trends we expect to see get the most focus in 2023.
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
Creating an inclusive, deliberate employee experience that leads to a more humanizing work experience should be on the top of everyone’s list this year. HR teams should heavily focus on the following:
- Examining and redesigning hiring and onboarding processes
- Solving the productivity puzzle of where employees work (remote, in-person, or hybrid) and how they work (excessive meetings, access to resources, communication preferences, etc.)
- Understanding and acknowledging employees’ desire for autonomy, respect, and recognition
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
HR professionals should continue to push DEI to the forefront of workforce decision-making and organization goals while integrating DEI with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives wherever possible. Here are some key areas of focus:
- Defining DEI and training the organization to recognize opportunities for integration
- Creating function-specific DEI goals
- Reviewing job descriptions and adjusting experience requirements to expand eligible talent pool for certain roles
COMPENSATION AND PAY TRANSPARENCY
Creating pay transparency approaches that are not just about compliance but instead strategically improve hiring and retention. Companies should prioritize the following:
- Ensuring pay is equitable across the organization
- Training current employees on the organization’s compensation philosophy and defining key compensation terms for awareness and education
- Rolling out a change management effort to help leaders, employees, and candidates to adjust to a more transparent approach
UPSKILLING, RESKILLING, AND DEVELOPING LEADERS
Closing skill gaps among multi-generational workforces, creating opportunities for career development and progression, and creating leadership development approaches that actually work will be a major key to organizational success this year. Some examples to check off your to-do list:
- Offering a robust array of training and development programs
- Deepening succession planning efforts further down into the organization
- Identifying the best way(s) to prepare and support leaders to become agile, adaptable, and versatile
ESG AS A WORKFORCE STRATEGY
Enabling purpose and establishing a link between companies’ Environmental, Social, and Governance performance and workforce sentiment among both current employees and new talent is a crucial piece of the HR puzzle. Here are some things to consider:
- Brainstorming ways to improve (or implement) ESG performance through identifiable metrics to observe the impact it has on employee satisfaction
- Incorporating ways for the entire organization to be more aware of ESG initiatives and outcomes
- Educating leaders to appreciate the relationship between ESG and talent retention and employee engagement
Need some help addressing some or all of the items on this list? The Next Level Benefits team of skilled HR consultants is ready to jump in to help you tackle your biggest HR challenges in 2023 and beyond. Connect with us today to see how we can make your year (and your life) easier!
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