HR Strategy & Trends 2023-The Pulse of the Planet
Human Capital Management is on the brink of huge change, and business owners and executives want to make sure they’re on the right side of it. Executives are fully aware of the scale of the problem, though they don’t yet know how to solve it.
HR management can be changed from an administrative function to a vital, strategic part of the business by automating and streamlining key needs such as employee record keeping, on-boarding & off-boarding experience, policy acknowledgment, workforce reporting, employee status changes, compliance tracking and reporting, and more. So, the question is, where to begin and how to begin.
The pulse of planet can be summed up by some key players of the market:
Reliance Industries aspires to constantly up-skill its employees to adopt emerging technologies, fuel innovation and bring in greater efficiencies, grow its women talent pool, leveraging its expertise in data analytics to build a platform to deliver simplified and interrelated safety processes for its employees.
Merck will be applying technology to employee engagement and satisfaction as they build an increasingly seamless technology experience in a hybrid workplace.
Vodacom introduced ground-breaking policies on domestic violence and abuse, and started considering options for parental leave for non-birthing parents.In line with an increasingly younger digitally connected market, they are developing leadership among the younger employees. Vodacom’s LGBT+ drive was recognized among the best at the inaugural South African Workplace Equality Index (SAWEI), where Vodacom received a silver rating, recognizing the commitment and efforts to be inclusive towards the LGBT+ community.They introduced more frequent ‘pulse surveys’ aimed at connecting employee feedback to core strategic and business objectives. They have launched and promoted a mental health policy. They have also appointed and trained over 82 well-being ambassadors across markets, and rolled out the wellness programme.
Deutsche Bank’s future of Work strategy is built on four pillars: Implementing a hybrid working model, transforming our real estate, embracing new end user technology and evolving our culture. Their hybrid working model provides eligible employees the option to work remotely for a portion of their working time. Employees in scope can decide on a voluntary basis to work remotely up to 40-60% of their time based on their role, activity and country. Their technology strategy includes modern, cloud-based collaboration tools and upgrades to end user devices to support mobility both between the home and the office and within the office.
Newmont Corporation leveraged the Paradigm for Parity road map and toolkit and applied a scientific problem-solving approach to identifying the root causes of bias through quantitative baseline studies and internal focus groups. Newmont also conducted various experiments to improve talent acquisition processes, including piloting blind resumés, using the augmented writing platform Textio to develop more inclusive job postings and understanding the impact of diverse hiring slates and interview panels.
General Motors recently added technology services from Beamery Inc., as its talent CRM; HireScore, a system that analyzes, prioritizes and grades candidates; Paradox Inc., which makes chatbots used in recruiting; and Ph.Creative, a talent attraction and an employer branding platform.They are all part of a retooling of its talent acquisition strategy.
Amazon is chugging ahead with its on-the-job learning and development program. Titled “Upskilling 2025,” Amazon leadership designed the program to aid talent in cultivating “in-demand skill sets and propel them into new careers.” The initiative was launched in 2019, and houses its prepaid tuition program Career Choice and its Technical Academy helping non-technical workers transition into software engineering. For two years in a row, LinkedIn has named the retail and tech company its no. 1 “best workplace to grow your career” in the U.S. In early 2022, Amazon granted its then-750,000 hourly employees free college as well as free ESL classes. Later in the year, the e-commerce retailer added tutoring services and digital nudges to its educational offerings.
Microsoft is hoping to empower others starting with flexibility, carrying through to supportive career development and caring for the entire individual, and concluding with an open feedback loop where employees feel heard and empowered. They also have talked about the Human Energy Crisis which demands more than virtual happy hours or free yoga classes. It has reiterated that leaders need to reassess their company culture and leadership ethos from the ground up to create renewable resources within the talent pool or risk a long-lasting drought. Now more than ever, positive business outcomes depend on positive people outcomes.
IBM believes in not taking a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to health, safety, and wellbeing. As a large global employer, it strives to provide wellbeing programs that are culturally relevant and inclusive to address the needs of a diverse employee population. Its wellbeing programs vary by country and are based on the prevailing health and safety needs of the applicable end-users.
In all, the highlight trends noticed in all the above companies are:
Well-being as Priority
It's often said charity begins at home so our first HR trend for 2023 is that organizations will take more responsibility for this looming burnout crisis among employees across the business. The first step will be for HR to overcome its own burnout crisis. Although this may go against the nature of Human Resources, which must focus on helping others, HR professionals should put on their own oxygen masks first. Otherwise, the department will not be able to help the rest of the organization. Next, HR is expected to move towards a more proactive approach to well-being and resilience. This involves developing a more holistic employee well-being approach focusing on mental, physical, and financial well-being.
Redefining remote and hybrid work strategies
The second trend talks about HR practitioners setting clear principles about how, where, and when work is done. They’ll work on establishing objective performance metrics, promotion, and salary increase criteria. HR will focus on clear working policies impacting office planning and utilization which will lead to better-designed work-spaces. HR itself will become more hybrid and explore remote work. There is a leading role for HR to play when it comes to enabling better outcomes with remote working.
Upskilling employees
One of the major trends in Human Resources will be investment in upskilling employees, specifically managers and leaders. HR practitioners will clearly identify and communicate leadership expectations. We will see more and more businesses promoting from within and providing more internal employee training programs and opportunities. This is a result of an attempt to retain workers at a higher rate and is in part a response to a decreasing talent pool. According to a Springer report, nearly 50% of the world's workforce will require retraining or upskilling within the next five years.
Reshaping workplace learning
HR will invest in more personalized workplace learning that is linked to what people are interested in learning and the ways they prefer to learn. That way, HR can ensure that employees are learning what’s relevant to them in an engaging manner. To do this, HR will have to refresh many old learning habits and replace these with more contemporary techniques like gamification through virtual classrooms, games, videos, quizzes.
Diversity & Inclusion
HR is increasingly analyzing their entire employee life cycle through a DEIB lens. There are plenty of opportunities when it comes to on-boarding, development, promotion, and other people's practices to create more inclusive workplaces where people feel like they belong. DEIB also offers an opportunity to connect the organization’s purpose with diversity initiatives. We also increasingly see a focus on training HR staff to create HR practices from a diversity perspective.Consulting firm Mercer estimates that around 15-20% of S&P 500 companies make DEI metrics part of their executive compensation. Only about 5-10% of those companies set objective, quantitative DEI metrics. We anticipate that HR will play an active role in identifying and tracking the relevant DEI metrics.
As we conclude, 2023 can be seen as a year of immense opportunity for HR. However, there are a number of challenges to overcome.
First, HR needs to prioritize their own well-being and continue building resilience. That will place HR professionals in a better position to boost the well-being of their employees and help organizations become ready for future challenges.
Secondly, organizations need to adopt a broader perspective and understand that HR trends don’t concern only one department but the whole business. They must consider how HR can play a key role in managing organizational change. In other words, business leaders and HR need to collaborate closely and acutely to successfully handle the changes in the world of work.
Third, businesses must accept that we are on the cusp of entering a new era: a human-first era that sees organizations not just as structures for maximizing profit and effectiveness but also as drivers of meaning for empowered, engaged, and diverse workforce.
It is time for HR to step up to the plate, capture the opportunities that 2023 brings, and reposition the function’s value proposition as a leader of the business and a builder of competitive people capabilities. That is the true power of HR: driving strategic impact through people.
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